PERSPECTIVES

A Brand Change Response Framework for leaders facing change

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Without exception, a brand strategy is a response to a change somewhere in the business. But choosing which aspects of change to act on, and those to ignore or deprioritise, is critical to successful strategy, given that everyone is operating on limited resources. To resolve this, we’ve developed a Brand Change Response Framework where we assign different levels of action for strategising based on the fundamentally different pressures of various forms of change.

Change comes at all of us from everywhere

Sometimes, it’s a wish to consolidate or put a name and an identity to an initiative. At others, a change in the brand is seen as a way to improve or strengthen how the organisation deals with a market-based threat, a change in customer behaviours or a drop in long-term performance. More often than not, the situation involves several factors which may be present and separate, or compounding in their effect.

Change is often portrayed as a catalyst for action. But with so many types of change in play at any given point, how should you respond? Not responding by refusing to acknowledgement change is a recipe for disaster, but equally treating all change as equal can mean spreading responses too thinly.

Start with a finite range of responses

Our Brand Change Response Framework has seven actions in all, tiered to indicate different levels of response:

  1. Understand: be aware of what is happening and the circumstances surrounding it. Explore the implications and how this change driver works with or alongside other changes. Monitor.
  2. Ignore: make a deliberate decision not to get involved or to respond to a provocation or issue
  3. Delay: take a wait and see approach to how you resolve a provocation or issue. There’s no need to factor this matter into your planning until you decide to act.
  4. React: take your cue directly from a development and base your response on resolving that shortcoming or opportunity. Move directly and in a focused manner to making this happen.
  5. Conform: at the very least, meet what’s expected and make sure that those who need to know (e.g. regulators) are kept informed
  6. Act: use a development as the basis for a proprietary response that yields you an advantage in the market
  7. Drive: leverage what is happening or not happening to instigate a bold initiative designed to deliver you advantage and, often, to incite your competitors to respond.

Identify change drivers

As part of our discovery process, we examine the change drivers that are affecting the brand. We can then assign actions to each level of change, enabling us to quickly pinpoint what the brand strategy must prioritise.

10 levels of change

Within the Framework, each level of change is assigned a minimum action, with next actions to follow. We’ve listed all ten levels of change here in no specific order, together with the actions they prompt.

Level of change: Global

Something happens across the world or a significant region: a trend; a macro-economic shift; a geopolitical event.

Minimum action: Understand

Next actions: Ignore, Delay, React, Act or Drive

Level of change: Sector

Something happens within your world that lifts or challenges business as usual for most or all participants.

Minimum action: React

Next actions: Act or Drive

Level of change: Regulatory

There is a shift in the regulations governing how or where you do business.

Minimum action: Conform

Level of change: Resource

The resources you depend on (human, intellectual, physical) shrink or become more plentiful, or new resources become available that could affect how you do business.

Minimum action: Understand

Next actions: Ignore, Delay, React, Act or Drive

Level of change: Technology

The technology you depend on changes up or becomes ineffectual, or new technologies become available that could affect how you do business.

Minimum action: Understand

Next actions: Ignore, Delay, React, Act or Drive

Level of change: Competitor

An important competitor makes a change to how they do business or announces future plans that alter their standing in the market, or a new competitor arrives (from within the sector or from an adjacent market) that rebalances the dynamics of the marketplace.

Minimum action: Understand

Next actions: Ignore, Delay, React, Act or Drive

Level of change: Moral

There is a societal shift in how people perceive what you do. It might be that they no longer regard your brand or what you offer as acceptable, or conversely that you, your brand or what you do are now seen to be on the right side of history.

Minimum action: Understand

Next actions: Ignore, React, Conform, Act or Drive

Level of change: Product

You introduce a new product or service to the marketplace, either to fulfil an identified need or to add to what you already offer. That product could be predictable or it could represent a bold new offering that redefines you.

Minimum action: Act or Drive (depending on the level of innovation)

Level of change: Attitude

People see you differently. Maybe an influencer mentioned your brand or something happened that affects your reputation. Either way, you’re probably in the news and there are expectations that you will front up.

Minimum action: React

Next actions: Act or Drive

Level of change: Customer

A new audience has found you, or the community that you’ve depended on have left or are changing. It could be that your customer base has expanded as a result or gone the other way and become smaller and more monotonal. That customer group is looking for things in your brand and from you that align with their beliefs, interests and expectations.

Minimum action: Act or Drive (depending on your confidence)

Putting the brand in change response

Dynamism is a tiring but necessary skill in volatile markets. Brands have much to gain – and lose – from how they identify and respond to their operating context. Our Brand Change Response Framework provides the guidelines to map short and long term actions. The key to leveraging this is ensuring that your actions are brand-aligned. If you do choose to Conform, for example, it’s critical that you do so in your signature way.

Of course, you are highly unlikely to just be responding to one change driver. By identifying the different changes affecting your brands and assigning actions to them, you can prioritise what changes you will respond to, in what order.

Finally, when planning actions in response to change, it’s important to consider how these will play out on at least three levels: in market; within your culture; and across your supply chain. Coming back to our Conform action, you’ll need to demonstrate that you are doing what’s required, ensure your people are receiving the resources and training they need to deliver what’s needed, and meet with your suppliers to ensure an integrated and standardised response.

We can help you map your brand response

Our Brand Change Response Framework helps busy brand leaders form responses rather than reactions to the changes affecting brand performance. This doesn’t have to take long. If you understand the pressures and changes coming your way, we offer rapid-resolution strategy sessions to help senior teams systematically anticipate and act on what’s heading your way. More on how we can help here.

Acknowledgements

Photo by Thomas Bormans on Unsplash

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