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The Human Need for Shared Spaces

The human need for shared spaces

As businesses welcome people back after months of fear and uncertainty, nearly all have been forced to think differently about their “shared spaces.” For all the anxiety about the details, (Are we opening too soon? Too slow?) there’s an undeniable joy, too. People want to be together.

“I don’t know when it will be safe to return,” wrote musician Dave Grohl, in a recent Atlantic Monthly essay about the return of live concerts. “But I do know that we will do it again, because we have to. It’s not a choice. We’re human…we need each other.”

Businesses know this is true. And in amazingly short order, they’re figuring out the safety protocols, redesigning experiences for physical distance and better sanitation. But the post-pandemic reopening is offering the opportunity for something much bigger: A complete reimagining of these spaces, a reset of their purpose, a shift to in their development and, most of all, a new standard for trust.

The smartest companies are asking how they can use this moment not just to reignite, but also to accelerate the transformation that was in front of them even before the crisis. Doing so requires a teardown of current thinking, with great sensitivity to the many ways the world has changed. These leaders aren’t waiting around for “the new normal.” They are looking ahead to what some are calling “New Possible.”

Purpose: Finding meaning in shared spaces

From retailers and restaurants, to hotels and hospitals, the best practices for sanitation, hygiene and crowd density become clearer every day. Many organizations are making customers and employees protection from illness their highest priority. But now that doors are opening, what’s missing is the bigger issue of purpose, and why these spaces exist at all.

Their function is obvious. Everyone knows what people do at airports, theaters and sushi bars. But that’s not the same as understanding purpose. These places exist to connect, inspire and nourish us, to feed our larger need to be with others. It’s what we feel in these spaces, not what we buy there. Companies need to take this moment to reimagine the potential of shared spaces to fill these deeper needs.

Office buildings are a good example. Initially designed as a place for productivity, architects typically devoted 70 percent to productivity-focused areas and 30 percent to collaboration spaces, such as conference rooms and teaming rooms. Now that we know people can be productive anywhere, offices need a new purpose and perhaps a different allocation of space. Are they centers for occasional collaboration? Are they places where coworkers can bond and support each other?

Service design: Empathy-driven innovation

Increasingly, companies are viewing shared spaces with an eye toward service design, which means treating space as a tool to make lives easier for those who use them. They’re developing new experience principles, and aligning those with overall business strategy.

That includes physical innovations to make layouts, interiors, materials, fixtures, furnishings and equipment work together to deliver effective yet safer interactions. New spaces will be easier for employees to sanitize, and built in a way that this cleanliness is evident to worried customers.

Digital tools in physical spaces play an enormous role. These include no-touch operations, such as motion actuation, facial recognition, voice activation and gestural interfaces. Mobile devices are emerging as a critical component, allowing for seamless experiences within a physical space, developing “sensing” capabilities and user-data capture to track behaviors for better and safer operations.

Some of these innovations are small, obvious and even quick, like foot-activated doors. Others require major mind shifts and soon, new buildings. As health experts learn more about air quality and its role in disease transmission, for example, heating, ventilation and air conditioning are no longer architectural afterthoughts. They’ll become key considerations in new design.

Trust: Re-earning confidence

When it comes to shared spaces, nothing is as important as trust. People need to feel that they can count on the companies they deal with to keep them safe when they venture out–including protecting them from people who might be less concerned with physical distancing than they are.

Foundationally, people build relationships with brands through trust. In recent years, that’s focused on brand quality. But today, trust is measured by how the company did or did not respond to the crisis, or how it is restarting. People are asking: Do I trust this airline to keep me safe? This shoe store?

This won’t be easy, especially since many companies have already broken this trust, and continue to do so. Those that can regain customer confidence by offering safety and consistency will find themselves more relevant than their competitors.

Creating a culture of care

All three of these–purpose, service design and trust–require companies to lead with radical empathy, creating spaces where humans feel safe, respected and happy.

It calls for a culture of care. This need for empathy is profound, based on the knowledge that even as many people long to be back in shared spaces so they can feel more human, many are also frightened.

Cultural care becomes a key ingredient. Germ control and crowd management may be essential, but if handled too aggressively, they can seem hostile and unfriendly. And that can interfere with the elements of hospitality, warmth and sanctuary people crave in public spaces.

With that in mind, companies can approach every decision about physical space through these three lenses:

START: What new functions, services or physical elements should the space contain that are not part of the current design?

STOP: What functions, services or physical elements of the current model should no longer be part of the experience?

CONTINUE: What functions, services or physical elements of the current model should be kept as part of the experience?

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Companies must remember that what matters is the experiences people have in these spaces. People will remember what companies do, not what they say, no matter how many “We’re in this together” signs they hang. The old saying “actions speak louder than words” is truer than ever.

Are you interesting in redesigning your shared spaces so your business can achieve uncommon growth tomorrow and into the future?

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Achieving the Next Level in DTC

Amid growing pains, even digital natives are learning the value of hitting the “refresh” button.

There may never be a better time for incumbent companies to prioritize DTC, even for just a single product line. Pandemic disruptions to retail channels and supply chains mean people are more open to new ways of buying everything— from potato chips to manufacturing equipment. However, it’s not just about launching a new brand with a sans-serif modern logo using an outdated DTC playbook.

Going direct-to-consumer is hard. It requires a new mindset that embraces a performance-based approach. Many digital natives are experiencing challenges to reach that next level of growth. And the scale and operational rigor that incumbents can bring might be the combination to unlock that next level of DTC magic. Let’s break down how to achieve the next level in the DTC ecosystem.

DTC Through the Lens of the Pandemic

There’s no arguing that these are dark times for many direct-to-consumer businesses, especially for some formerly high-flying digital natives. But while the era of the DTC unicorn and massive acquisitions may have hit some roadblocks, more significant changes to the marketplace are underway. Despite the pandemic-induced decrease in consumer spending, those digital natives with the strongest communities, such as Peloton and thredUp, are thriving and among the top DTC brands. And many legacy companies, especially those in the CPG and B2B arenas, are adding DTC lines. Companies like Pepsi and Ocean Spray are going direct not just to recoup revenues lost to COVID-19 disruptions, but also to gain vital insights that inform the rest of their business strategies.

