BSBI Future Lab: Decoding Brand Marketing in 2024 Global Environment
BSBI Future Lab is a venue and platform established at the Berlin Alte Post campus in the spring of 2023, with the purpose of envisioning the future for brands and branding in a sustainable world. Acting as a brand marketing agency, it connects brands with the BSBI community to develop business ideas and ad campaigns using contemporary tools such as AI, with a futurist vision aimed at creating a more sustainable world.
Led by Dr. Gemma Vallet | BSBI Faculty and experts, BSBI Academic Initiatives | Empowered by BSBI Chief Academic Officer Prof. Dr. Kyriakos Kouveliotis
On 9 February, the ‘Decoding Brand Marketing‘ event wrapped up major trends that are impacting and redefining the way brands and marketing are evolving marked by: cost of living, climate crisis and a conflicted world.
Organisations worldwide are undergoing a paradigm shift in their approach to brand and marketing strategies. Faced with rapidly evolving consumer preferences and digital advancements, businesses are reevaluating traditional methods and embracing innovative approaches. The rise of progressive social channels, influencer marketing and AI has led to a more dynamic and interactive brand landscape. As a result, companies are increasingly focusing on building authentic connections with their audience while leveraging technology to drive brand relevance and engagement.
The guest speaker for the event, Farzana Baduel, is the CEO and co-founder of CURZON PR agency. Ms. Baduel is a multi-awarded PR professional, a pioneer as a businesswoman and has received major recognitions in the industry of public relations and communications. She is a trustee and serves on the board of the British Asian Trust, founded by King Charles III to tackle poverty in South Asia. Ms. Baduel shares her time and expertise with not-for-profit organisations on a voluntary basis. She believes in the power of storytelling for the good.
Several interesting discussion points were brought up during the session. BSBI Global MBA students, Pablo Gonzalez, Achraf El Yemil, Kate Petrova and Dmitri Shiriaev participated in the panel and Q&A.
Unemployment and the ‘Quiet Quitting’ trend
Guest Speaker, Farzana Baduel shared: “It’s an interesting trend and it’s really made organisations think a lot deeper about internal communications and also about staff engagement. From a lot of the research, what’s come out is when people are quite quitting, it’s not so much that they’re lazy. It’s more that they are not motivated, and they don’t feel a sense of purpose. Research shows that when people are interviewed about how much of themselves, they give to their job, it’s often whether or not they feel that their values are aligned to the values of the organisation. And so, there’s an opportunity for people working in brand and communications to work with organisations to help them articulate their purpose.”
The role of India in our global economy
Ms. Baduel continued: “I’ve been working in India for over 12 years, and I have many clients that are at large conglomerates in India, so I’ve been very lucky to witness the incredible growth of India over the last decade and there are multiple reasons for that growth. I think it’s important to understand that there is this incredible demographic divide in India. When I go there, you can almost feel the energy because there are so many young people that are out there, and they have this incredible sense of optimism that you don’t find in Europe. Some people in Europe feel that the best days are behind them, whereas in countries like India and China, there is a sense of optimism that the best days are ahead, and that optimism fueled with a young population really leads to the sort of energy and the dynamic growth that these countries are experiencing.
The secondary thing that’s quite interesting particularly about India is a diaspora. And what that basically means is the connection between the non-resident Indians as well as the Indian diaspora that are incredibly influential in countries like the US. When you look at the US and you look at tech and big corporate leaders, a lot of them are of Indian origin and that often leads to an additional boost.”
Other Macrotrends
Here’s a summary of the salient points discussed during the panel discussion.
- Gross Domestic Product evolution. The highest GDP per capita levels in 2024 are forecast for the United States, Australia, Germany and Canada due to their diverse economies with strong manufacturing sectors, services and technology that contribute to overall economic growth. But In 2024, India, China and Saudi Arabia will have the highest indicators of GDP.
- The services expected to be more effective in 2024, include:
- Customer Support and Experience: The use of conversational AI and personalized service.
- Omnichannel Support and AI-Driven Services: Customer service trends for 2024 emphasize the widespread adoption of omnichannel support, the precision of AI-powered chatbots, and personalized experiences.
- According to the United Nations, global unemployment will increase in 2024. Over half of the world’s workforce is without a job and there are big disparities between higher and lower income countries. While the jobs gap rate in 2023 at 8.2 per cent in richer nations, it stood at 20.5 percent in poorer countries.
- For 2024, inflationary pressures are expected to ease and return to pre-pandemic levels.
- In climate crisis, there is much to do because there is no planet B.
“It was such a pleasure to participate in the panel. The students are incredibly insightful, and I learnt an awful lot from listening to their presentations.” Farzana Baduel, CURZON CEO | Chart. PR, Hon FCIPR, FCIM