PPB January 2020

suggests brands focus on “iconic moves,” or strategic decision-making to remain competitive, relevant and pro table. To prepare for these iconic moves, Interbrand touched on ve areas that brands should focus on. Nurture ongoing change. Brands must collect data about their customers and apply this data to the design and function of their products and services, creating a direct link between the customer’s preferences, values and even attitudes and the brands they buy from. Look for weaknesses . Weaknesses predominately exist in four areas: customers, operations, competition and performance. If customers are dissatis ed with their experience, that’s a problem. If loyalty is decreasing and innovation is incremental, those are also problematic. Acknowledging problem areas paves the way for resolve. Seek alignment. Alignment is typically determined by the customers. If brands are meeting customers’ needs, there’s alignment. Interbrand provides the example of The Lego Movie (2014), which opened the doors for LEGO to reach a new generation. LEGO’s sales in the year following the movie release increased 25 percent. Expand the available options. Iconic moves are strategic actions made to alter how consumers interact with brands. However, they are not disruptions, because they aren’t dependent on product innovation, but strategy. Examples of this include Dollar Shave Club’s introduction of its subscription model and partnerships, like the one mentioned between Amazon and Whole Foods. Iconic moves are intended to open new areas of pro tability and business potential. Follow through with the plan. For a plan to be successful, it has to be followed—plain and simple. This requires having the courage to change and change boldly, and to ensure the timing, customers’ needs and the customers’ experience align appropriately. When brands do not follow through with their actions, they become vulnerable to having their plan fail. BRANDABLE Giving e Gift Of Time Based on the results of a commissioned survey, Chick-fil-A finds a way to help give consumers more of what they want—time with their loved ones. To commemorate the recent holiday season, Chick- l-A launched a multichannel campaign aimed at encouraging consumers to give the gift of something intangible—time. The campaign, which debuted via an animated commercial during NBC’s broadcast of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and ran through November and December, was based on the ndings of a national survey commissioned by Chick- l-A and conducted by The Bantam Group—a company that performs research for branding, communications and product development—which indicated that 73 percent of consumers want to spend more time with the people they love, and 93 percent said quality time is the most important part of creating memories during the holidays. In the spirit of giving—and giving consumers more of what they want—Chick- l-A focused on the concept of time, rather than its brands or products. Along with the commercial, Chick- l-A opened The Time Shop, a pop-up shop in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City, which was open from December 4-17, along with an ecommerce store. In both the brick-and-mortar and ecommerce stores, consumers, age 18 and older, were invited to create custom gift cards in exchange for time; examples of “time cards” sent via the site included: “two hours of making grandma’s doughnuts,” “12 hours of movie nights” and “four hours of teaching you to ride a bike.” To send a time card, ecommerce site visitors were asked to provide the recipient’s name and the sender’s name and email address, coupled with a short description of a “together time activity,” and the number of hours. Once complete, the site permitted users to print the card to distribute by hand, or, if sent prior to December 10, the cards were mailed directly to recipients. | JANUARY 2020 | 85 THINK