“These companies are learning that the direct channel is a game-changer that deepens customer relationships.”

These companies are learning that the direct channel is a game-changer that deepens customer relationships. It’s not just about digital channels and sales, but about cultivating meaningful engagement through DTC branding and marketing. By building communities with relevant content, help and services, customers interact with them again and again. And with the data these companies glean from DTC channels and transactions, they’re finding ways to innovate throughout the entire enterprise. The benefits of real-time access to direct consumer data and communications just weren’t achievable before with traditional B2C and B2B models.

Digital Native Growing Pains

But first, it’s worth taking a close look at why so many of the DTC companies are struggling. Even before the pandemic, the DTC market was shaky. The cost of customer acquisition had been increasing at staggering rates. DTC marketing on social media in a diluted digital marketplace was less effective, so brands began leveraging physical and traditional platforms such as billboards and subway stations. And in growth-at-all-costs mode, many rushed into physical retail, either with their own storefronts or pop-ups with retail partners.

For many, the goal wasn’t near-term profits, but a near-term exit. And that worked for some, including Unilever’s $1 billion deal for Dollar Shave Club in 2016 and Amazon’s $1 billion purchase of Ring in 2018. But megadeals in recent times have been scarce.

Others hoped to cash in by going public. But the harsh reality is that Wall Street measures financial health differently than venture capitalists, with well-known DTC brands like Blue Apron and Casper struggling after initial public offerings. Others, including Airbnb, have delayed IPO filings.

And then there’s the bad behavior. Toxic leadership at places like Uber, WeWork and Away was a problem before the pandemic. But the worldwide crisis is shining a bright light on how businesses treat employees. Against the backdrop of illness, layoffs and widespread suffering, that kind of toxicity is especially damaging.

These visible meltdowns of a few call the organizational performance of the entire category into question. Once revered within DTC circles, Brandless’ demise and Outdoor Voices’ shakeup are sending strong reality checks to the venture capital funds supporting them. And the sharp downturn in consumer spending has sparked massive furloughs at top brands like Everlane, ThirdLove and Rent the Runway.

Refining DTC Acquisition Efforts

Some companies will come through this period stronger than ever, and this upheaval is creating many opportunities. Lululemon’s recent $500 million acquisition of Mirror proves that there are still deals to be made when the fit is right. For private equity and investment organizations, this may be an excellent time for acquiring undervalued DTC assets and putting cash behind those that have a differentiated offering and deep customer engagement.

For digital natives, it’s time to hit the “refresh” button. Top DTC brands should focus on optimizing organizational operations for sustainable growth, building with profitability controls. Painful as they are, furloughs can offer breathing room for companies to reset priorities for growth in this recovering market.

And it’s crucial to rethink customer acquisition. Before 2020, the focus had been on getting as many customers as possible at all costs. Now, it’s time to refine acquisition efforts with a retention and profitability filter. There is no standard DTC acquisition playbook. It’s taking a next-generation performance-based mindset of quality over quantity, anchored with a relentless focus and patience on customer value.

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There are perhaps even more significant opportunities for non-digital natives. Many have seen during this pandemic how disruption with intermediaries has stonewalled their business, with a breakdown in sales channels, impacts to inventory and distribution, and a gap in knowing their customer sentiment and outlook. And with the grim outlook for retailers and outlets, the gap in a direct-to-consumer conversation is exposing their immediate need for a direct customer relationship.

For those contemplating a DTC launch within the business, this may be the ideal time.

But the underlying principles are the same for all companies, whether they are a century old or a new digital startup. Brands that are authentic, relevant and genuinely helpful win customers over. DTC channels allow them to show up for people throughout the purchase journey. And at a time when many consumer behaviors are laced with fear and uncertainty, these brands build strong bonds through purpose, transparency and empathy.

Want to learn more about partnering with us on DTC marketing? Let’s chat.

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Brand Voice in a Crisis: What to Say When We’re All Speechless

A strong voice gives messages power, making a sprawling corporation feel like a single human.

The first time I was hired to develop a brand voice for a company was in 2008. Times were tough for a lot of corporations, and my client—a big, famous, legacy tech company—was no exception. They were feeling the effects of the financial collapse. Bleeding capital. Losing customers. Even the headquarters seemed stuck in the glory of the previous decade.

At the time, brand voice was quickly rising as a tool every brand had to have in its arsenal.  Before that, people talked about “brand personality” or “tone”, but it usually only got a half-page in a hundred-page Brand Guidelines book that covered things like font kerning and logo lockup. During that same moment, floating through the zeitgeist, was a sense that companies needed to stand for something more than just profits. The importance of having and promoting a strong brand purpose was on the rise. The economic fallout had created a general distrust after so many companies had acted in bad faith.

Companies that were driven towards a higher purpose, could better weather the times. As Nikos Mourkogiannis wrote in his book, Purpose: The Starting Point of Great Companies, “Not all companies have a purpose—but enduringly successful ones do.” Of course, having a purpose is not enough on its own. The organization around that brand must bring it to life through action and expression.

Enter brand voice.

As a person, my word choice and the way I speak express who I am and what matters to me. Brands are no different than people in that sense. A strong voice gives messages power. When individual writers and communicators across an organization can effectively unite around a clear style, rhythm, and point of view, it resonates with the people they are talking to and makes a sprawling corporation feel like a single human. Audiences, in turn, feel treated humanely. And, depending on the nature of the company and its voice, consumers can also feel cared for. Or amused. Or understood. Or put at ease. It all depends on who the company is—really, truly, deeply—and what it stands for.

Back in 2008, my client needed its audiences to get to know the company again, to believe that their positive memories added up to a brand they could trust. And in order to create a voice that could do that effectively, we had to get to know the company at a soul level.  We developed a way of talking and writing that represented who they’d been and where they were going. We trained stakeholders to use this voice to connect with the needs, desires and emotions of their audiences, to help strengthen positive feelings and make the people they spoke to feel cared for and confident. And it helped the company know what to say and how to say it, even in a crisis, when a lot of the news was bad news.

