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Strategic brand consulting and design

Landor's 2012 trends forecast: Market trends and their impact on brands

December 06, 2011

It is impossible to talk about branding today without talking about the digital realm. This year all of our
experts discuss how digital relates to their topic. Offline is not an option no matter what your industry.

As we plan for 2012, it's key to keep in mind that while we live in a touchscreen-happy, tuned-in-24/7 world,
the basic principles of branding still apply. Brands must stay true to what they stand for to connect
emotionally with their customers. The tools may have changed but customers remain the same. We asked 11
of our colleagues to make predictions about trends in 2012, and here's what they have to say:

Trends in naming by Jason Bice

Return of the boomers in the U.S. by Susan Nelson
Trends in trending by Karl Isaac
Trends in image sharing by Russ Meyer
Trends in luxury in China by Monica Au
Trends in innovation by Ayo Seligman
Trends in mobile by Felix Stöckle and David Keefe
Trends in on-demand media by Patrick Saunders
Trends in design by Marissa Winkler
Built to change by Allen Adamson

Trends in naming
by Jason Bice

What can we expect to see in

2012?

Expect to see names get more

abstract. There are more than one
million names, taglines, and logos
registered with the United States
Patent and Trademark Office.
Finding a name that is unique,
memorable, and-very important-
ownable has become increasingly
challenging. Names that are coined,
abstract, or arbitrary stand the
greatest chance of clearing the
multiple hurdles involved in the
naming process.

Storytelling will increase in prominence. Coined names come with zero baggage. Unfortunately, they also
come without a built-in meaning. Couple that with brands being increasingly accountable to a very vocal and
socially networked public, and story becomes a crucial part of what a name needs to deliver.

Green nomenclature will decline. Green vocabulary is now so pervasive in product, service, and company
naming that it has become all but meaningless. Being environmentally responsible isn't a "nice to have" any
more-it's a cost of entry. Being green in 2012 is to naming what being "new and improved" was to packaging
copy in the 1970s. It's simply another unquantifiable message that consumers are filtering out.
What are the implications of these trends for brands?

In a word: story. The advent of a consumer public wielding an always-connected, always-on Internet in their
pocket has made most companies realize, if not act upon, the necessity for two-way communication with their
audiences. It's no longer enough for a name to evoke feelings of "that's interesting." Naming today needs to
get people to say, "I want to know more." In order to succeed at selling the best names, naming professionals
also need to create stories that can be tied to a brand promise in a genuine and engaging way. Without the
immediate recognition that descriptive and suggestive names provide, however, the inherent value of an
abstract or coined name can be difficult to socialize-even with the most intrepid of clients. Storytelling is a
powerful tool for "selling in" these types of names, especially when a client's wishlist did not pass preliminary
legal screens.

As for the demise of green names, it's very possible that "blue" could become the new green in 2012.
Internationally, we're already seeing a shift away from green to blue, as Volkswagen prepares to release its
electric vehicle, the Golf Blue-e-motion, and small firms and large B2Bs alike shy away from the perfunctory
green tag when it comes to naming their ecofriendly offerings. Will the blue concept fly? The jury is still out.
However, with corporate citizenship becoming increasingly important to consumers, it's also possible that the
green nomenclature could shift away from chromatic references to ones that communicate social
responsibility.

Which brands will stand out?

Clients that invest in the naming process and give it the time, budget, and research it requires will benefit
from better and deeper naming explorations that truly speak to their brands rather than to product or offering
attributes. Agency professionals who help companies maneuver the complexities of the trademark and legal
screening process will benefit from client trust, which then allows them to push further creatively. And on both
agency and client sides, partnering effectively to balance the creative and the tactical may lead to that most
elusive of victories: a name that is memorable, distinctive, and over time, perhaps even synonymous with
what a company does.

Return of the boomers in the United

States
by Susan Nelson

There are an estimated 77 million of

them in the United States. They
control over 50 percent of
discretionary spending and enjoy 80
percent of all leisure travel. They
represent about 40 percent of
regular Facebookers. But the
percentage of marketers targeting
the boomers? Negligible.

