Can data help brands and business leaders stay relevant?

Brand reputation is all about relevance, and these days, relevance is fleeting. The world is volatile and unforgiving, which makes brand stewardship not for the faint of heart.

For brands, COVID-19, society’s reckoning with racial inequality, and the chaos of the presidential election have presented the ultimate tests of character. Brands are finding that they have a chance to adapt their tone, take a stand in becoming better corporate citizens, pivot their communications strategies, take better care of their employees and earn attention and affection in new ways.

Two things have been made very clear by the events of the past 10+ months: This is not the time for brands to be silent, and words must be backed by meaningful action. What’s more, for years, we were defined by what we owned, what we drove, what we wore, what we ate. Those ideas are now challenged—along with other symbols we once used to define our place in the world such as nationality, religion and community—because what we buy and the reasons why we work have become extremely fluid.

So, what did we learn, and where do we go from here?