“We trained stakeholders to use this voice to connect with the needs, desires and emotions of their audiences, to help strengthen positive feelings and make the people they spoke to feel cared for and confident.”

And here we are again. Another crisis—or crises. We see brands trying to insert themselves into the reality we all face daily. In the days after we were all ordered inside due to the pandemic, and then, again, after the murder of George Floyd, our inboxes were flooded with messages from brands. Some of these messages were drawn from the core beliefs of the company. For example, Ben & Jerry’s issued a call to “dismantle white supremacy” in the wake of the protests, and it did not feel like lip service because it aligned with who they had always been. Bratz dolls came right out with a statement that quoted Desmond Tutu—and people responded positively in part because Bratz dolls had always promoted diversity and inclusion. As one twitter user said, “Bratz was the first toy brand I remember that really popularized black/minority ethnic dolls…They’ve been amazing for years!”

These were the messages that felt human, leaving us with a feeling of warmth, and a strengthened sense of loyalty. They used a voice that came out of who they are, what they’ve been, where they are going, what they believe. They were authentically drawn from each company’s real sense of purpose. Other companies felt the pressure to come out with a statement, too. But when they did not have the history to back up their words, the message felt hollow and patronizing.

So, the ultimate question. How can a company find an authentic voice to connect with people in crisis? Like all great changes, it begins with learning—who you are as a brand, and what you stand for.

  • A brand voice makes it possible for communicators across an organization to express its core beliefs—which means that before you find your voice, you have to have a deep look at who you are and what really matters to you. Look at your history as a company. What have been the moments where you showed the world your true colors? When has your company taken an action because of a value other than profits? Make sure to build that purpose into the voice.
  • A brand voice is a living, flexible tool that anyone can use—not just those of us who self-identify as writers. Start with big ideas about how you want to sound as a brand, finding a single persona or a short list (no more than three!) of attributes. But then, get granular. Find the tactics that everyone can employ every time they express themselves as the brand. Remember that the tool has to work for all circumstances, so help users learn to flex depending on the message and the audience.
  • A brand voice can unite your employees and change the way you work for the better.  Invest in training for all stakeholders and partners—and emphasize the importance of using the voice every day. In our experience, when leadership is really behind the implementation of the voice, that’s when it becomes a company-wide habit that affects the way work is done.

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Brand voice is not a trend. Brand purpose is not just a mural on the wall behind reception. As we see in today’s ecosystem, when they are real and true and prioritized, these tools enable companies to express themselves with strength and resolve.

Then, when a crisis hits, there’s no need for soul searching. There’s no need to panic. The only thing to do is to let the purpose guide and the brand voice do its work, enabling messages and responses that come directly from the company’s core. And, in times of chaos and uncertainty, those are the voices we hear most clearly—and the voices we desperately need.

Learn more about Prophet’s verbal branding work and start using communication tools to express your brand and business strategy. 

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Four Priorities for CMOs to Reimagine and Reignite Marketing

Stoke growth by building at two speeds, feeding every initiative with a continuous stream of customer insights.

Even before the pandemic, chief marketing officers had been navigating a complex and shifting digital landscape. And due to COVID-19, according to Gartner 76 percent of marketing leaders expect to be working with drastically reduced budgets. While some may view that as a doom-and-gloom scenario, we see it as an opportunity.

The CMO role is more important than ever, playing an essential part in guiding companies as they respond, reignite and reimagine themselves in a post-pandemic world. Here are four shifts we see as urgent priorities for CMOs today:

1. Accelerate Digital Transformation

Marketing leaders have long known, of course, that customers are shifting to digital across the entire journey. But the resiliency and dexterity shown during stay-at-home orders provide dazzling proof that customers are ready for much more than they’ve been given credit for.

The current disruptions in all parts of the value chain create breakthrough opportunities for digital to drive success in marketing and customer experience. They can stoke demand, build relationships, optimize customer data and predict channel shifts.

Yet many digital transformation efforts leave CMOs outside of the decision-making circle. The upcoming State of Digital Transformation report from our Altimeter research team finds that CMOs only “own” 4% of digital transformation efforts. CMOs can play a greater role by supporting the corporate digital transformation agenda in any manner they can.

2. Continuously Fuel and Feed Customer Insights

To determine how to win, CMOs need to understand their customers’ needs–and accept that much of what they used to know is no longer true. Continue to collect and use customer data to augment existing market research, address market uncertainties and go one step further to create an insights engine. Look for new ways to capture more information on how customers and intermediaries are feeling and behaving. That intelligence will add value not only in marketing but through the entire enterprise.

Nike is a powerful example. While it built its reputation with great products and relevant marketing, business growth is powered by digital insights that it embeds into every part of the company. Its Nike Direct division hasn’t just fueled sales. It provides data on fast-changing tastes and preferences, informing decisions in everything from innovation strategy to product design to community building. And it’s led to breakthroughs like the Nike Fit app and the 30-day wear test.

3. Build at Two Speeds

To succeed, CMOs need to throw themselves into two-speed thinking. First, they must adapt and innovate marketing and sales to meet the short-term realities of business in this radically disrupted environment, while also planning for things that drive return in the long run like purpose and customer experience. The second speed requires reimagining different scenarios and which bets will be successful. Armed with customer insights and investments in digital, it can be done.

“Even as the world waits for a “new normal” to emerge, reinventing marketing for immediate challenges looks different for each company.”

Even as the world waits for a “new normal” to emerge, reinventing marketing for immediate challenges looks different for each company. According to our State of Digital Transformation research, the majority–64%–of companies say revenue has fallen since the pandemic began. And for 15% overall, the drop is significant. For these companies, marketing is all about restarting the engines. But a lucky 17% have seen revenues increase. And while that’s nice for now, they face short-term challenges in retaining those new customers.