Defined as the generation born

between 1946 and 1964, the
boomers' time may have come
around again as the recession drags on and the unemployment levels of millennials stagnate. Their legacy
of invention and reinvention and unwillingness to accept the status quo leaves them open to new brands,
new products, and new ideas. In 2012 look for manufacturers and marketers to take more notice of the
boomers.

What are the implications of this trend for brands?

While most companies primarily target the sought-after 18-49-year-old market, savvy marketers are starting
to seek segments not already bombarded by marketing messages. With a majority of boomers online,
digitally based organizations such as Encore Careers and Vibrant Nation are creating movements around
pride and contributions to society, while rejecting the gray closet. In its advertising, Coldwater Creek boldly
features mature women flirting and playing. Eileen Fisher shows models with (gasp!) gray hair, and shoe
designers have noticed that boomers have lots of money and sore feet. Even the usually myopic television
programmers are appealing to a boomer audience with Mad Men, The Playboy Club, and Harry's Law. Next
year, look for more products, services, and programs targeted at boomers across all categories.
In addition to those named above, other smart technology, consumer electronics, cosmetics, and social
media brands have already caught on. Yet so many consumer packaged goods (CPG) and media brands
seem stuck in the fallacy that early adopters are all young and cool. They don't get that there are a lot of
boomers with plenty of money to spend.

Which brands will stand out?

Steve Jobs got it: Nothing suits the aging boomer better than the iPhone, the iPad, and the iMac. Prestige,
style, ease of use, and portability-the perfect combination for the boomer who refuses to age. Pixar got it:
The portrait of a long, loving, and loyal marriage that comprises the first 10 minutes of Up spoke directly to
this audience and broadened the film's appeal.

The traditional "senior ghetto" marketers, such as FirstStreet, are redesigning their catalogs and retooling
their brands for a more stylish, energetic image. The Vermont Country Store (catalog and website) cleverly
markets to boomers with a kitschy combination of retro products, humorous writing, and modern
interpretations of traditional favorites.

Start watching for CPG marketers to develop line extensions (and premium price points) aimed at boomers'
desires to stay active. Cosmetics giants such as Olay and L'Oreal will continue to introduce new brands and
really begin to pay attention to the boomer male. More consumer electronics brands could capitalize on
boomers' lack of brand loyalty and entice them with new, convenient features such as more automation,
enhanced video communication, and the allure of a single device that does it all. In the memorable words of
that legendary boomer song: We've only just begun.

Trends in trending
by Karl Isaac

This is the time of year agencies like

ours send out their annual trend
reports, hopefully jam-packed with
valuable insights to help readers
like you better anticipate the future.
One challenge inherent in reports of
this type is that they are published
on an annual cycle, which means
they are out of step with our day-to-
day thirst for timely insights about
trends. In this era of immediate
content creation, discovery,
distribution, and consumption, we're
increasing our reliance on rapid-fire,
timely snippets of information about relevant, real-time topics. I like to call what we're seeing the
"trendification" of trends themselves, and with it appears to be a key shift from trends to trending.

As we look forward, we recognize there will always be value in annual trend reports. They're well researched
and present a depth of information that real-time trending simply can't deliver. But what's increasingly clear is
that the emergence of "what's trending" is itself an upcoming trend impacting what we see (Charlie Sheen's
#winning), what we don't see (#occupywallstreet trending blocked by Twitter), and ultimately how we interact
with content online. Facebook's recent change to feeds organized by top stories instead of recent posts
sparked a controversy, but sent a clear signal that trending is an increasingly significant influencer of user
interaction.

What are the implications of this trend for brands?

It's easier than ever to mine for topics that are on customers' minds. Trendification gives brands immediate
access to global and local consumer sentiment, creating new opportunities for marketing and customer
engagement. Check out what's trending in different local markets with resources like Trendsmap or Topsy,
or within a specific window of time with Trendistic.

