Here’s a ringside view of a few key bouts in this supposedly mortal combat..
The Obituary specialists: Declaring the death of everything!
Seeing the glee with which marketers declare the death of everything, big and small, it is surprising that there is very little creativity displayed in writing obituaries! This ought to have been a major area of creative expression.
Let us now occupy ringside seats and witness a few key bouts in this supposedly mortal combat:
Brand vs. e-commerce
The internet has opened up access for consumers. Since product availability is now beyond brick and mortar, everyone has a full range of choices. It is therefore reducing the dominance of the established branded options. Hence, established brands will get beaten is the conclusion.
But, hyper-availability is not poison. It is a potion for brands. Amazon monetises access to first page and promotions more than anyone else. Big brands will rule ecomm.
Brand vs. the surge in consumer ratings
The heralds of death assert that soon no one will need brands since there is aggregated, first-hand information readily available. Consumers can now easily find objectively comparable data online. This is true and irrefutable. But, consumers’ decisions are not driven by rational arguments. Brands exist because they are more than their specifications. Functionally most brands of a certain level deliver alike. Had this logic been true, critical reviews would have made a Bollywood star and created box office success. Regrettably, we know that is not the reality.
I am not suggesting that a brand can win even with a consistently inferior product. But brands with superior equity can win even with parity performance.
Brand vs. a declining relevance of advertising
The most imbecile straight lined argument claims that the death of advertising effectiveness will finish off brands. The cash reserves of Google and Facebook are enough to clarify that advertising isn’t dying.
And when did God say that brands cannot find other ways to market themselves? Advertising existed all through the growth of consumerism but it is not the ‘be all and end all’ of brand building. Brands will outlive advertising as we know it.
Brands vs. AI
Lastly, the most credible and attention worthy declaration is that “AI will change the consumer interaction with brands starting right from discovery”. It implies that consumer sovereignty is dead and now such choices will be automatically made for them. I appreciate there are more category shoppers than brand buyers. But discovering, experiencing and preferring one brand over the other is the substrate on which the entire edifice of marketing is built. The most trusted brands are mass brands.
Conclusion
Brands are not dying. The reasons that motivate brand pundits to make such a claim are purely selfish. They want to profit from the panic.
Death is change and the birth of something stronger and better.