Starbucks has been perfecting the art of operating at two speeds. Short-term, it is taking advantage of its mobile app and loyal base to keep relationships and drive growth. For the longer term, the company is revising the experience for both customers and employees, investing in new drive-through stores, pick-up windows and better machines. All will allow Starbucks to continue to increase and meet demand.

4. Re-Define and Re-Execute your Brand Purpose

Purpose, a brand’s reason-for-being, means so much more today, as consumers demand better corporate behavior. They want to buy from ethical companies that are trying to do the right thing. They expect businesses to be empathic, responsible employers–and recent events have shown us they are willing to walk away from brands that mistreat people. And while they’ll forgive many missteps, they expect transparency.

Amazon, for example, has come under shareholder and employee fire for its refusal to disclose how many workers have contracted COVID-19. In response, the company went beyond mere words, committing an astonishing $4 billion–about a quarter of its annual profits–to make Amazon workers safer and fulfill its mission.

“Providing for customers and protecting employees as this crisis continues for more months is going to take skill, humility, invention and money,” founder and CEO Jeff Bezos says in its statement. “If you’re a shareowner in Amazon, you may want to take a seat, because we’re not thinking small.”

It’s not enough to be trust-worthy. Consumers expect companies to make an impact on society. They want assurances that the brands they buy are protecting people’s health and the environment. And they want to see them promoting social change, such as addressing racial bias. Procter & Gamble, for example, had already established itself as an outspoken advocate for social justice. As a result of recent protests, it stepped up its commitment with a $5 million pledge and compelling new content in its “Take On Race” challenge.

Building a New Action Plan

To act on these new priorities, recalibrate marketing plans. Accept that these are no longer annual documents, but works-in-progress to review monthly, if not weekly.

Make sure plans…

  • Get ahead of budget cuts. Do more with less, re-evaluate marketing ROIs, setting up more frequent reviews to challenge assumptions.

But more importantly…

  • Show marketing as a value creator. How can marketing contribute to the organization versus being seen as a cost center? How can it use brand purpose to increase relevance?
  • Create or recalibrate a continuous customer insights engine, to understand shifting customer needs. How and when should the CMO initiate new market pulsing?
  • Ensure the production of intelligent content, relevant to the moment, contextualized for the consumer.
  • Make sure operating models can execute data-driven test-and-learn efforts.
  • Audit the marketing technology stack to make sure the best moves are automated.

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It’s still too soon for any CMO to predict the months ahead. A vaccine could change the landscape, as could a second or third wave of infections. But planning for the known unknowns–and building in good behaviors now for marketing teams–will help ensure success over future horizons.

Are you setting the right priorities for business growth? Reach out now to chat with our experts and get exclusive insights into the work of other marketing leaders.

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Winning in the Post-COVID-19 World: Trends Here to Stay

Employees yearn for more meaning at work and customers are looking for brands they can respect and admire.

In the talk themed “Winning in the Post-COVID-19 World,” I reflected on what changes prompted by COVID-19 are likely to persist and what strategies and programs winning organizations are likely to employ, drawing from the books Aaker on Branding, Creating Signature Stories and Owning Game-Changing Subcategories.

There have been a host of changes in human attitudes and behaviors that have been stimulated or more frequently accelerated by COVID-19.  Many of these will persist, some at a high level, and will affect the strategy options for many industries.

Here are the changes that are here to stay beyond 2020.

1. Search for meaning in life and work.

The virus has prompted many to reevaluate their life and work and assess what is really important. The result is often a realization that their hopes and time allocation need to change to elevate what is truly meaningful and rewarding to them.

One implication is that it is more important than ever for organizations to have a higher purpose that engenders inspiration among both employees looking for meaning at work and customers looking for brands they can respect and admire. A higher purpose can be offer-driven (we make insanely great products), culture-driven (our students and faculty have confidence without attitude) or social/environmentally driven (Avon walk for breast cancer; Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan)

2. Need for social connections.

The shelter-in-place world made even more vivid what is universally known and true, that for most people, social interaction and connection is a valued and, indeed, a necessary part of human existence.

“It is more important than ever for organizations to have a higher purpose that engenders inspiration among both employees looking for meaning at work and customers looking for brands they can respect and admire.”

That means that brand communities will be even more valuable to both people and brands. A brand community is a group of people that share involvement in an activity, issue or interest area with a brand as a focal point.  Examples are the Harley-Davidsons HOGS (motorcycles and rides), Etsy craft makers (how to make and market crafts), Sephora Beauty Insider (talk, be inspired and get advice about beauty).  They all provide opportunities to interact, connect and belong to a group in addition to providing the brand with a strong link to a committed customer base

3. Valuing trust and authenticity

The importance of earning trust in brands and institutions, which has been eroding for well over a decade, was reaffirmed in the days of the pandemic and surrounding events.  In this context, being able to communicate in an authentic, trustworthy way becomes critical. That means that stories must play a more important role because facts by themselves are not effective communication vehicles and often do not suggest trust or authenticity.

Stories, particular signature stories that “Wow!” and communicate a strategic message, are more able to communicate values and programs that engender trust and authenticity.  When well selected and presented, they will attract attention, change perceptions, distract from counter-arguing, affect behavior and be authentically remembered.

4. Acceleration of change

There were a host of changes that were underway before COVID-19, like working from home, the use of remote conferencing, concern about health and safety, the rise of e-commerce and the power of social media. But all these trends and more have accelerated as has the level of market dynamics. It is increasingly problematic to assume that future business will look the same as the past and that a “my brand is better than your brand” marketing strategy will work.

Strategically, there needs to be a realization that the best path to growth is now owning new subcategories that change the customer experience or brand relationship. The first task is to find or create a compelling set of “must-haves” that are valued by a core customer group. The second is to become the new subcategory exemplar brand that positions, scales and builds barriers.

On May 22, 2020, David Aaker shared these insights with a live audience of 180,000 in India at the MastersSpeak series sponsored by Future Generali, a major India Life Insures Company.  To learn more about creating subcategories that drive uncommon growth at a time of disruption, pick up a copy of his new book, Owning Game-Changing Subcategories: Uncommon Growth in the Digital Age. It is available wherever books are sold.      

