New Hope for Brands
Emerging into the Light
As we emerge dazed and confused from the darkened remnants of 2020, it’s only natural to look forward and blink with barely-disguised optimism into the dazzling dawn of a new year.
Surely – after all we’ve been through - things can only get better? They certainly can’t get any worse!
But if 2020 has taught us anything, it’s to always expect the unexpected. And also to be skilled enough to swiftly adapt to all the changes and opportunities wrought by such an unprecedented event.
The COVID-19 pandemic was – and is – absolutely extraordinary in its potency to profoundly impact all our lives with impunity, cutting great swathes of devastation across business and social communities.
But out of darkness, cometh light. Humanity has an in-built resilience to confront apparently overwhelming odds.
Amidst the glowering COVID-19 maelstrom there’s been encouraging sparks of light from people all over the world adapting the way they work and live, to prosper in what has been dubbed the “New World Order.”
2020’s Backdrop of Instability
If COVID-19 managed to bring any benefits at all to 2020, it was to bring into sharp relief all the instabilities of the world’s endless political issues and power struggles.
The pandemic became a malevolent backdrop to the cycle of events that played out on the world stage, highlighting their sway and effect on all of our lives.
Domestically, the US residential election exposed deep societal fault lines, and Hong Kong was subjected to civil unrest as China began to impose its will on the territory.
Internationally, China also attracted criticism with its economic influence continuing to grow and become more worryingly predominant.
Other worries about climate change grew apace, with increased numbers of environmental calamities and the attempts to stop them appearing to be ineffective.
Across societies worldwide, the rise of the Black Lives Matter phenomenon brought clear focus to decades of brooding anger over perceived injustices – and sharpened the long-held belief that, despite
everything, all lives should matter.
Alone, but Never Alone
Paradoxically, despite all the principles of isolation mandated to stop the spread of COVID-19, the pandemic has done much to push people together and keep them more closely connected than before.
Social media initiatives such as #AloneTogether have been instrumental in building networks of supportive online international communities.
Zoom conferences became a routine component of business life and visits to the doctor also went digital.
Technology has even embraced the spiritual life, with churches and their congregations brought together to worship in virtual services.
COVID-19 may have put a temporary hold on international travel, but technology lets us all continue to connect.
All these initiatives – forged in the despair of the pandemic to re-set our business and social interactions – give bright optimism for the future as we move forward into 2021.
Technology is the key that brings people together, even if they’re alone.
Turn and Face the Change
So, what does this freshened and radically-different communications environment mean for businesses, their brands and their development as 2021 unfolds?
Technology allows businesses to grow, and already the pandemic environment has seen many modify their business models into hybrids of old and new - to take advantage of opportunities available in new digital environment.
Confronted by all the different digital scenarios in our “New World Order,” businesses can either panic and fade away – or engage, pivot and grow.
A fundamental principle of business – Adapt or Die – is still acutely relevant, as it has been during all the world’s previous technological upheavals down through the centuries.
Businesses who sit around and ride the waves, hoping to pick up a few crumbs, will inevitably be left behind as the world moves on.
But others who actively seek out new spaces where they can make a difference, sense the market’s needs and respond to them, will become part of the "New World Order" and prosper with it.
Unveiling a Brilliant Concept
Another fundamental principle of business is that here’s always an opportunity in a crisis – no more so than when the market is subject to radical change and businesses strive to adapt and be relevant in the "New World Order."
Hence the concept and launch of Brilliant magazine, a fresh, exciting online resource for businesses living and operating in the worldwide Gig Economy.
Brilliant is targeted to all the members of that particular community with curated information geared specifically for them, so they can recognise and take advantage of what people and other businesses need – now and in the future.
It aims to grow and support a community of happy businesses in the happy Gig Economy businesses - run by individuals pursuing second careers fuelled by their passions, or simply aiming to build a better world with their creations.
Brilliant is a natural progression from initiatives launched during the early, dark days of the pandemic, when educational webinars brought the Gig Community together by providing resources and tools enabling them to re-adjust for new challenges.
Instead of a generic magazine shoehorning new technologies into coverage of traditional processes, Brilliant is conceived and crafted purposely for Gig Economy businesses, in a format they can easily identify with.
With a blend of business, art, science, psychology and technology, Brilliant is a multi-faceted source of information providing depth, insights and objective thinking for experienced Gig Economy businesses, taking them to tomorrow where the future is digital.
The Future’s Bright
It’s all very well having a new and more accessible digital world in which to market and sell your brand, but what changes have to be made for a brand to be relevant, desired and bought by the consumers of this new environment?
Recent research shows that companies will need show they’re more transparent, sustainable and purpose-driven if they’re to satisfy the demands of post-Millennial generations over the coming decade.
These consumers’ top consideration in choosing a brand is predicted to be environmental consideration, as concerns over climate change and global warming grow. Brands that can demonstrate sound environmental credentials will be in preferred categories.
On the technology spectrum, a primary factor in the future marketplace is said to be AI, with the prediction that consumers will increasingly depend on machines to make buying decisions, based on their stored brand preferences.
In the same futuristic realm is biometric data, deemed to become a key part of customer identification over the coming years, which will make it a necessary focus of marketing strategies.
Advertising per se is seen as unlikely to disappear, but more subtle forms of advertising such as sponsorships and product placement, are likely to become increasingly prominent.
And as all these innovations develop their presences and no doubt become indispensable in the marketing mix, it’s predicted they’ll all be underpinned by a global collaboration among companies to standardise them across transactions, identity and security.
An Ironic Legacy of Hope
As all these marketing opportunities take hold and evolve, it’s fair to say that there’s probably never been a more exciting time to be creating and building a brand with all the tools and resources of the New World Order at your disposal.
It’s an odd circumstance that the scourge of COVID-19 can be viewed as the catalyst for the formation, growth and acceptance of this optimistic new digital marketplace.
Despite its horrendous ravaging of populations across the world, as the pandemic’s influence inevitably recedes in 2021 it’s also likely – somewhat ironically - to leave behind a legacy of new hope for brands.
Let us know if you have a story to tell: editor@brilliant-online.com
Robin Wilson
Editor-at-large
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