Consumers are now hyper-informed, yet the content they are absorbing is highly transitory. The half-life of a
posted or tweeted link lasts
only a couple hours and can span multiple channels. Brands need to learn how to adjust to this rapidly
changing, always in-the-moment transmedia culture.
Trending will start to make its way into product and brand marketing to help drive engagement. We've
already seen trending features in applications like Foursquare that show which venues are popular at the
moment. This is the tip of the iceberg and the next wave of integration will appear in brand marketing
settings. For example, in an attempt to increase its display ad effectiveness, Google integrated a social layer
into its +1 button enabling Google+ users to associate ads they "like" with their profiles. How big of a stretch
would it be to also integrate trending topics that Google+ users are tracking to help increase click-through
rates of ads that map to topical content?

If trendification becomes a dominant model of content consumption, brands need to ask how they can
sustain consumer engagement
in a landscape ruled by transient communication. Brands will need to think creatively about how to pivot and
adapt to real-time consumer conversations and adjust their longer-cycle marketing plans to account for a
much more nimble-and always current-transmedia environment.

Trends in image sharing

by Russ Meyer

Everywhere you turn, people are

taking, tagging, uploading, and
transforming digital photos-andthen
sharing them online with ever-wider
audiences. A staggering 90 billion
images have been uploadedto
Facebook alone.

As photo technology has evolved,

so have the reasons we take
pictures and the uses we find for
them. Being able to take a great
camera just about anyplace has
inspired millions of people to
document and make public more and more aspects of their daily lives, not only the traditional photo op
moments like birthdays and weddings.

What can we expect to see in 2012?

We'll see more brands begin to explore photo sharing at social networks, mimicking the way individuals use
these channels to communicate their ideas and experiences through images. Just as Twitter has spawned a
new verbal marketing language, hot startups such as Pinterest and the iPhone app Instagram are making it
easy for brands to connect visually with consumers online. Powerful photography, long a mainstay of the
auto, fashion, and travel industries, will take center stage for brands large and small as they use their digital
presence to communicate wordlessly with audiences around the globe.

What are the implications of these trends for brands?

For brands, the key to sharing images effectively is point of view. The brand story, the narrative that defines
and expresses a brand to consumers, must be established and then reinforced through image selection, just
as brand voice does through words.

Visual social networks also bring exciting opportunities for brands to differentiate themselves. Threadless, a
maker of customized T-shirts and other paraphernalia, is using an Instagram feed to take people inside its
factory, creating an immediate, personal look at the process behind the product. Even GE has posted
photos with Instagram to give consumers a peek "behind the curtain" at its manufacturing plants and
distribution channels, fostering a sense of intimacy and authenticity rarely seen among corporate giants.

Which brands will stand out?

The big winners in 2012 could be the pioneers who build strong image networks with social channels. Given
the relatively low cost of starting and sustaining a visual stream, we're likely to see more brands dipping their
toes in these waters.

Brands that can harness these emerging social behaviors to their advantage, much the way American
Express did when it partnered with Foursquare to offer special deals, will see breakthroughs in their relations
with the public. To be successful in 2012 and beyond, brands will have to follow the trail blazed by
consumers in regularly sharing relevant images online.

Trends in luxury in China

by Monica Au

What can we expect to see in

2012?

Increased wealth and a resulting

interest in luxury means China will
spearhead the luxury category,
running neck and neck with Japan
as the world's largest luxury market.
National pride and more confidence
in the country's future are fueling
interest in Chinese luxury
indulgences. This coupled with the
Chinese market's quick growth,
diversity, and changing consumer
demands mean big shifts are on the horizon.

Experiences over products. Wealthy Chinese consumers are maturing. Goods alone no longer satisfy
their appetite for a luxurious lifestyle. Increased overseas travel has exposed them to sophisticated brand
experiences that influence their expectations once they return home. These consumers are more inclined to
invest in luxury experiences such as art and entertainment, travel, and wellness activities than they are to
purchase luxury products.