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As the world moves through the pandemic, marketers must stay alert to the zeitgeist. Many of these changes–especially the need for human connection,, the search for meaning and comfort with the ramped-up pace of change–will be with us for some time. Brands should respond accordingly.

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5 Questions on Culture Transformation

Key insights on developing and maintaining the best roadmaps for cultural transformation.

Recent world-altering shifts have led to a spotlight being put on organizational culture. As many look to build the cultural resilience needed to help accelerate transformation efforts, Bernhard Schaar, Associate Partner, talks to Helen Rosethorn, Partner and Co-Lead of Prophet’s Organization & Culture practice to understand how organizations might best focus their efforts supported by insights from the practice’s latest global research.

1. What is the model or methodology you use when approaching cultural transformation work with clients?

No matter how digitally-driven an organization may be, it is still human. And for sustained and impactful transformation to happen people must change what they do in a sustained and impactful way. Two years ago, we designed the Human-Centered Transformation Model to reflect this core belief.

Just like a human, all organizations have  DNA – the coding that guides it, be that purpose, values, brand or strategy. It also has a Soul – these are the rituals, symbols and behaviors that reflect the beliefs of the organization. It has a Mind – which are the capabilities required to enable it to operate – such as talent and learning to ensure the organization has the skills and expertise to deliver on its goals. And it has a Body – and by this, we mean the operating model and organization design that directs its operations – translating into processes, systems and aspects of governance.

This thinking has helped a lot of our clients grasp that culture needs to be understood as a holistic ecosystem and successful transformation today requires leaders to think about every aspect of this ecosystem.

2. Transformation can be daunting. Where should organizations start when it comes to cultural transformation and driving this change?

In our research last year, (‘Catalysts: The Cultural Levers of Growth in the Digital Age’) we spoke to business leaders to understand WHAT aspects of culture are critical to successful transformation in the digital age. This year, our actionable global report outlines the HOW –how and where to focus efforts in order to power transformation from the inside out.

“No matter how digitally-driven an organization may be, it is still human. And for sustained and impactful transformation to happen people must change what they do in a sustained and impactful way.”

We have identified four pathways of change, which are designed to help leaders understand their “starting point” in the Human-Centered Transformation Model based on their perceived immediate need for transformation. We were being asked this key question over and over again: where should I start? So, the pathways are there to provide a perspective for executives to identify exactly where. There are two things to flag though. Firstly, organizations often focus on where it is “comfortable” to start within their cultural context to activate change – that might not mean it is the right place to start. For example, there are organizations where a “comms” focus seems the natural way to kick off change because it feels logical to have everyone “in the know” but very little of substance happens beyond that and change efforts run out of steam, nothing is “landed”. Secondly, even if you start for example with enabling the transformation through a focus on talent systems because you identify that this is what may be holding you back, you still need to consider the whole of the Human-Centered Transformation Model to build sustained and real change.

3. Is there any area of the Human Centered Transformation Model that should be prioritized over others?

If there is one that is more critical than another it is DNA – if you do not define the change and align on what that means, then you have a “hole below the waterline” from the get-go.  Even if it is a small hole it will come back to haunt you.  What is particularly interesting in relation to this is the emergence of the Transformation Management Office (TMO) in service of both the ambition and the roadmap to get there. The report sets out compelling data about the organizations that achieve greater transformational success through setting up a dedicated TMO.

4. What are your three key takeaways from this year’s report?

  • There is no silver bullet – I can’t reiterate this enough. To achieve effective transformation, you need to align the whole Human Centered Transformation Model
  • Select the right starting point – as the pathway focus reveals, selecting the right starting point drives real progress.
  • Harness the many different voices – if you need to elevate one leadership behavior that will serve you well to add value to your transformation then it is the ability to harness the “employee voice” of your organization. By this we mean enabling the ideas, opinions and feedback of everyone at every level of the organization. Deep cross-functional collaboration and engagement are required to make transformation work.

5. What impact has COVID-19 had on cultural transformation and on the findings of the Catalysts in Action research report?

COVID-19 is accelerating existing transformation ambitions for many organizations or forcing a reinvention for others, and every shade in between. It also obviously adds complexity because right now nothing is certain, there is a two-speed transformation going on – or maybe better expressed as a transition and a transformation happening at the same time.  One would be hard enough for any organization to manage but two speeds of change is particularly challenging. However, in the current context, change cannot be considered in an isolated way.

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We are in a place where transformation is not a “private thing”. It is playing out right now across the stakeholder ecosystem of every organization – and that brings with it a whole new level of responsibilities starting with employees and the way transformation in particular plays out for them. Fielding our research in the midst of COVID-19 in certain markets and on the brink in others actually reinforced the validity of the levers we outlined in our 2019 report and we, therefore, believe the results would have been the same even if the circumstances were different.

Interested in learning more?

Download Prophet’s 2020 global research report: “Catalysts in Action: Applying the Cultural Levers of Transformation”.

Watch the replay of the webinar, in which the study authors discuss the key results of the report.

If you would like to learn more about how you might shape your culture to thrive on change and accelerate transformation then contact us today.

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Rethink Luxury – 7 Actions for Luxury Brands to Accelerate Growth Post-COVID-19

Today’s success stories are using direct-to-consumer thinking, surprising partnerships and new data strategies.

How digital transformation and COVID-19 are forcing the luxury industry to accelerate its transformation efforts and shift toward a new set of values and behaviors.

Building Resilience in Luxury is Both a Marathon and a Sprint

Luxury brands have long been masterful in building strong customer loyalty – many have even built a legacy through loyalty – offering more than just products, the values they embody differentiate them from their competitors and help customers to identify more closely with them while also establishing that elusive emotional bond.

And with COVID-19 putting an abrupt halt on many non-essential sales, the luxury industry should prepare itself by anticipating the societal and economic shifts that may well affect consumer sentiment and behavior. Particularly, if customers start to favor more sustainable and responsible consumption.

