Branding’s secret recipe for 2022

As we start the year 2022, I stand with a heart full of hope. To move forward we must learn from the past. Looking back, I realized the last two decades have been somewhat mind-blowing. Let's look at the Top 5 global brands of 2000 which are Coca-cola, Microsoft, IBM, Intel and Nokia. However, can you guess the top 5 brands of 2021?

Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Samsung. Interestingly, Tesla had the highest growth this year. Now let's ask ourselves, how fast did Tesla observe this growth?

For your understanding let's look at Coca-Cola, a 129-year-old company that has a market cap of $260.59 Billion. Whereas Tesla, an 18 years company has a market cap of $1.031 Trillion. So, Tesla is worth almost 4 times Coca-Cola. Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation and today they are valued at $158B. In 2019, Airpods (the wireless Bluetooth earbuds designed by Apple Inc.) was projected to have a valuation of $ 175 B. How fascinating it is to see that just a product section of Apple is worth more than a former tech giant itself?

In the last 21 years, the idea of branding has been in constant change and finally, it's been shaped into a completely new way. Think about the old concepts of branding. Even 10 years ago, branding meant all about Focus and Loyalty. But today these do not work anymore. Today's branding strength does not come from focus or loyalty. Rather it comes from remaining 'Constantly Relevant' to your audience. That's why companies aged less than 2 decades are outperforming century-old giants.

Back in 2016, during the press conference of the announcement of NOKIA being acquired by Microsoft, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop ended his speech saying this "we didn't do anything wrong, but somehow, we lost ''. Understand the deep meaning of this heart wrenching line. This makes it evident, even if you don't do anything you can still fail. In fact, you almost certainly fail if you do not keep adapting to the changing world.

In Bangladesh, our fintech industry is growing. We have had mobile financial services for almost a decade now. Wherever you look you'll find logos of Nagad or Bkash. Despite rigorous branding efforts, unfortunately, we have not quite figured out the sweet spot, As Bkash, Nagad and others are trying different tactics.

But the world is moving forward, leaving us behind. If we want to evolve, we have to unlearn the old ways. Whatever you do, do not let people forget you, even for a moment.

If we look at our traditional banks, people viewed banks as mere vaults they can trust. But today fintech companies - Bkash or Nagad they are not just vaults to people. In fact, they have become a part of their lifestyle. It is because they are always relevant.

But how do you stay relevant? There is a simple trick to this- be fluid, do not confine your brand to certain spaces or mediums. Also, be like a friend, a brand they can trust and also share joys of life with.

Did you ever wonder how Tiktok took over the world by storm? We live in a world where everyone wants to be under the spotlight. Enable and empower your users to get the spotlight and they will make you part of their lives. If the last two years have taught us anything, it is that - "Change is the only thing that is constant".

The world is moving fast and if our brands keep holding on to their traditional methods and thought process, they will fall behind. I hope my little insights will help our brands to keep up with the world of 2022 and beyond.

Monsurul Aziz, a marketer who believes that we can build a better world through better marketing. He can be reached out through monsurulaziz@gmail.com