The Brand Playbook, Reframed

By: WE Staff | Friday, 16 June 2023

The 2^nd Edition of Brand of the Year 2023 celebrates the crème de la crème that set the gold standard of branding

Over the last few years, brand mavens have had to revisit the brand-building playbook, rethinking and seeking fresh answers to questions critical to marketing success. This has borne out of the shifts we have seen occur, all of which have challenged critical age-old truths. As such, a new set of rules of engagement have emerged, and it is one everyone is playing by. Thanks to a democratisation of brand ownership and the greater sense of purpose and immersion on the part of consumers, we are on the cusp of an epochal era of brand building unlike any other.

Building breakthrough brands

One of the most notable changes in the brand landscape is the greater degree of consumer involvement, and the larger than life, often emotive nature of brand building. Consumers want to see the brands they trust help create a better world order, and impact communities in meaningful ways. Of course, the old tenets of building, trust, loyalty, and retention remain unquestioned. If anything, they’ve taken on increased importance.

But peruse these eye-opening stats on all things branding:

• 94% of consumers say they recommend brands they have an emotional connection with
• 77% of consumers purchase an item based on the brand name rather than the product’s name
• 77% of marketing leaders say branding is critical to growth
• 72% of global consumers feel loyalty to at least one brand
• 13% of consumers are willing to pay up to 50% more for products or services if that brand makes a positive impact on the world around them

Through resilience and quick-thinking, an elite cross-section of brand-builders have recognised these essential home truths and tempered their plans to stand the tough tests that lie in the offing. Their feats are admirable, and given the grand stage they deserve being recognised as a Brand of the Year 2023.

By getting the basic building blocks of branding right and adding a layer of innovative thinking in line with the demands of the current consumer, these are the brands that have cut out the hyperbole and demonstrated hyper-growth.

This unique initiative has been shaped by insights gleaned from an industry-wide consumer study conducted by LeadCap Ventures, with brands appraised on the following parameters:

• Net Promoter Score
• Activism
• Trust & Loyalty
• Innovation
• Sustainability
• Price Premium

Some of the leading lights of the industry will converge at Brand of the Year 2023 to delve into the creative thinking is propelling myriad organisations, pinpoint the ever-changing set of skills needed to thrive in this new era, and much more, with this unparalleled journey culminating in these breakthrough brands being lauded for their track record of excellence.

Offering his thoughts ahead of the event, Rajesh Khubchandani, Co-Founder and CEO, Team Marksmen Network, said, “Brands have historically drawn on three pillars to fortify their market standing: these are science and analytics, for the insights it provides; imagination, to ideate creative solutions and interpretations; and craft, for skillful execution of a given idea. These pillars have stood the test of time, even in times of rapid flux as we know it today, and brands that focused on these robust foundations have consistently delivered inspiring brand experiences across all touchpoints. These are the doyens we will recognise as Brand of the Year 2023, and we hope others are similarly inspired to drive both brand perception and business performance.”

To know more about this unique initiative, write to us at contact@teammarksmen.com.