Now, more than ever, a luxury icon – like any other brand – needs to adapt, stay curious and constantly be looking for ways to exceed the expectations of its customers. In order to steer that effort, we put together seven actions luxury brands should take now to protect and accelerate their growth:

1. Revisit the Core

How relevant is your core DNA? Does it still evoke the same desire it once did? Have you stayed true to it and ensured your purpose – your reason for being – still resonates and holds strong in the modern age? Think of the stories you are telling, the themes that you associate yourself with. After a longer period of success, a unique heritage often gets cluttered by opportunistic moves and messages. Focus on what makes you strong and let go of the unnecessary noise. And it is not about a new logo, go deeper, find your guiding star, the differentiating quality that guided your previous success.

2. Define and Listen to Your Audience

This should actually be pretty easy because it is by definition a very limited amount of people, right? Unfortunately, the importance of product and service design still sits higher than market insights for luxury brands, lagging behind the approach taken by the FMCG industry with leading brands like P&G and Unilever placing higher importance on qualitative and quantitative customer insights.

Remember, what you offer is exclusive yet attainable and attractive to your target audiences – a group of individuals with unique and specific needs and expectations. Imagine their dreams, think in their context. What is driving those individuals or cohorts? You might apply your very own micro-segmentation, leaving standard sociodemographic or maturity segmentations behind. Take regional specifics into account and make sure that it’s not just a gut feel, but rooted in evidence. When have you last discussed and agreed on two to three core personas to inform your actions? Be sure to install the right antenna for market developments. Do not only try to envision future needs, look left and right to learn from the best. In the end, it is the combination of creative potential and insights that leads to the new edge.

3. Think Direct to Consumer (DTC) First

Luxury brands cater to a select number of clients, so why leave the relationship to intermediaries? Even if those third parties are meticulously curated, you will never be able to collect the entire customer feedback if you are not dealing directly with those individuals. Only that direct response assures you have your finger on the pulse of the market, both to adapt the products but also the service that complements the overall experience. Of course, you want to increase reach, but new business models allow for direct interaction even from afar. Imagine what you can do with the increased intelligence. E-commerce still has a way to go in luxury having been discussed for years and implemented rather hesitantly because of concerns in translating the authentic luxury experience in the digital realm. But concepts and technologies are developing fast and the traditional role of partners and channels are blurring. Accept that going DTC is a joint endeavor and will not be perfect from the start.

The fastest-growing brands like Chrono24, Chronext (watch platforms) or Tesla and Polestar in the electric mobility space are eliminating the middle man. Richemont was pioneering e-commerce with NET-A-PORTER and MR PORTER and they learned their way through, now also partnering with Alibaba’s Luxury Pavilion –  further pushing its Asian exposure. In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, even Patek Philippe has allowed their authorized dealers to offer their watches online. Watches & Wonders, the Geneva watch fair with a strong Richemont backing, swapped to a virtual-only conference in just a few weeks. Everybody accepted it wasn’t perfect, yet still, it was a blast.

4. Curate the Experience

To provide luxury at scale, you need to tell memorable stories and be able to duplicate experience standards. Selecting and developing the right context and platforms has become as important as curating the living ecosystem. Doing all that without clearly defined experience principles? Impossible. Navigating through the ever-increasing stack of platforms? Necessary! For example, the meticulously curated Las Vegas resort The Cosmopolitan seamlessly integrates stories, guests, platforms and social media to continuously learn and adapt to changing needs and trends. Also, the auction houses like Phillips and Sotheby’s are masters in curation. The sale of the Rolex Paul Newman Daytona was a benchmark example of curation, storytelling, partnership and as a result, was also a game-changer for the whole auction industry.

Pick your core relationship platform – this might very likely be your website – impart your DNA and focus on your audience by constantly refining the platform. Again, make sure you understand every single move of your audience. There are plenty of tools out there to help you understand and optimize. And remember, the most successful luxury brands are not necessarily the most advanced in digital technologies, but they learned to curate an exceptional experience across platforms and channels. They tell the best stories and those stories can live in all formats.

5. Combine Intuition with Hard Data

For centuries, those in the know were able to better serve the needs of the demanding. That has not changed. Nowadays, each and every individual is expecting nothing less than a perfect personalized experience. Data collection has gone way beyond retailers with transaction and credit card data. Loyalty programs and search behaviors are now used to complement the data set and social media is increasingly used to contextualize this data. Despite a reluctance or even allergic reaction, to giving away more intimate data, luxury clients expect you to understand and anticipate what they want, tailoring offers and solutions that will seduce them and lock them into your own proprietary ecosystem. Having the right data strategy in place to combine demographic, transactional and behavioral data has become as necessary as having a content strategy. Leveraging your expertise and intuition with a new set of quality data allows you to anticipate the upcoming moves and outmaneuver the competition.

“Having the right data strategy in place to combine demographic, transactional and behavioral data has become as necessary as having a content strategy.”

The hospitality and travel industry has a longstanding experience with their loyalty programs like Bonvoy by Marriott or Miles & More by Lufthansa. They combine guest insights with agile processes to come up with unique propositions that increase loyalty way beyond awards. Similar to the FMCG brands on customer insights, the luxury industry can learn a lot from the Amazons in the West and the Alibabas in the East when it comes to collecting and using data. Imagine where Rolex, Patek Philippe or Audemars Piguet could go if they leveraged their already rich data set that they collected with their product and client register by enhancing the data quality and using the insights to have a deeper, more direct interaction with their loyal following.

6. Grow with the Right Partners

Partnering along the brand experience has become another high-performance discipline. Originally something that goes back to the Fifties and Sixties, when luxury distributors like Asprey, Cairelli, Tiffany or Beyer were double signing with Rolex, Patek and the likes, new technologies and new consumer generations are supercharging partnerships. Dealers, ambassadors, authorities, celebrities, influencers, brand partners and many more specialized partners are involved to deliver that high-end curated experience. And it’s not just about the next transaction, it’s about creating stories and experiences that you would simply not be able to deliver on your own. It is now widely accepted to collaborate along any step of the experience chain, from comms to product to after-sales and, of course, also in the wider ecosystem of any brand experience. Your customers don’t care whether you do everything by yourself, they just expect the perfect experience from your brand. Lately, fueled by social media, the trend of co-branding has again proved to be a successful way to expand into new segments or reposition your core, like Louis Vuitton with Supreme, Caran d’Ache with Paul Smith or Rimowa with OFF-WHITE. Collaborate with the best.

