hellobrandsoul
- Feb 19
- 4 min read

5 Ways to Keep Your Brand Relevant With Everchanging Trends

The post-Covid era has been a hyper-rapid development of innovation and advancement. At every turn, something new is rising. If you cannot keep up with these everchanging trends, your once-relevant brand will soon be a thing of the past!

So, STOP, READ and DISCOVER how to keep your brand relevant!

Making your brand relevant is not a lot of work, but it is how you work! You have to be careful with your branding and marketing strategies. To help you get ahead of the curve, here are five tips, complete with real-life brand examples, to keep your brand as fresh as tomorrow's headlines.

1. Embrace Change Like It's Going Out of Style

What Works: Have you ever noticed Apple's relentless innovation? From the iPod to the iPhone, Apple has consistently stayed ahead of the curve. They are not just keeping up with trends but setting them. They've made a habit of reimagining and reinventing, ensuring they're always relevant in the ever-changing tech industry.

What Doesn't: Blockbuster's resistance to digital. Clinging to their brick-and-mortar rental model, Blockbuster failed to keep up when streaming services like Netflix entered the scene. The result? A journey from industry leader to a cautionary tale of obsolescence.

Take Action:

Don’t turn a blind eye to emerging trends that threaten your business.
Don’t wait to figure out what the audience wants.
Create the need and then cater to that need of the market.
Don’t just follow the trend, be the trendsetter!

2. Know Your Audience Better Than They Know Themselves

What Works:

Spotify's personalised playlists. By leveraging data analytics, Spotify offers personalised listening experiences, making users feel understood on a deep level. This not only keeps them relevant but indispensable to their users' daily lives.

What Doesn't:

Gap's 2010 logo redesign fiasco. Attempting to modernise their brand, Gap overlooked one crucial factor: their audience's attachment to the original logo. The backlash was swift and merciless, forcing Gap to revert to the classic logo immediately.

Take Action:

Invest in AI and data analytics to know your target audience.
Critically analyse your brand image and brand positioning to cater to your customers.
Do a pilot test and focus group interviews before rebranding.
Use data-driven insights to provide a personalised customer experience.

3. Engage, Don't Just Broadcast

What Works:

Wendy's sassy Twitter presence. By engaging with their audience through witty banter and timely responses, Wendy's has cultivated a brand personality that resonates with the social media generation, keeping them relevant in the fast-food industry.

What Doesn't:

A generic corporate social media account that only posts self-promotional content. This approach fails to engage audiences and can make a brand seem out of touch and irrelevant.

Take Action:

Don’t just make content. Focus on quality and impact.
Build an attractive brand personality that connects with your target audience.
Make content that focuses on consumer’s pain points rather than self-promotions.
Highlight how your brand can help increase people’s quality of life.

4. Sustainability is the New Black

What Works:

Patagonia's commitment to sustainability. By making environmental responsibility a core part of its brand, Patagonia has not only stayed relevant but has also set a new standard in the apparel industry. Now, it appeals to a growing demographic of eco-conscious consumers.

What Doesn't:

Fast fashion brands Shein ignoring sustainability. According to a Forbes article from July 2023, Shein, along with PrettyLittleThing, has faced backlash for its sustainability practices. Brands that fail to address their environmental impact are increasingly seen as dinosaurs by a public that values sustainability, risking irrelevance among a more eco-aware customer base.

Take Action:

Research and understand the correct meaning of sustainability.
Don’t just preach, but practice it!
Implement green concepts in everyday operations, like reduced use of paper, etc.
Initiate community work and volunteer for eco drives.

5. Collaborate to Innovate

What Works:

GoPro's partnerships with athletes and adventurers. By collaborating with users who push their products to the limit, GoPro has managed to stay relevant in a crowded market, showcasing the durability and versatility of their cameras in the most authentic way possible.

What Doesn't:

Kodak's failure to partner in the digital age. By choosing to stick to their traditional film business instead of embracing digital photography, Kodak missed out on opportunities to collaborate and innovate, leading to their decline.

Take Action:

Partner with influencers and celebrities to enhance your brand image.
Try cross-brand collaborations to keep in trend with the market.
Choose like-minded collaborators that match your brand personality.
Do brand research to ensure your partnerships do not contradict your target consumers.

In Conclusion

Image Source: Pexels

Staying relevant in an ever-changing industry is about being as adaptable as water, as insightful as a sage, and as engaging as a storyteller. You have to know your audience better than they know themselves and position your brand in a way that caters to their needs. Keep evolving with new trends to be relevant, but don’t forget your brand’s identity and positioning. Take a leaf out of the book of brands that have mastered the art of relevance. To help you with your branding journey,

we at Brand Soul are always just a click away!

References

#BrandSoulInternational #BrandSoulMalaysia #BrandInsights

5 Ways to Keep Your Brand Relevant With Everchanging Trends

1. Embrace Change Like It's Going Out of Style

2. Know Your Audience Better Than They Know Themselves

3. Engage, Don't Just Broadcast

4. Sustainability is the New Black

5. Collaborate to Innovate

In Conclusion

References

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