Chinese over global. While infatuation with and appreciation for international luxury brands persists,
Chinese consumers have developed a taste for products specifically designed and made for China. Many
global luxury brands, especially in the fashion category, either incorporate Chinese elements into limited-
edition products or create China-specific brands.

What are the implications of these trends for brands?

In addition to the opportunities for Chinese brands, there are increasing opportunities for well-known
international luxury brands to expand their offers in China. Chinese consumers' quest for luxury experiences
motivates well-known and beloved brands to stretch into new industries, including restaurants, hotels, and
spas.

Deliver excellent service. Luxury brands need to offer a full brand experience to Chinese consumers,
meaning they must focus on delivering not only exceptional products but also excellent service. They must
offer an experience that goes beyond just duplicating the look of an overseas luxury retail environment.
Chinese brands need to create a complete package: the right service attitude, storytelling about the brand's
heritage and value, and a tailored brand expression that's unique
to the China market.

Don't dismiss the online experience. Luxury brands can no longer dismiss the Internet as an effective
way to communicate with and influence consumers. Chinese consumers search online for information and
news about luxury brands, promotions, and offers. They read celebrity blogs and scour social networking
sites for reviews and commentary. While the in-store experience is still the most influential when it comes to
overall brand building and purchase decisions, the Internet is catching up and becoming an effective
touchpoint for influencing wealthy consumers. Newer channels such as iPhone apps provide a fresh,
innovative platform for luxury brands' online marketing. And although e-commerce is still at its infancy for
luxury brands in China, it is crucial for companies to establish their online presence now.

Which brands will stand out?

Brands that have the guts to surprise, delight, and bring unique brand experiences to the market will stand
out. Some brands are already doing it: Diageo masterminded Shanghai White, a vodka created just for the
Chinese market that celebrates, in its brand story, 1930s Shanghai and its long heritage of Chinese distilling
traditions. Hermès launched Shang Xia-essentially the Hermès philosophy expressed as a Chinese brand.
And Kempinski plans to introduce a luxury hotel brand rooted in Chinese elements and aesthetics.
What is the burning question for 2012?

Should global luxury brands localize and possibly risk losing their original niche of being "foreign"?

Trends in innovation
by Ayo Seligman

What can we expect to see in

2012?

Innovation has been a hot topic for

business and brands for many
years. Nearly every brand
positioning strategy I've worked on
in the technology space has some
form of innovation at its core. But as
companies struggle for their share
of the diminishing consumer
pocketbook, innovation is gaining
traction in unanticipated categories.
Innovation is no longer constrained
to the development of new, disruptive technologies and products. And it has stopped being a specialized
practice left to design teams and outside consultants.

Increasingly, companies are reorienting their internal cultures and physical work environments to foster
creative thinking across their organizations. From customer service to reviewing corporate social
responsibility practices, innovation has moved in-house.

What are the implications of this trend for brands?

As companies of all stripes work to integrate approaches like nonlinear thinking, empathy-driven customer
insights, interdisciplinary collaboration, and rapid prototyping, brands will show signs that change is afoot.
We will begin to see innovative ideas coming from surprising industries and unexpected departments. Brands
with a heart of innovation will take more risks, behave more boldly, and become more people-centric.

Think of the beleaguered financial sector. Stigmatized, perhaps indelibly, by the missteps of the mortgage
crisis, these companies need to dramatically shift their thinking to regain consumers' trust. By incorporating a
more empathic view of its customers, an innovative bank could generate-and quickly test-dozens of ideas
that go beyond serving financial needs and create experiences that truly delight. Those experiences will help
the brand stand out in customers' minds.

Not only will a rise in innovative ideas help drive brand preference and grow value across industries, this
trend may also have a surprising consequence: employees may find their jobs are more enjoyable.

Which brands will stand out?

Organizations prepared to use homegrown innovative thinking to modify their behavior or offerings will see a
positive impact on their brands, but it's important to remember the kind of cultural change that promotes
innovation doesn't happen by flipping a switch.

