In 2019, everything is competition. Brands compete for attention with bloggers and 24-hour rolling news. They compete for shelf space with traditional manufacturers and celebrity-backed start-ups in a world where the shelf is virtual. They compete for innovation against a backdrop of driverless cars and contactless payment. They compete for purpose when public consciousness, from plastics to politics, has arguably never been higher. Manufacturers are the guardians of exceptional, longstanding and profitable brands. But it feels like they are under threat.
This two-part paper, written exclusively for WARC, seeks to identify and describe the issues we...