Thinking ahead for the brand: shaping the future instead of just passing it on.

Many companies treat their brand like a valuable heirloom - something to be preserved rather than developed. But if you want to shape the future, you have to understand the brand as a living system that is constantly renewing itself through the interplay of management, culture and strategy. The generational change in particular determines whether a brand becomes a bearer of relevance or a relic. This article shows how companies can actively shape change through a clear "why", a sharpened "what" and a lived "how" - and thus create brands that provide orientation , promote innovation and develop long-term appeal.

Courage for renewal!

Many companies treat their brand like a valuable heirloom: they look after it, nurture it and keep it as unchanged as possible. However, brands must constantly evolve - and even more so when they take on new management responsibilities. At this point, it is not only the omnipresent events in the market environment with the latest technologies and changing customer needs that are relevant, but the company itself also plays a decisive role - from structures and processes to culture and leadership. A brand that is merely passed on without actively adapting to internal changes and external market impulses will inevitably lose its appeal.

Our experience shows that relevance cannot simply be handed over. Every generation of management and employees has to create it anew - in interaction with changing market conditions, technological innovations and customer requirements as well as changes in organization and management. Authenticity does not mean standing still; loyalty to the brand essence must not slow down innovation. Leadership means thinking ahead. Brands need designers, not administrators. If you want to shape this change, you need more than selective measures. Brand thinking is an integrated principle that combines three closely linked perspectives - and is particularly crucial when the market environment changes and the management changes as a result. The focus is on the "why" - the question of the overarching purpose and the future reason for the brand's existence. Particularly in the case of a generational change, it is important to redefine what the brand should stand for in the future in a rapidly changing environment. This is the only way to develop resilient visions of the future: scenarios of how business models, target groups and technologies could develop over the next five to ten years - an indispensable basis for investment and innovation. This is followed by the "what" - the continuous renewal of the brand core. A change in leadership provides an opportunity to review and sharpen the value proposition to ensure that the brand remains relevant in a changing environment: What role will it play for its target groups in the future? What problem does it solve better than others? This is complemented by the "how" - the way in which attitude and values are reflected in leadership, culture and working methods. The organization can only successfully cope with internal and external changes if new managers set an example of change and the structures created promote learning and experimentation. In this way, a generational change becomes the starting point for a continuous process of renewal - and a brand becomes a living system that actively shapes its future.

Three fields of action for companies

Those who consistently implement these three perspectives - clarifying the "why" and developing sustainable visions of the future, sharpening the "what" and regularly recharging the brand essence, and strengthening the "how" and empowering the organization - create the basis for sustainable brand strength. In order for these strategic guidelines to produce concrete results , however, specific levers are needed for practical application. We recommend three fields of action that combine brand strategy, leadership and culture and are geared towards sustainable value creation:

1. (Re)developing strategy together

- Shaping management responsibility strategically: Whether it's a generational change, management restructuring or changing market conditions - every change at the top must be reflected in the brand strategy.

- Define future images and purpose: (Re)develop vision, mission and purpose in a collaborative process and thus clarify the overarching reason for the brand's existence.

- Developing next generation leadership: Preparing talented individuals specifically for new responsibilities in order to lead the brand and organization safely through internal and external changes.

2. Preserve the brand identity at its core & update it at the same time

- Clarify core and context: Precisely determine what constitutes the unchanging brand core and where adaptations to new market conditions, technologies and target groups are necessary.

- Renewing the narrative: Further develop the brand story so that it both creates orientation internally and appeals to changing markets and customer generations externally.

- Further develop design and communication: Modernize visual and verbal characteristics to reflect cultural change within the company while responding to external developments.

3. Making culture fit for the future

- Derive and anchor values: Develop shared values and desired behaviors from the vision and mission and bring them to life in everyday life.

- Strengthening a culture of learning and innovation: creating structures that enable experimentation, but also learning from experience and quickly absorbing new ideas.

- Empowering the organization: Shape responsibility and decision-making processes in such a way that proximity to the market and agility become a matter of course.

These three fields form the core of a sustainable transformation process that not only protects brands, but also increases their relevance and appeal.

Culture First - anchoring change in the organization

Anyone who consistently pursues the three fields of action will quickly realize that without a living culture , any strategy remains theory. Brand thinking only succeeds if the organization itself becomes the driver. That's why we say: culture first - strong brands are createdinternally. Before a brand radiates outwards, it must be understood, believed in and livedinternally . This is why brand work is followed by a three-stage internal process of internal anchoring.

1. Understand - explain and communicatevision, mission and brand essence within the company.

2. Believe - create conviction that brand and values provideorientation for all decisions.

3. Live - making values and desired behaviors visible in everyday life.

Only if everyone in the company follows this path can the brand become credible and effective inthe long term.

Summary

Thinking brand forward means not waiting until external market changes or internal upheavals force you to act, but shaping change yourself. Because change happens anyway, and is even inevitable during the generational transition. The question is whether you let it happen or actively manage it. Brand is the central management and leadership tool for this. After all, brand is more than just a name and logo and more than just external communication. Those who understand brand as a strategic instrument can ensure relevance , empower the organization and people and enable growth - not as an additional task, but as an integrated force that connects all areas of the company.

Our message: Brands are not a legacy. Brands are a mission.

So don't wait until the market, technology or internal changes force you to act. Actively shape things - with the brand as your compass and driving force. In this way, every form of change - whether growth, strategic realignment, new technologies or management changes - becomes a new departure and a brand becomes a living system that will remain relevant tomorrow.