Five Principles For Today’s Retail Branding

Throw out your old retail calendar and start to adopt a new mindset ready for today’s challenges.

What’s happening in the world today:

• Our country is divided more than ever.
• Social issues have become social causes.
• Consumer mindsets have shifted from fear to courage.
• Shoppers expect the brands they support to reflect their ideals.

Here’s what to do about it:

• Assess with purpose: give people reasons to shop rather than excuses to buy.
• Defend with empathy: sale events shouldn’t go against customers’ beliefs or feed people’s fears.
• Differentiate by protecting: identify context rooted in a sense of empathy and purpose.
• Disrupt by fulfilling: deliver to underserved and/or ignored customer mindsets.
• Build with consciousness: be sensitive to icons and symbols that further protection and progress.

Caveat: In order to work, the above principles must reflect your purpose, values, and, most importantly, your operational practices.

Start putting your strategy into action, and let’s work together.