Building brands in a new world order

Had the privilege recently to spend 3 days with some of Europe & North America's more progressive agency minds doing what we all like to do - pontificating about the future - and it was enlightening and scary at the same time. The theme was reacting to and driving change. The focus: our clients' customers. The challenge: helping them to recognize and react to what is round the corner.

The fear? That everyone would become shocked into over-reacting to the credit crunch and the general slowdown in the economy, rather than taking a step to the side and looking beyond and to start planning for the rebound.

We've seen significant changes in buyer behaviour even before the current crisis and this crisis is only likely to amplify those changes. This creates opportunity for those willing to look. Opportunity to not only be one of the first to react to or even anticipate the rebound, but to have developed new strategies for the new world order, whilst others follow using the same old marketing techniques.

The saying "fortune favours the brave" could not be more appropriate.