The Fall of Constantinople by Steven Runciman

The starting of the great Byzantine Empire can be traced back to 330 A.D., when the ancient Greek colony of Byzantium became the focus of  the Roman emperor, Constantine I.  A “new Rome” was born. It lasted for a good thousand years.

The intriguing story spells out how this eastern half of the old Roman Empire managed to survive and thrive for 1000 years. The author illustrates that the reason for its' sustained existence was due to its' complex bureaucracy and intricate diplomatic service at a time when its' enemies were at the best —successful warlords, who were always on the move.

Just to put things in the 21st century context,
GE is the only brand that is listed in the Dow Jones Industrial Index today that was also included in the original index in 1896. And, that is a bit more than 100 years.

In 1892, a merger of Edison General Electric Company (established by Thomas A. Edison) and Thomson-Houston Electric Company created General Electric Company. Today, it is well on it's way in creating Industrial Internet — intelligent devices, intelligent systems and intelligent decision-making — fully merging with physical machines, facilities, fleets and networks. 


Looking Ahead — Creating Commerce for Sustenance of Mother Earth
The Buzz Words — Corporate Sustainability and Ethical Corporate Citizenship

Brands that are suited to survive the long haul will do so, by creating a complex eco-system of partnership, performance and ingenuity.

The result: Mushrooming of small companies that are helping massive corporations navigate complex infrastructure solutions to re imagine entire components of  
their business.

Loop is one such brand that aim to be the solution to the growing waste crisis. TerraCycle,(Loop's parent company) in partnership with 25 participating brands, officially unveiled the Loop platform in 2019.

Another brand, RealReal, a luxury consignment company, is partnering with Burberry and Stella McCartney to  create a circular thriving commerce in fashion.

1929 A Year of Conflict by Hillel Cohen 
There are always 2 sides to a story.
Conflict acts as a catalyst and propagates different versions of the same story.

Cohen points out that “all history is constructed”. He opens the door for two competing narratives of the same riot. However, it is up to you: weigh in on the arguments and come up with your own decision.

Conflict is a tangible per-cursor to usher in an alternative product or service.
Remember, the frustration of waiting for the cable guy to come and set up your TV to work. It not only disrupted your day, it was an exercise in immense patience.
The uncertainty of the waiting gap between 1 PM to 5 PM (or whatever that time interval be) gives rise to confusion and conflict..

Conflict Gives Rise to a Cause.
The result: Video Streaming Service was born.

Brands that are suited to survive the long haul will do so, by studying the conflict that plagues their industry and make innovation happen to resolve it.

Looking Ahead — “Banking that has your back.”
In a world of hidden fees and added surcharges, Chime is one of the fastest growing internet-only banks that takes pride on being totally transparent and consumer-centered.

Of course, Chime comes with the fintech promise of “no  fees”. However, the differentiating feature is, it allows people to get their paychecks up to two days early.
More importantly—it allows people with bad credit to open and use a banking system.
This is specially remarkable when 53% of all Americans have been rejected for a credit card, loan, or car due to poor credit, according to a survey conducted by YouGov/ ScoreSense.

As Chime goes after financially de-leveraged customer base, Aspiration is another fintech bank, going after the green customer segment, with features such as planting a tree for any rounded-up debit card purchase or offsetting customer carbon footprint at the gas pump.

Russian Voices by Tony Parker
Consorting with Change.

When Tony Parker visited USSR 1990, encountered a country in shambles and the economy barely surviving. People were uncertain about their future. However, today we know that vast opportunities of wealth was created due to this uncertainty. Unfortunately for the “great majority they exchanged too much certainty for too little certainty.”
 
The Third Industrial Revolution witnessed a service driven era when electronics and information technology automated production. The arrival of the Automated teller machines (ATMs) in the 1970s was a disastrous proposal. Yet, branch jobs actually increased over time as branch cost went down, becoming less transactional in nature and more about managing customer relationships.

