In today’s new Social Marketing Landscape – There is growing importance of a Strong Holistic Reputation as a key driver of competitive advantage for companies and their brands.

In today’s Digital + Social Media Democracy – every consumer customer citizen is also a positive or negative influencer. Each consumer citizen has their own audiences and followers.

They can express and share their opinions instantly about companies their leaders their brands and their behaviors.

Reputations can be made or destroyed ” Real Time “.

In this new ”Social Age“ it pays to have a good reputation which becomes synonymous with sustainable growth and a license to operate.

Therefore in this context I  am happy to share with you on behalf of H+K Strategies Athens office a worldwide report “BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands” BrandZ a unique  Global Report conducted by our sister company Millward Brown on behalf of WPP.

The last decade has been a turbulent one which has seen war, natural disaster and financial crises leave no corner of our world untouched. In spite of this disruption, one thing has remained constant: the rise of Brand Value.

By way of a snapshot, the value of all brands has risen 126% over the past ten years, while brand value has risen 14% over the past 12 months for the top 100 brands. Their combined value is now USD 3.3 trillion. The biggest brand – Apple – is worth USD 247billion, while Visa is worth USD 92bn and Coca Cola USD 84bn.

Trends that have driven Brand Value

Consumers demand a quality product at a decent price: this is a given. But at the same time they consider the company’s purpose – its reason for being – and demand that social and environmental objectives are built into the company’s DNA. It cannot be an add-on or merely window-dressing. This holds true for consumers buying products as much as it does for attracting potential employees.

The role of technology is also a thread which runs through the last ten years, and has played a central role in brand-building. Those companies who have been able to make the most of technological advancements – from the development of cloud services and e-commerce, to the ubiquity of Social Media and new publishing models – have profited most.

How to sustain and grow Brand Value

There is no silver bullet, but there are three elements which need to be considered going forwards:

-The highest Brand Values are attained when a clear and compelling brand proposition forms the basis of a Big Idea creative solution.

-The BrandZ report data shows that being different – or offering something new – in a meaningful way accelerates Brand Value growth.

-A high level of trust correlates with high Brand Value. In the Social Media age, this is more important than ever before, and is brought into focus because of the general lack of consumer trust in corporations and institutions which exists today.

We at H+K Strategies Athens believe in the power of purpose to drive Brand Value. Together with performance this drives preference across audiences. Consumers respond to brands that communicate a purpose beyond making money. This is even more marked when we look at the millennials audience. Brand purpose means improving the life of the consumer in some way, and making the world a better place at the same time.

Download  Attached Brandz Report.

Please contact me Petros.Constantinidis@hkstrategies.com

To find out how we at H+K Strategies Athens can help create a sustainable corporate and brand reputation. We will share with you award winning case studies. Also examples of best practices regarding e-crisis management.