7. Be bold, stay focused and stick to your plan

Your marketing budget is limited, so be focused. Stick to who you are and whom you are catering for. What is the content that inspires your demanding clientele? Where do they indulge, how do they escape and feel good? Where do you touch them, what are the right messages? Besides extreme value creation, it is also about the right voice and tone at the right time – always like ‘a first date’. Have a clear plan, stick to it, be creative, surprise! And remember, you got rid of a lot of clutter in the first place, do not add any unnecessary noise now. You cannot and you do not want to please everybody. Stay focused.

It was a brave decision by the Swiss watch brand Breitling to reposition and also to step out of the traditional watches & jewelry fairs. Investing more in its own innovative global experience platforms. Launching a new collection via webcasts was obviously also a lucky decision, now that everybody struggles to go virtual at high speed.

The car industry is struggling a bit here. New electric vehicle concepts for example are only very slowly getting traction. BMW, a bold inventor with the presentation of the i3 series concept at IAA in 2011 was not really able to sustain the momentum and stay ahead of the competition, Tesla was.

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FINAL THOUGHTS

Get serious about taking a stand and nurture the new luxury. Conspicuous consumption goes out of favor and we’re witnessing a call for a new, silent, meaningful and humble approach to luxury. We saw that trend growing long before COVID, but the crisis has definitely served as an accelerator. Purpose and experience rather than prestige and status are set to take precedent. Removing consumer guilt, living ethically and leaving a positive mark instead of excessive consumption.

But again, always link your activities to your customers’ needs and expectations. Your targets are shifting too, increasingly from emerging markets, female and younger audiences. What will the increasing dominance of Chinese consumers mean for your value proposition?

Now is the right time to pause, re-adjust, focus and then accelerate with a refined proposition. In the end, it is about creating something that we have not imagined before. Something luxuriously new.

Our experts are happy to share more insights on how the current situation impacts the luxury sector and what businesses need to do next. Reach out today!

This article was co-authored by Roland Ott, an expert in Luxury Brand Management. He was part of the successful growth teams at the Richemont Maisons IWC Schaffhausen and Roger Dubuis and the relaunch of Carl F. Bucherer in Brand, Marketing & Communications Management. He is an Alumni of the University of St. Gallen and the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

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REPORT

Post-COVID Shared Spaces: From Response to Reimagination

Shared spaces need to be reimagined. Here’s how to deliver thoughtful experiences and services.

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COVID-19 has changed our perceptions of physical spaces. It has caused an upheaval in how we work, shop, interact with one another and so much more. But as society re-opens, we need to move past the short-term “fixes” that many essential businesses introduced during the onset of the crisis and think about the long-term implications of what comes next.

Businesses and brands need to understand what are and what will be, the drivers of customer behavior in this next period so that they can reimagine their experiences and services to deliver against them. Without question, digitally-enabled experiences will play a major part of the “new possible” and brands need to respond and prepare their organizations today.

Read our guide to learn:

  • What does the “new possible” look like and how to accelerate transformation
  • Where to start and what are the steps required to develop the right strategy and new experience principles
  • What are the next generation experiences that will define how to operate effectively in this new environment

Download the report below.

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WEBCAST

Culture as a Catalyst: Power Your Organization’s Transformation

Cultural resilience is a learned skill. We’ll show you which levers to pull to effect meaningful change.

59 min

Watch the webinar replay for advice on where and how you might focus your efforts to build the cultural resilience needed to drive your company’s transformation forward. Slides from the webinar are available here.

The research report – “Catalysts in Action: Applying the Cultural Levers of Transformation” – that informed this webinar session can be downloaded here.

If have any questions or would like to learn how our Organization & Culture practice helps clients identify a clearer path to a cultural transformation that thrives on change and powers growth, contact us today.

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Prophet’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

We’re working to diversify and educate our team, pledging $4 million to create a more just world.

We were overwhelmed, in the best way possible, with the discussions we had within Prophet to do more and better in the face of systemic racism, particularly as it impacts the Black community in the US.  When it comes to making Prophet a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace, the hard work – the intensive transformational work – lies ahead. Our first step is to make a set of specific and measurable commitments as a firm. 

These are Prophet’s commitments to promote racial and social equity both within our firm and our broader communities. 

1. Diversify Our Firm  

Bring in Black team members across every level of the firm. From Board members to partners to consultants, with goals set starting in 2021.

2. Bring in External Expertise

Hire a DEI-specific recruiter in 2020 and a global head of DEI by 2021.  

3. Focus on Education

Develop firmwide training programs focused on antiracism, micro-aggressions, inclusivity and bias. This includes a suite of ongoing training and learning opportunities to further understanding, education and dialogue on issues of diversity and belonging. These global initiatives will be designed to ensure the ability of our teams to launch and participate in self-identifying affinity groups.

4. Support Racial Justice Externally

Commit over $4 million of pro-bono hours over the next five years, to organizations committed to racial justice.

We are committed. We are dedicated. We are ready. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

We are just as passionate about growing our people as we are about growing our clients’ businesses, and we’ve long been committed to welcoming the entire person to work every day. We know we need to do more encourage and amplify the voices of all employees. We continue to strive to be fearlessly human and unexpectedly irreverent, welcoming the entire person to the office every day.

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COVID-19 Silver Linings: Awakening a Culture of Humanity

Finding meaning in pandemic paradoxes is awakening empathy and authenticity.

I am generally the type of person who naturally seeks to find a silver lining in times of stress and change. When the pandemic disrupted our personal routines and business norms, I very much enjoyed the initial creative flurry of activity as everyone designed a new version of themselves for the world of remote work: where they were going to sit at home, what they would wear, and what background they were going to use (real or virtual).

