PR colleague Emma Wright has been considering how Brand owners need to think in order to survive these challenging economic times. Here’s a summary of what she has to say:

1. Continuing to build strong emotional connection and engagement will be key. Consumers are actively seeking brands that they believe in and want to be part of.

2. Online marketing and buzz is critical, with a focus on understanding niche markets. More and more programming/content/forums will be experience-focused and will develop around cultural and social trends – watch out for everything from ZUMBA TV to the Cheese Tasting channel!

3. Customer experience and brand entertainment will be one of the main battlegrounds to build and keep consumers loyal as our lives are led both on and offline simultaneously.

4. An internal culture will become more and more transparent to the outside world and if there are any inconsistencies in what a brand promises and then doesn’t deliver, this will be exposed with potentially huge consequences for reputation.

5. The holy grail for brands will be owning the end-to-end customer experience – customer service can no longer sit separate to customer marketing and PR continues to be the heartbeat of a brand's reputation.

6. Integrity and consistency of a brand's message remains key across all communications.

7. Brands will look to ensure their architecture is simplified, as they evolve/merge and acquire new businesses. Less really is more.

8. Do or die. Brands need to be passionate about what they stand for and stick to it.

9. Faking it. Brands must protect themselves from the worldwide threat of counterfeiting. Fakes can disintegrate a brand overnight, especially if the consumer isn’t aware it is a fake or starts to believe the price compromise is worth it!

10. Peer-to-peer pressure will become more important as we strive to hold on to the luxuries that were once seen as an essential part of our everyday lives and defined our social standing in society.