Let me tell you a story.
About a saucepan.
To be specific, THIS saucepan.
Bare with.
It may not look like much, but we have a history.
Rewind 21 years ago to that tentative fledging of the nest as I packed up for university. My mum helped me get together the essentials – the sheets, towels, plates, glasses… and this saucepan.
An already old, ombre orange saucepan, nothing wrong with it.
Orange wasn’t THEN my color (how things change).
But it served a purpose. It was like new inside. Built to last.
I gladly took it 300 miles away to its new home in Newcastle, and then to London, and then to Surrey, and then to Essex.
I still have it. This is it.
BUT.
I now have to throw it away.
And it’s made me reflect on this humble object that’s been with me for 21 years.
When I got it, it was actually already 20 years old.
It was a wedding gift for my parents (to match their then orange, brown and fake stone-wall kitchen. Yes, it was the 70’s.)
So it had already had quite a life before me – a busy household of 4 kids, I can’t imagine how many tins of beans, soups and stews had been cooked in it.
And it’s never failed, until recently.
The non-stick coating is flaking, the once pristine orange paint, peeling away.
But the real reason I’m getting rid of it is that we’re going to an induction hob.
It won’t work anymore, for me.
This got me thinking. Obvs, about brand.
Things change, all the time:
Some things change more quickly than others, like social media algorithms, Pantone favored colors, technology advancements, consumer attention spans, and Scott Mill’s cheeks.
Some things change slowly, like buying habits, attitudes toward recycling and the environment, systemic shifts, women’s healthcare priorities (I guess some things don’t actually change at all).
Consider a brand like the saucepan:
Built with purpose, expertise, quality, sold with great intention, fully functioning and a wicked on-trend color.
It was built based on where they were and what they knew – with a long term view in mind of serving the user, turns out to be for over 40 years.
But no one could have necessarily predicted the changes that would come – that orange wouldn’t necessarily be that desirable, or that induction technology would sweep the domestic market and render it obsolete – and the needs of the customer would change so drastically.
Don’t get me wrong, this company has been making adjustments and creating new fancy products ever since, BECAUSE it has had to adapt and change in line with its audience.
It’s had to move with technology, material advancements AND the needs and expectations from the customers. Otherwise it would still be offering the same orange saucepan.
There is great value in creating something that’s built to last, with a long-term view – like brand vision, purpose and mission. But you need to be flexible in that journey.
It needs to stay RELEVANT.
Relevant to the user, to attitudes, to technology, to behaviors, to expectations, to motivations, to societal needs. Future-facing.
What we know today will be rendered obsolete before we know it.
Keep your eyes open, ask questions, do the research, listen, adapt, change.
If you’re feeling you need some support in adapting and being future-facing, I offer a super-flexible Brand Consultancy service – apply today to have a chat.
Don’t be the orange saucepan, although it will always hold a special place in my heart.
Lauren 🌱