Don't get me wrong. Each industrial revolution has brought in massive disruption, and the fourth wave will not be any different. “We must remember this and use what we have learned to manage the change.” However, the management guru, Peter Drucker would oppose it and say, “One cannot manage change. One can only be ahead of it.”

Today, as the pandemic has confined everybody within the limits of their own circle, the Fourth Industrial Revolution is moving ahead with mighty gusto...

The result:  Artificial intelligence has emerged in the forefront of this crisis and is being deployed in almost every industry from customer call centers and finance to drug research. While clinical trials can take years, in a matter of weeks, Stanford Institute of Human-Centered AI identified a drug that could be helpful in the fight against Covid-19.

Brands that are suited to survive the long haul will do so, by embracing change, doubt, uncertainty and every sentiment that comes with it.

Looking Ahead — To stay ahead of change, the critical question today is how can brands simultaneously prepare for unprecedented social, political, environmental and technological challenges—both imminent and distant?

The Past is Myself by Christabel Bielenberg
The Resolve of a survivor — play the cards that you are dealt with.
Make intent and ingenuity your new allies.

An account of the writer —  an English woman married to a German bringing up three children in Berlin during WWII, and what happens when her husband is arrested by the Gestapo after the July bomb plot.

“Surviving isn't around us, but in us.”
At the turn of the 21st century, the African continent was in the grips of the worst food crisis in history. Today,  AGRA report confirms the steady revival of African agriculture. Seed and Science worked together to bring about this change. If sustained, the 21st century agricultural revolution will play a key role in dispersing new technology in the wider economy.
 
The 2008 financial meltdown ushered in the business model of “sharing and caring.”
Airbnb emerged as a platform for the eroding middle class. For everyday families, it has  generated substantial supplemental income.
Fast forward 12 years, the disruptor is now being disrupted!
Last year the brand was estimated to be worth more than US$30bn.
It was scheduled to go public in 2020. Then came the Covid-19 pandemic.


Brands that are suited to survive the long haul will do so, by adapting and acknowledging the changing needs of their target audience.

Know who are you surviving for. Get to know the pain and peril of your target audience.
Covid-19 has put a complex twist to your marketing efforts. We are living in rapidly changing times. Anxiety and uncertainty are our daily companions.


The result: Here are 3 ways to stay relevant during these rapidly changing times


The Matter of Immediate Context
As business owners and marketers, ask yourself, “In what instances are we comfortable putting our brand alongside the ever changing news content?”

Think about the time frame of your communication – are you specific in your message about the current events? If so, consider how you will need to adapt to stay relevant.
Are you speaking more broadly about challenge and resilience? If so, your message will enjoy longevity.


The Matter of Your Brand Purpose
Whether you’re creating work for an essential service or not, it’s important to accentuate your brand purpose with the right tone and expression of your message.

If you want to inform and educate, keep it simple. Consider the human context and emphasize the problem that your brand solves.
If your brand is not anchored on purpose, maybe it’s a community-based message that you go with.

Purpose, Fusion and Participation — the 3 ingredients of brand authentication.


The Matter of Creative Coherence
Tone, visuals, copy and keywords, are to be carefully assessed.
Obviously, re-evaluating creative that shows interactions like hand shakes, hugs, and high-fives makes good sense. Because, now physical distancing is an important tactic for slowing the spread of illness. Think twice about phrases that might carry different connotation — “virus checks,” for instance, have taken on a whole new meaning in light of this moment.

First, know the basic fiber of human existence. It is fear  — anyone and everyone that you encounter in the virtual or physical space is going through it now.
We are living in perpetual fear. We fear the fear of death, we fear the fear of unknown, we fear the fear of being not accepted, we fear the fear of failure, we fear the fear of being invaded by trolls, we fear the fear of being judged, we fear the fear of not resonating with our followers, and at this moment we fear the potential pitfalls of the vaccine that is supposed to be one-stop cure of this pandemic.

