Top 5 ways to keep your brand relevant

Over the past few years I have presented at numerous design industry, business and higher education events and the topics I’m most often asked about are “How do we evolve our brand and business?” and “How do we create new brands that get cut-through to be different?”. As an independent business owner in a high-pressure creative industry, I have learnt a few key lessons about brand building that has shaped The Edison Agency’s approach to helping others succeed. Here are my top 5 learnings to keep your brand and business relevant and on track:

1. Don’t rest on your Laurels
2. Ask Simple Questions
3. Be agile and don’t be afraid to change
4. Show humility
5. Don’t be too distracted by the competition

I’ve been helping businesses and brands grow for over 20 years and in that time I’ve had the pleasure of seeing both great successes and heartbreaking failures. Over the past 8 years I have founded two successful design agencies and there is no doubt that our current climate is complex and can be overwhelming when you are in charge of steering the ship.

Start-up brands and entrepreneurs typically behave in a way that enable greater agility – they have a freedom that manifests into bold creativity and disruptive thinking. The insights I have gathered from my personal experience and from being surrounded by other entrepreneurs is proving to be extremely relevant for bigger businesses and brand owners who can often have larger budgets and more resources, but with move less agility.

While smaller brands don’t have the buying or distribution power that the industry leaders have, in an economy where brand transparency, authenticity, and social consciousness is highly regarded; the agility and creative liberation of start-up brands are disrupting the status quo in an inspiring way. They have loud voices, strong points of view and the do-or-die tenacity to make it. They understand their audience, leverage their personal passion and ‘founder stories’ and use contemporary communication platforms to spread their message. As an independent agency I use this to my advantage when competing against multinational agencies and it works. Why? Because our business is an authentic reflection of our diverse culture, our agreed beliefs and values and our commitment to product and service integrity. We are forever being curious and evolving the way we work, think and create.

If you are a decision maker in a business and want to create something new, increase your relevancy, tackle a complex problem or protect your future - then let’s talk.

Author: Amber Bonney
Head of Strategy @ The Edison Agency