It can take years, even decades, to move a company born of the Industrial Age to prize ideas over products.
Change of this sort requires both a commitment from the top and willingness among the rank and file. Brands
that have a head start, are smaller and nimbler, or have nothing to lose will be those best poised to take
advantage of this trend. Also, corporate and service brands have an opportunity to shift customer
perceptions more quickly than product brands because of the time-to-market issue with any product release.

What is the burning question for 2012?

How can more traditional companies swiftly infuse innovation into their cultures, capitalize on the new ideas
they spawn, and drive an
increase in brand values?
Felix Stockle on smartphones

Almost all of us carry the same

three things: our wallet, our keys,
and a mobile phone. And for a
number of us, that mobile phone
becomes smarter every day.
Smartphones have become an
integral part of our lives. They
connect us to our loved ones
through voice or the latest status
update on Facebook. They also
connect us to the greater world
through real-time news and Google
searches. They even help us shop
our way around the neighborhood,
give us directions to the hottest
nightspots, and entertain us with music, videos, and games. Smartphones are so advanced that someday
soon they may become the only thing we need to carry.

App-savvy smartphones present an exciting new channel for marketers, and bring with them an onslaught of
competitors. The bad news for brands is that customers' attention is becoming much more fragmented. But
there is good news: Even on this new playing field, the same old rules of Branding 101 still apply. As more
mobile apps get released, it becomes critical for a brand to stay at the top of people's minds, differentiated
from the crowd. A lot of today's hottest apps will have disappeared in 10 years' time because they weren't
backed up by strong brands.

Which brands will stand out?

Brands need to take advantage of the mobile functionalities that add value for their customers. Take Amazon
for example. The successful e-commerce giant recently optimized its site for mobiles, added instant mobile
shopping functions, and plans to introduce a mobile device many are calling the only potential iPad killer. So
what's the secret? Amazon adapts its business model to fit the promise of its brand. And, although there may
be better mobile shopping sites, no other owns as strong a brand as Amazon.

What is the burning question for 2012?

Mobile devices add a new dimension to the fight for consumer attention. Will your brand remain the victor?

David Keefe on tablets

The tablet is the first true crossover device for use both at home and out in the world. And brands are
starting to understand the tablet's relevance to retail: Their owners increasingly take them to grocery stores,
pharmacies, and car dealerships.

What can we expect to see in 2012?

Content anywhere. Content brands that allow access from anywhere, such as HBO GO, will gain a definitive
first-mover brand advantage as both a content creator and distributor of premium content. And even though
you probably haven't heard of Synacor, this company stands to prosper too: Its technologies can organize
your content on any media platform, anywhere, providing a medium for the "TV everywhere" movement.

Brand benefits for enabling the mobile marketplace. Brands like Verizon Wireless provide a core technology
ingredient (their networks) that enables the mobile marketplace to function. Getting credit for making
possible this marketplace builds positive perception
of the brands.

New uses for longtime users. The pharmaceutical industry is looking at tablets, which it has been using for a
while now, in a new way. By incorporating tablets into their sales and marketing initiatives, pharmaceutical
companies have started to rethink doctor detailing and the supporting brand communications.

What are the implications of these trends for brands?

Start today. The market is growing rapidly. Brands that capitalize on the opportunities offered by
tablets will have a head start.
 M igrate your audience. Getting your brand's traditional online audience to use tablets may
encourage product purchases and build a loyal community.
Think video. Include video in brand storytelling to bring stories to life for tablet users.
Tablets everywhere. Understand how to integrate tablets into places that intersect with existing
brand touchpoints. For example, many new cars will soon be equipped with tablet-like devices.

What is the burning question for 2012?

To what degree will most content, intelligence, and data move to cloud technology? And will that result in
ubiquitous, supersmart, instant, on-demand offerings for tablets? They said 500 channels were impossible-
we shall see.

