Over the course of coronavirus and lockdown, so much of what we do in the day-to-day of our lives has been reappraised. When the news cycle is as tough as it has been, joy has become a far more precious asset. It’s not far-fetched to say that people are starting to jettison anything that doesn’t make life a little more enjoyable; that doesn’t feel authentic. 

This has caused brands to reappraise their relationship with consumers. Britvic CMO Matthew Barwell agrees, telling us in a  recent interview how in the future, “there’ll be a focus on genuine brands who have a place in society.” Such a lofty statement might have been sniffed at by the brand purpose naysayers back in early 2020, but now it’s hard to imagine otherwise. 

Is your brand earning its place?

So, how does yours add up? As Will Sansom from The Brooklyn Brothers recently told us, his learning from this period, specifically working on the WaterWipes campaign pivot, has been to ask himself: “Is everything that we’re doing genuinely earning our brand a credible place in our audience’s lives? If not, then it’s back to the drawing board.” We’re not asking you whether your brand has volunteered ventilators to the government or converted your warehouse into a hand sanitiser supply chain. But can you say that the future of your company fits with what lies ahead? Is it supplying something people will benefit from? Because if not, it might be time to start rewriting that future.

We mustn't see the return as the destination, because we are heading back to new ground. Whilst we might wish for things to revert back to how they were in early 2020, they simply won’t. It’s a hard realisation to come to terms with but not everything about moving on is meant to be hard. The beauty of change is possibility.    

In a recent interview with Haribo, their MD for UK and Ireland Jon Hughes said “our role is to look after that brand while we’re here and hand it on slightly better, slightly more improved than the one we inherited.” Now think of that in the context of what’s happening and ask yourself how you can make the most of this time to ensure your brand is passed on in a better, more improved state. What changes have to happen to ensure your future is a bright one and your future teams look back on your work with gratitude. 

What does your future need from you?

It could be that now is a perfect time to decongest. Whether it’s in relation to your agency roster, your marketing strategy, or something else. Stripping things back to their essentials will help you remain agile in the months ahead, and not be able to move with the future because you’re weighed down too much with the past. 

It’s important to remember you’re not starting from scratch though. Your starting point should be your purpose. Whether you're a start-up and it’s been around for a few months, or like Haribo, 100 years, Your purpose is something that shouldn’t be rewritten as part of your new future, but something that points you in the right direction. As we’ve seen from Oreo and WaterWipes, purpose and values should only be enhanced during this time. 

Think about what this new unwritten future means for your voice too. How will it change from pre-pandemic to post-pandemic? Will it mean your values are elevated to the top of the conversation? Or, like HUN Wine shared, does it mean your voice is finally heard. 

Also, what does it mean for the next generation? What are you handing on to those who’ll be running your brand in 5, 10, 50 years? This isn’t about short-termism. Is it a long journey which you’ll only take a few steps in, but nevertheless ensure gets off on the right track? 

When you’re thinking about all of this, it’s important to remember that it’s an opportunity. Ensure if you come out of this torrid pandemic with one positive, it’s that you used it as a time for reflection, recovery and yes, opportunity. A time to put into practice all the changes and actions you’ve long been spooling over. We won’t get a reset opportunity like this again, so now’s the time to ensure that the future you’re about to write is one worth looking forward to.