A marketing masterclass on Thursday will see a leading business strategist share his insights on building a strong and sustainable brand.
The Brand Conclave, organised by the CII in association with The Telegraph, will feature Martin Roll, a global strategy and transformation expert.
Roll is an adviser to several global boards and prominent business families. He has been a senior adviser to McKinsey & Company and is also an INSEAD (a leading business school with its central campus in France and other campuses in Singapore, North America and West Asia) Distinguished Fellow.
He is the author of the global bestseller Asian Brand Strategy (2015) and co-author of The Future of Branding (2016).
A day before the masterclass, Roll spoke to The Telegraph on a range of issues.
Excerpts
Q: Has the concept of branding changed in the post-Covid world?
Roll: It has changed for the simple reason that consumers have changed in many ways. But deep, deep down, human nature remains the same. They want to be loved, to be longed, part of the tribe, have their identity.
Post-Covid, you see the hybrid work model, you see e-commerce reaching an incredible high. Consumers have started to mix and match. They have started to show a bit of caution in terms of spending. They have become a little more weary of spending. If I am spending money on something, I want to ensure quality. That is one aspect, which is a very rational construct.
The second part is my identity. My choice of suit, phone, pen, airlines, all the choices we make are part of our identity. During Covid, and post-Covid, people still want to build that identity. Brands are also part of expressing to other people. So, those choices are still there. But the way people are playing them out has changed. It has become a little more hybrid and a little more cautious.
Q: How is branding for a legacy company different from branding for a start-up?
Roll: To a great extent, you always have the benefit of legacy and history. Why? Because a brand is basically like a bottle of wine. You can drink a Beaujolais (nouveau, a red wine made from grapes produced in the Beaujolais region of France) which comes out three months after the harvest in October.
You bring it in and you can drink it then. It is still wine. But it does not have the depth, note, texture or sophistication because wine has to mature over time. It is the same with a brand. Brands are a construct of popular culture, myths, artefacts, history and all of that. So, the longer timeline you have, the more are you able to put something into the brand.
But legacy can also be a danger. Because you can become arrogant and complacent. You can think that you will last forever and everyone loves your brand. But they don’t. Because new players are coming in. Good brands with legacy are on their toes all the time. Innovation is critical for them.
Now turn to the younger brands. I think consumers are a little more forgiving towards younger brands because they are younger. But you have to work harder to establish your brand. Why? Because you are not going to be the first one. People can ask you what makes you different. I don’t need just another brand. I need a brand that is different, faster, more reliable, cheaper, with better after-sales service.
Q: What is the way forward for media companies in the post-Covid world?
Roll: I think they need to become more digital. Now, everyone is a consumer journalist. People trust Instagram and Facebook and X. What are legacy media companies selling? They are selling reliability. Reliability is under pressure because now I trust my friend or someone in cyberspace more than legacy media. Legacy media companies should come forward in this day and age.
We live in a fragmented world. We are overburdened with technology. I think a little further down the line, the door will also swing back to reliability. Because in the end, that independence, having voices from both sides of the war, conflict or anything else, will matter.
Q: In a world where people get offended very easily, should companies tread with more caution in advertisement and promotional campaigns?
Roll: Don’t try to be everything for everyone. Because you will not stand out. Standing out does not mean you provoke. Brands stand for something. In this world, a lot of things are under an upheaval — reckoning of minorities, sex, gender, marriage.... People are a little more sensitive. You have to be very careful how you advertise. About 20 to 30 years ago, advertising was much more provocative. You would use a lot of irony, humour and sarcasm. Those days are probably gone. You have to be more careful because you have a much broader constituency, much more diverse.