Trends in on-demand media

by Patrick Saunders

What can we expect to see in

2012?

When it comes to streaming

content, the lines continue to blur
between "lean-back" TV and "lean-
forward" Internet experiences. An
increasing amount of quality content
paired with a market surge of video-
enabled mobile devices have given
consumers more choice than ever
before as to how, when, and where
they consume content. As they
learn to shift easily between media
experiences, content and convenience will become the major driving factors of consumer choice when it
comes to streaming media.

What are the implications of these trends for brands?

Provider brands need to recognize that content and convenience cannot be mutually exclusive: give us both,
or no deal. As evidenced by the backlash Netflix experienced over the decision to split DVD mail delivery and
online streaming services, consumers are not ready to sacrifice a library of traditional DVD titles for the ease
of instant streaming. And they want to access it via any platform they choose.

Clearly, the company that nails the content and convenience equation will inherit the on-demand video
throne. More likely, however, is that a combination of players will figure it out, providing consumers with a
variety of better options in a market currently permeated by imperfect solutions.

Which brands will stand out?

The past few years have seen a number of alternative TV platforms emerge-Apple, Amazon, Hulu, and
Netflix-while traditional television and cable networks are offering on-demand video services through both in-
box cable services and mobile applications.

Regardless of the platform, consumers will flock to the brands that combine quality content with a convenient
and simple experience. Exclusive and nonexclusive content distribution deals (and in some cases hardware
integration) will be the necessary route for some brands. Others are exploring models that leverage
ownership of both the hardware and the distribution system (as Apple does with its devices). Blu-ray players
and Internet-connected set-top boxes will begin offering even easier access to streaming content, such as a
devoted Netflix button or app for remotes and menus.

Unfortunately, discovering the right mix of platform, technology, and business model may not be enough.
Although many cable television networks hold an advantage in terms of exclusive content, they are
hampered on the device distribution side by existing agreements with cable providers. Take for instance,
HBO GO, the 2010 on-demand service. HBO GO delivers the "when and where" content model, but has
failed to attract consumers desiring the á la carte promise of on-demand video because it's only available to
current cable subscribers. No one cares about a network's legal imbroglios when they want to stream Star
Wars and can't. The message is clear: Give us what we want, when we want it.

What is the burning question for 2012?

Steve Jobs' final project was widely rumored to have been a wirelessly synced TV set with "the simplest user
interface you could imagine." Could a post-Jobs Apple redefine on-demand video just as it redefined the
music industry? And if not Apple, who? For now, we'll just have to wait and stream.

Trends in design
by Marissa Winkler

Looking at an ad on a screen and

holding a letterpress print are
completely different ways of
experiencing design. Drawing your
fingertips across the ridges of an
illustration, seeing the light catch
and throw shadows on the
letterforms, smelling that hint of ink
left behind. A drop shadow is not
the same as a die cut and a silver
gradient is not the sheen of metallic
ink. In other words, touchscreens
don't stimulate our actual sense of
touch. Tactile design produces an
emotional response that many think is missing from digital, and in response some designers are reverting to
a tactile approach. Others, meanwhile, attempt to replicate the experience through digital tools.

What can we expect to see in 2012?

Next year, young designers will push the tactile design trend even further. One to watch is Kyle Durrie, a
letterpress printer from Portland, Oregon, who has made it her personal mission to teach letterpress
techniques from the back of a traveling van (with support from the Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum).
Typographer Jessica Hische is helping connect designers and businesses worldwide with specialty printing
studios through her most recent web project, Inker Linker. One of the groups, Studio on Fire, is a leader in
the letterpress revolution with a mission statement that resounds with the community: to "produce work with a
tactile and distinctively modern edge."

