After the jaw-dropping interview Scott Pelley had with Google CEO Sundar Pichai on CBS’s 60 Minutes, I realized we are entering a new era of innovation like never experienced before. It’s hard for me to believe, but it is reality. This article may easily have been written by Google’s Bard AI in 10 seconds or less — I will not embarrass myself by revealing how long it took me.
The speed of information assimilation alone implies brand management must find ways to constantly apply new innovative technologies and processes if their brands are to remain relevant. This means brands will need to seek out new benefit categories or define new sub-categories to create competitive separation. Differentiation through brand positioning will grow increasingly difficult as the window of opportunity from “first-mover” advantage shrinks and the speed of “fast-follower” entries increases.
This shorter life expectancy for brands also will accelerate the existing shortened life span of companies. In 1958, the average life span of companies in the S&P 500 was 61 years. Today, the life expectancy is 18 years. And according to McKinsey, by 2027 75% of the current S&P 500 will no longer exist.1
The companies and brands that survive will be those that constantly reinvent themselves. Reinvention means focusing on a process that searches for and explores new ideas, anticipates the needs of core customers, and can see past innovator bias to weed out “losing” concepts from “winning” ideas. In addition, these companies must master the art of educating consumers on the new life-changing benefits of their winning brand concepts.
This means that corporate brand trust will become a significant competitive advantage for introducing and gaining credibility quickly for new concepts. Apple’s entry into banking is a great example of how a highly trusted technology brand has the potential to change the future of the banking industry2. Other companies like Samsung, Google, and IBM have demonstrated the ability to either re-invent or acquire innovations as part of their growth strategies.
The future for brands can be very exciting if management embraces change and a process for introducing relevant innovation to their stakeholder channels and customers. The Bloodhound Group has been evolving its process for identifying and validating new innovative concepts for years. Over the past 4+ years, BHG team members have refined their skills by learning approaches and insights while mentoring aspiring graduate entrepreneurs at N.C. State University’s Poole Graduate School of Business. Let us share our experience and newly gained insights with your company’s new product innovation teams. We look forward to embracing the future with you.
1 Traditional company, new businesses: The pairing that can ensure an incumbent’s survival, McKinsey & Company, June 2019.
2 Why Apple’s Partnership With Goldman Is The Future of Banking, April 24, 2023. Forbes.com