Speaker 1: You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Messer and
Speaker 1: Tim Stenovic on Bloomberg Radio. Tim, I want to get
Speaker 1: to our next guest. Because her company has teams in
Speaker 1: over twenty one countries. They see a lot in terms
Speaker 1: of what's going on with brands and companies around the globe,
Speaker 1: working with who's who up brands including Apple, Walmart, BP, Lego,
Speaker 1: Kellogg's and Microsoft and many more, helping them with strategy
Speaker 1: development experience. So a great voice, as I said, to
Speaker 1: talk about really the challenges in the environment facing global
Speaker 1: companies today. Very pleased to have with us. Jane Garritty,
Speaker 1: the CEO at Lander and Fitch, joining us via Zoom
Speaker 1: from London. Jane, good to have you with us. How
Speaker 1: are you this evening. I'm very well. Thank you for
Speaker 1: having me. I'm excited to be here. Happy New Year.
Speaker 1: If it's not too late, it's not too late, we'll
Speaker 1: take it. Happy New Year Year as well. Hey, I
Speaker 1: want to talk about brands and the and the way
Speaker 1: that people are thinking about brands in twenty three and
Speaker 1: just the currency that brands have. Carol mentioned a few
Speaker 1: big brands including Apple, Walmart, BP, Lego, certainly who's who
Speaker 1: of them? Um, when it comes to brands, give us
Speaker 1: an idea of what it takes to build and maintain loyalty. Well,
Speaker 1: I mean, I think the the equities that are that
Speaker 1: are important for brands success are undoubtedly changing. UM. I
Speaker 1: think we've all had so much to experience in these
Speaker 1: recent years, with the pandemic, with the impact of technology,
Speaker 1: with you know, so many troubling trends surrounding us, UM,
Speaker 1: And what we're seeing from a brand perspective is that
Speaker 1: equities like trust, authenticity, empathy, all of these kinds of
Speaker 1: traits are coming to the four. So I suppose if
Speaker 1: I think back to five years ago, brands would always
Speaker 1: be putting their best foot forward and showcasing their best equities.
Speaker 1: I think what we're seeing is in today's times, brands
Speaker 1: that are embracing vulnerability and showing a much more rounded
Speaker 1: perspective on their personality. They're the brands that are going
Speaker 1: to win out. So brands that are both showing strength
Speaker 1: but also addressing challenges and weaknesses. Hey, you know, Jane,
Speaker 1: one thing I am curious about. Happy New Year to
Speaker 1: you as well. UM. You know, companies it's easy for
Speaker 1: them to embrace the softer side of our world and
Speaker 1: to show that they are thinking about sustainability or E
Speaker 1: s G issues or diversity um, which I felt like
Speaker 1: all companies were like, yes, yes, number one coming off
Speaker 1: of UH certainly the killing of George Floyd and where
Speaker 1: we were in the pandemic um, so many issues coming
Speaker 1: at us in a tougher economic environment where there might
Speaker 1: be some uncertainty or even a recession. Do company still
Speaker 1: say yep, we've got to keep that as a priority
Speaker 1: or does that kind of fade to the background. Well,
Speaker 1: I think what we're seeing is that consumers are demanding
Speaker 1: that brands actually show up and demonstrate commitment. So I
Speaker 1: feel as though what used to be seen as a
Speaker 1: sort of a tick box exercise or an obligation, there
Speaker 1: is now real value in continuing to strive for a
Speaker 1: more equal world. Consumers are rejecting brands that are making
Speaker 1: empty promises. UM. So I do think is is the
Speaker 1: economic times get tougher, the brands that continue to to
Speaker 1: push their social agenda will be the ones that succeed
Speaker 1: because consumers are demanding that we like, what do you take? Like?
Speaker 1: You guys have worked with Apple and we've a news
Speaker 1: on Apple today and we're like saying, this is going
Speaker 1: to be a company to watch because they're just so
Speaker 1: all in. Having said that, you know, still doing a
Speaker 1: lot of manufacturing in China, and there can be a
Speaker 1: lot of questions about China in terms of how it
Speaker 1: treats its people. Um, and certainly in terms of privacy
Speaker 1: issues and so on. Like how like, what's your advice
Speaker 1: to a company like that? Well, I think, as I say,
Speaker 1: you know, a lot of the issues that we face
Speaker 1: a complex that into related and I think provided um
Speaker 1: companies and brands are committed to doing better and transparent
Speaker 1: about how they are trying to do better. Um, I
Speaker 1: think that people are they recognize the complexity of the
Speaker 1: challenges that we all face to succeed in business today.
Speaker 1: So I think that the trick is about transparency and
Speaker 1: a commitment to program us. It's so it's it's hard
Speaker 1: to think about brands in the context of the way
Speaker 1: that we kind of grew up with them because they
Speaker 1: are so much more involved in the political conversation. How
Speaker 1: do you advise brands about when to weigh in when
Speaker 1: not to weigh in, Because it seems like each and
Speaker 1: every day there's some mistake that some companies making. They're
Speaker 1: really stepping in it. Sometimes we're talking about Disney a
Speaker 1: lot because there's some headlines. But look at the you know,
Speaker 1: problem that they found themselves, and then the prior CEO,
Speaker 1: Bob Speck, when they weighed in politically under pressure from
Speaker 1: their own employee base. I mean, I think it comes
Speaker 1: down to the way that we advise our clients is
Speaker 1: there has to be a genuine commitment and an authentic
Speaker 1: commitment to whatever the social agenda might be. You know,
Speaker 1: you have to be truthful. I think consumers have seen
Speaker 1: through um, you jumping on the bandwagon for self serving purposes.
Speaker 1: You you really do have to step up and have
Speaker 1: enduring commitment to a social issue in order for for
Speaker 1: for you to be relevant in the discussion. Well, I'm
Speaker 1: going to say before you go, we are curious because
Speaker 1: you do talk to companies and leaders every day around
Speaker 1: the globe. Um, how would you describe most of their
Speaker 1: moods and thoughts on the global outlook right now? Do
Speaker 1: you know? It's I mean, that's a fascinating question, and
Speaker 1: I think it's you know, it's it's really variable by category.
Speaker 1: I mean, there are certain categories that are expecting tough
Speaker 1: economic times to to serve them very well, and others
Speaker 1: that are obviously expecting things to be tougher going forward. UM.
Speaker 1: I do think though, that in times of uns certainty,
Speaker 1: innovation and creativity typically flourish. UM. And I think the
Speaker 1: advances in technology opportunities through connected experiences. I mean, we've
Speaker 1: all learned finally how to use a QR code. Took
Speaker 1: COVID to do that. I know it took a pandemic
Speaker 1: for us to work it out, but there are so
Speaker 1: many new opportunities that I think are exciting to the
Speaker 1: brand owners that we work with. UM that really I
Speaker 1: think that that they're kind of that The mood is
Speaker 1: more about making the right choices UM during these you know,
Speaker 1: these uncertain times, so placing big bets on those opportunities
Speaker 1: that are likely to pay back, presenting themselves vulnerability. Jane,
Speaker 1: we unfortunately have to leave it there. Really appreciate you
Speaker 1: joining us this afternoon. It's Jane Garritty, the CEO at
Speaker 1: Lander and Fitch, joining us this afternoon from London. You're
Speaker 1: listening and watching Bloomberg Business Week.