We can also expect to see the convergence of tactile and digital, and for these mediums to interact in new
ways. An exhibition in Chicago this year, "Wood Type, Evolved: Experimental Letterpress & Relief Printing in
the 21st Century," examined the relationship between technology and traditional print methods. The show
was curated in part by Nick Sherman, a typographer who works primarily in web fonts and user-experience
design but also harbors a love for the handmade. Sherman carved and printed eight-foot-tall wood type for
the exhibit. For other brands and designers this convergence means creating faux-tactile design, such as
the textured leather user-interface elements in Apple's recent Find My Friends application. LetterMpress, a
virtual letterpress iPad app, tries to replicate not just the aesthetics, but some aspects of the experience of
printing: Designers can choose and combine "wood" blocks and then "ink" and "print" using their
touchscreens.

What are the implications of this trend for brands?

The tactile trend is an opportunity for brands to connect with consumers on a more sensory and emotional
level. Consumer packaged goods brands have the advantage because their products and packaging are
literally touched and held by consumers. Jack Daniels, for example, completed a project with Yee-Haw
Industries to produce limited-edition letterpress posters. Some of the whiskey was poured into the ink, just to
make it more authentic. Why letterpress posters? Because, in their words, "Yee-Haw makes things the way
they think is best-not the cheapest or fastest way, but with an independent spirit Jack would have been
proud of."

For brands where a literally tactile design solution isn't readily applicable, the question remains: Can faux
tactile elicit the same emotional response? Perhaps in some cases it can. When it can't, there's still an
insight to glean from the tactile trend-consumers crave something that feels a little more "real."
Built to change
by Allen Adamson

The recent Association of National

Advertisers conference in Phoenix
confirmed for me what marketers
are focused on and challenged by
as we head into the coming year:
Given the fact that the world has
gone from connected to hyper-
connected and that companies face
exponential pressure from the
forces of globalization, brands that
want to succeed must be willing,
ready, and able to change-deftly
and resourcefully. Put simply,
companies that once thought in
terms of "built to last" must now think in terms of "built to change." Creative thinking and an entrepreneurial
spirit are the price of entry, and any company that doesn't recognize change as the new normal will not have
a fighting chance.

Real time is a reality. Given the rapid acceleration in the evolution of technology and the inherent
innovation this enables, the ability to make things happen in real time will be a critical asset and competitive
advantage. Companies that watch, ponder, and wait for conclusive evidence before launching into a new
endeavor will be left in the dust. It's time to get comfortable with calculated risk taking. Companies will need
to read the playbook while on the field and feel confident enough with the knowledge they have to move
forward with their plans. Or, as the late, great Steve Jobs remarked, "You can't connect the dots looking
forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow
connect in your future."

Creativity is everyone's job. With ingenuity and execution on the line, being creative must be highly
regarded as a part of every employee's job description. This means that up, down, and across the board
everyone in an organization must understand the purpose of the brand and be encouraged to look for ways
to bring it to life for the customer. This is especially true for employees who interact directly with customers,
as they know what's actually happening with a brand in the outside world. All employees must be engaged
and inspired by their jobs and by what they do.One of my favorite quotes on the topic of innovation comes
from Intel cofounder Andrew Grove who said, "Success breeds complacency. Complacency breeds failure.
Only the paranoid survive." In other words, average is over and tomorrow is too late.

Reinvent the line. It's no longer enough to move the line, companies must reinvent it. For example, Uniqlo
has taken the basic Gap formula and made it better, more fun, and more edgy. This trendy Japanese
retailer, with its amazing new flagship store in New York, can make anyone look cool, and for a very cool
price. Amazon, once known for books, books, and more books, continues to look at relevantly differentiated
ways to better meet consumer needs, including expanded merchandise, technological innovations, and
customer service. And lest we forget brands that have been around forever, Procter & Gamble and Ford are
proving that old dogs can adopt new tricks in order to stay ahead. Brands that didn't see the reinvention
writing on the wall soon enough, including AOL, Kodak, Sprint, and Burger King, will have a tough time
catching up. It's all about real time, remember?

What is the burning question for 2012?

Will companies whose cultural DNA does not contain the genes for creativity and nimbleness be able to pick
up those traits fast enough to make it to 2013?