Building Resilient Brands: Lessons from Top Insight Experts

Following Harvey Lee’s (former Head of Platform Product Marketing EMEA for Xbox) inspiring discussion about the challenges and successes that made Xbox the brand it is today, it was only fair to bring to you the panel debate that followed.

The fireside chat – moderated by H&P’s Managing Partner Branka Orosnjak – included Philip Nellenbach, Head of Consumer & Brand Insight at Holland & Barrett, Debra Walmsley, Voice of the Customer Consultant for Virgin Atlantic, Rufus Weston, Insight Director at Nike, and Josh Sorene, Global Head of Brand and Reputation Insights at HSBC.

The debate revealed the challenges of uncertain times and the role brands and insights can play in effectively navigating a difficult climate and helping brands grow successfully.

We kicked off the session to understand notable themes our experts have seen in the last year and how organisations have had to pivot during times of uncertainty:

• Cost of living: Unsurprisingly, the cost-of-living crisis is still a critical issue for brands to support customers in a world where money is tighter for many individuals.
• Supply chain: Moving away from just-in-time manufacturing to just-in-case manufacturing so businesses can accommodate things that might happen, including having excess inventory. In addition, supply chain management is challenging as the consumer cycle is becoming faster, particularly amongst Gen Z, where trends are rapidly changing. So, brands need to bring out innovative products that resonate with customers, which is more challenging than before.
• AI: the rise of AI will play a significant role, both internally by helping to alleviate the burden on employees and externally by providing better customer support.
• Mindset shift in a post-COVID climate: Businesses had to yo-yo from normality to lockdown and back again—some habits were temporary, whereas others have become permanent. For instance, a rise in digital services during lockdown has driven people to seek more in-person experiences in a post-COVID climate. Therefore, building agile capabilities to accommodate such changes and having a balanced internal investment will help businesses address that.

What is the role of brands in uncertain times?

Brands can look to provide value and quality to build meaning with customers that will have a longer-term impact. Phillip Nellenbach particularly calls out Amazon as a shining example. Despite facing negative publicity, the brand delivers on the core principles of retail in the form of convenience, security and simplicity. Alongside retail, it also brings more variety to people in digital entertainment.

According to Debra Walmsley, it’s essential to keep a finder on the nation’s pulse and leverage customer conversations to ensure brands understand consumers’ headspace and what’s important to them and respond to them effectively. Tesco comes to mind as a brand that had a fundamental understanding of the nation’s mood during COVID and how that was changing, and it was responding to the changes in real time.

Josh Sorene, from HSBC, spoke about the role of the employer brand and living its values – specifically HSBC’s focus on international. This aspect is woven into their EVP (Employer Value Proposition), enabling movement across different markets and making it appealing to join the bank. If they didn’t have this as part of their EVP, there would be a disconnect between what the brand stands for and workplace experiences.

Living up to your brand values is critical, as passionate people who believe in your brand are more likely to have a positive influence.

Where do insights fit in brand growth and success?

Josh Sorene highlights two key areas where insight can play a role in brand success: firstly, to identify growth opportunities and, secondly, to help brands facilitate that growth. Insight teams offer unique traits of being impartial to the data and commerciality to get to the ‘so what’ and commercial impact.

Rufus Weston adds that marketers are also known to be time-poor. Thus, insights teams can act as mentors to marketing and allow them to take a step back and see the bigger picture.

Insight is particularly vital in supporting decision-making within the business, where Debra Walmsley points out the risk involved in not having a customer lens, often leading to blind decision-making in a customer-led business.

One thing all experts could agree on was that it's not enough to rely solely on the numbers. Storytelling is a core aspect of interpreting the data, which is essential to strategic decision-making.

Managing comms during a crisis

Naturally, businesses won't always get it right or will need to step up in crisis moments, so what lessons can we learn about effectively managing comms in such moments?

Thinking back to COVID, banks had to communicate financial security and show up for support in different ways. Josh Sorene gave the example of payment holidays and the importance of quick turnaround times and proactive comms before lockdown, and then eight days after to support customers when they were most vulnerable.

Rufus Weston touches on the controversy of the women’s England football shirts during the Euros with goalkeeper shirts rolled out in much lower quantities compared to other football shirts. As a brand, Nike prides itself on supporting women’s football and it did a disservice in not living up to its values. What happened next? Nike acknowledged the mistake that was made and took responsibility.

Phillip Nellenbach's tech example of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, with early devices malfunctioning, also shares the importance of being reactive in moments of crisis. The team gathered all the information they could on the devices and set up kiosks in airports in the few locations where they were released to switch them on before customers boarded their flights. This, combined with a quick turnaround meant that Samsung gained the support of its customers who felt the brand would take care of them and in turn, reappraising the brand based on that experience.

Debra Walmsley wraps up the session by emphasising the strength of the brand and how people are often much more forgiving of a brand with a strong reputation in crisis moments. She highlighted the importance of brand building and people wanting brands to win during a tough time.

Final thoughts from the experts

Lastly, we wanted to leave you some reassuring advice from the experts that things can change if you aren’t getting the growth you need.