By Holger Ambroselli, managing director, Base One Amsterdam
In The Origin Of The Species, which was published two centuries ago, Darwin said a number of things that brand managers would do well to listen to now.
He coined the phrase ‘survival of the fittest’ to explain that the species that is the best adapted to its environment is the one that will survive. That a species had to ‘be different or die’ is another central tenet of Darwinism. He explained that evolution is mainly driven by relationships, learning, defence and earning.
Such lessons are also applicable to B2B brands. A brand needs to be transparent and adaptable, however, it should never leave its nucleus, which is based on positioning, essence and stories, because these create brand affinity.
When a brand expands into new markets, the core should always remain and be part of it. But the environment of the new market needs to be observed very carefully, in order to be able to adapt the brand strategy and concepts to the new market.
The greatest risk for the adaptation lies in trying to strive for a 100 per cent adjustment. When the brand does not differ from its environment, the brand will not be perceived and thus its existence is threatened. Adaptation should primarily address cultural differences and differences in market conditions, sales mechanisms or customer behaviour.
So what we can learn from Darwin is the fact that brands should never give up their adaptability. Adaptation requires a deep understanding of markets, customers, decision makers and buyers. With that knowledge, the differentiation characteristics must be applied to build a useful, usable and desired brand experience.
Those who want to develop their B2B brand successfully, both on a national or international level, should take another leaf out of Darwin’s book: the ability to observe. It is the outside-in view of a brand that can create the decisive competitive advantage in the future. Certainly this is one of the major environmental changes in the digital age, 200 years after Darwin.
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