Qualities of relevant brands, and why it matters now more than ever

“We have to keep transforming ourselves to stay relevant for the future.”- Maurice Levy

Bob Dylan sang about it in his anthem in 1964… the times they are a-changin. Well, his message still resonates to this day. Times are a-changing indeed, they always have been, only this time they are changing drastically, or so it seems.

Nowhere is this change more apparent than in business. And the changes are impacting all businesses — big and small. To name a few, there’s…

• Escalating inflation (40 year high) and subsequent rate hikes by the Fed
• Skyrocketing gas prices
• Labor shortage
• The Big Quit
• Housing crisis and soaring rents
• Global slowdown
• Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
• Ongoing COVID challenges
• Global warming and climate change
• Infant formula shortage
• Monkey Pox threat, and the list goes on…

These are extremely trying times particularly for small businesses. It’s important now more than ever to be resilient and move ahead in business. A great example of this resiliency are key brands that have risen to the occasion by creating and renewing their role in this changing world!

Their secret… they’ve figured out how to be relevant.

In the Cambridge dictionary, relevance is defined as the degree to which something is related or useful to what is happening or being talked about. The concept of relevance is of utmost importance in branding your business to remain competitive and connect with your target audience.

So, how does one build brand relevance?

Know your company’s reason for being. Define your purpose and communicate it both externally (to your audience) and internally (to your employees) in that way it becomes a shared value that inspire people to move, to act, or do something towards it. Note too that your purpose should be fluid, moving with the times. So, review and redefine it, when it no longer inspires or matters to your audience.