Dyson, Samsung and Google have topped a list of the most agile brands in Australia, conducted by Landor Associates, but local brands need to “embrace risk” if they want to lead in the age of disruption.
That’s according to the study which compiled the most agile brands globally and by country. Globally, Samsung topped the pile, while on the Australian list, Dyson was named the top brand.
In Australia, brands including LinkedIn, Mastercard, BBC, Toyota and Domino's all appeared on the top 10 list of brands. But the only two Australian brands to make the ranking were Telstra and Commonwealth Bank at numbers seven and nine, respectively.
Landor Associates executive director of strategy, Simon Bell, told AdNews that while many brands are eyeing riskier and more agile strategies, it's often difficult for these ideas to move beyond the planning stage.
He said as branding experts, it’s the industries job to help these brands “embrace risk” and be more innovative.
“It’s a difficult conversation because brands are wanting to do stuff and be on the new horizon of things,” Bell said.
“You come in and have these conversations with them and it quickly comes back to the status quo. It’s our job to help them see the opportunity that comes from embracing this risk and taking advantage of what is there.”
To undertake the research, Landor used a database of consumer and perception data called the BrandAsset Valuator, coupled with survey respondents.
It found that agility stems from a prevailing factor - the ability to be leading in a category while still being true to what the brand stands for. Within that there are six traits of agile brands: principled, adaptive, responsible, multi-channel, global and open.
Bell said Australian brands aren’t “embracing those characteristics in consistent enough ways” which is why only two made the top 10 list.
Landor Associates Sydney managing director Dominic Walsh said as technology and globalisation shifts, the importance of brands being global has increased in significance when it comes to agility.
“If you look at the top 10 Australian brands in the Australian market 10 years ago there were a lot more Australian brands in there – but that’s changed with technology and globalisation,” Walsh said.
“The world has changed. It’s no longer a case of it just being geographic in terms of the brands you like, but it’s global. There is a greater tendency for us to like brand from anywhere because we’re interconnected.”
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