Any bursts of optimism, however, were clouded by the ever-present anxiety about a future to be defined by what we were losing: the ability to see each other in 3D, shake hands, or embrace. What has surprised me most is how the enforced use of technology in our world of isolation has coaxed out more of our humanity at work.

1. Our whole selves on display. All day.

A decade ago, the poet David Whyte wrote of the sad state of arriving at work, parking our cars and cracking our windows as we headed inside. The real reason we left our car windows cracked, he observed, was so that we didn’t suffocate our souls left behind in our vehicles as we assumed the shadow versions of ourselves which we show at work.

In a world where video conferencing quickly became de rigueur, we were forced to confront others as they truly are and to share a fuller view of ourselves in return. While most have now learned it’s healthy to go camera off from time to time, our insights from our collective period of voyeurism remain.

2. More empathy. More authenticity.

Not all opportunities to connect are truly embraced in our workday world. When COVID lockdown began, the standard obligation to inquire about each other’s well-being was still mostly habitual, not genuine. However, living through tough times together can nurture mutual respect in the understanding that it is ok to admit we are not always at our best. Sharing our raw emotions broke our routines and deepened our abilities to care for each other authentically.

3. More distance. More trust.

As is true in crisis, we bond against a common threat. This rallying together against the common enemy of the coronavirus has forced us to let go of some of our preferences, especially those ways that help us feel in control. With leaders being stretched with so many more critical decisions than before, they are learning they must trust in the decision-making of others. As one of our Prophet leaders observed about the process of letting go, “Perfection is the enemy of ‘good enough.’ And good enough might not include my favorite idea or personal stamp.”

4. Deeper relationships. Enriched collaboration.

The traditional centering of collaboration around functional expertise inadvertently narrows diversity of thought by pre-determining who is in the room. A broader understanding of our colleagues reveals valuable passions and skills that may not be indicated by a job title. As we learn more about each other through these new windows into each other’s lives, we let go of pointless preconceptions and improve our work together.

“Living through tough times together can nurture mutual respect in the understanding that it is ok to admit we are not always at our best.”

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FINAL THOUGHTS

Relieved of our former fixed routines, we have no choice but to embrace a willingness to learn and adapt. Whether learning a new role, a new aspect of our current role, accommodating radical shifts in our business models, we are invited (read forced) to learn at a new scale and speed. As I look for the silver lining in the face of disruption that I never wanted, it seems entirely possible that a growth mindset will be the legacy of this pandemic. And I relish the idea that COVID-19 might serve as a catalyst for increasingly authentic, human-centered cultures in business.

If you have any questions or would like to learn how our Organization & Culture practice helps clients to build resilient cultures that thrive on change and accelerate transformation then contact us today.

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Meet Dency Cheng

Winner of our “Propheteer of the Year” award talks about openness, agility and empathy.

Dency quite literally stumbled upon Prophet. One day, when she was visiting Hong Kong University of Science and Technology’s MBA office, she spotted an ad for a part-time job analyzing Prophet’s signature global report, the Prophet Brand Relevance Index. She applied, and the rest is history. The following summer she interned at Prophet’s Hong Kong office, where she dove right into project experiences with the co-workers she now considers a second family.

An experienced problem-solver with a collaborative approach, Dency is a key player in our newest office in Singapore. As an Engagement Manager, Dency focuses on building meaningful relationships with her clients, helping them achieve success in their roles while bringing ideas to life through pilot test-and-learn and execution.

Dency’s impact at Prophet has not gone unnoticed. She was honored with the coveted “Propheteer of the Year” award at the annual Aaker Awards ceremony – our annual global employee recognition awards. Learn more about Dency…

How do you describe Prophet’s culture to your friends?

Prophet’s culture is very open, nimble and entrepreneurial. I’ve met so many people with unique backgrounds, talents and perspectives across Prophet. There’s great flexibility at work, with ample opportunities to travel. Speaking up is highly encouraged regardless of seniority and everyone is treated as a valuable member of the Prophet family.

What’s one piece of professional advice that has stuck with you most?

“Be the kind of person who can put yourself in someone else’s shoes and understand something not just from your own perspective but from theirs as well.”

“She was honored with the coveted “Propheteer of the Year” award at the annual Aaker Awards ceremony – our annual global employee recognition awards.”

What has been your biggest challenge since starting at Prophet? How did you get through it?

One of the biggest challenges I faced was being tasked with turning around a sizeable project that was not delivering to client’s expectations. It was truly a “sink or swim” situation. Within the first day, I had to quickly organize and prioritize key tasks, ask for additional resources and divide key deliverables into manageable pieces to be socialized with the client. Thankfully, the Prophet team was very supportive with an “all-hands-on-deck” approach. In true Prophet fashion, we did it, together, and the client was impressed with the work we were able to deliver within a short timeframe.

If you could call yourself five years ago, what would you say? What if you could call 10 years into the future?

If I could call myself five years ago, I would thank myself for following my heart and taking the leap of faith to leave my comfort zone. I had been working at the Monetary Authority of Singapore for the first five years of my career then. While I was satisfied in my job, I was eager to try something new though I wasn’t sure what I really wanted to do. So I went to business school where I discovered a world of opportunities and had the time to reflect on my purpose in life. I came across an opportunity to spend my summer interning at Prophet Hong Kong and the journey has since been exhilarating and rewarding.

If I could call 10 years into the future, I would congratulate myself for getting through the “toughest” decade of growth and remind myself to keep having a learning mindset while staying true to my purpose and values as I gain new experiences.

You’ve taken the time to meet the rockstars behind our work. Now, how can we help? Let’s chat.

FINAL THOUGHTS

We are just as passionate about growing our people as we are about growing our clients’ businesses. We encourage our employees to be fearlessly human and unexpectedly irreverent and motivate employees to think freely. From novice interns to seasoned executives, we all contribute to the transformative thinking that our clients crave.

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