Above all, fear freezes reflexes, warps judgement and multiply mistakes.
Worse, it’s contagious. It robs the mind of all it’s powers of acting and reasoning.


Second, know your audience want something more than immediate result or joy. They want a lingering sense of pleasure, or that deeper sense called happiness. “This is one of the secrets by which we shape the fulfillment of our designs. The something more assumes amplified power with people who cannot give it a name or who (most often the case) do not even suspect it's existence.”

Know, that most people only react unconsciously to such hidden forces. And there in lies our opportunity as designers and marketers, to try new things, elaborate new ideas and flirt with risky proposition. Somehow, some way, we have to call a calculated something more into existence, define it and give it shape, then people will follow.

Deliberating During Crisis Means Dealing with New Brand Reality

Keep the Momentum Going
However, come to acknowledge the fact, that, there is no ideal product but only a solution that fits the prospect's needs and desired outcome. Remember, it is not about differentiation  from competitors. Current opportunity in the crisis lies in how “brands can be differentiated for customers”. Throughout this crisis, the brands that prove to be relevant to customers’ concerns about safety, security, and assurance will find competitive footing.
How Petco is Ceasing the Moment in Defining this New Reality
With pet adoption rates spiking, and with pet lovers spending extra time at home with their furry friends, pet owners are able to ask vets their questions on Instagram live and are definitely appreciating the benevolence that Petco is offering during the pandemic.


Resist Shallow Empathy Embedded with Extortion
Redrawing the company logo to illustrate physical distancing (a stance undertaken by McDonald, Coca-Cola, Audi, and VW) is all well and good, but what is the point of it if you are not offering a tangible value; “broadcasting bland emails expressing empathy (together with an exhortation to visit their online stores or to upgrade to product protection plans that customers have rejected many times before); and information-light public service announcements are all examples of communication tactics that have been poorly received by customers.”


Define Your Brand with Delicate Deliberation
Your customers may be confused and in despair. They are not stupid.
Stay away from commercially exploitative tactics.

Guinness paved the path surrounding St. Patrick’s Day, when the company shifted its focus away from social celebrations and pub gatherings and instead leaned into a message of longevity and wellbeing. Moreover, Diageo’s (owner of the Guinness and Johnnie Walker brands) promise of over $1 million to support bartenders and other affected groups around the world of a good example of incorporating the human element into marketing messages. Being sensitive to the human side of things, and especially job displacements and hardship is important to consumers and resonates.

In the competitive world of sports, Nike dropped the subscription fee for its NTC Premium service that provides streaming workout videos, training programs and expert tips from trainers, the sportswear giant announced in a blog post,” notes Marketing Dive.


Re-calibrated and Empowered
It is during times of crisis that the brand has the opportunity to drive influence if they move with agility. LVMH, was the first to recalibrate its' product by pivoting from producing perfume to making hand sanitizer, a lead that was swiftly followed by many small distilleries. Likewise, a small Danish supermarket used the same algorithm that applied discounts to multiple purchases of the same product (to facilitate “buy one, get one X% off” promotions) to charge a massive premium to shoppers attempting to hoard items in short supply.

Leveraged supply chain has empowered Panera Bread to benefit its customers by allowing them to add basic essentials (such as milk, bread, eggs, and produce) to their orders of regular menu items for pickup or delivery.



Strive for Search Engine Optimization
You are existing in a 24 hour, 365 days online environment. SEO is a vital online marketing tool. More importantly, organic results are more trusted by search engine users. It is crucial to tag your products with the attributes used by consumers to search in their category — such as “antibacterial” or “disinfecting” for cleaning products, and “non-GMO,” “healthy,” “low fat,” or “zero carb” for food products — even mentioning these terms ahead of your own brand names (something that the leading brands would never do). This helps your products rank higher in the search results of consumers who have no strong brand preference in the category.