Restart 2024
We entered 2024 full of renewal energy. Despite the low adoption rate of professional branding among Romanian businesses, we started with optimism and confidence in our work dedicated to branding, as we have been doing for 18 years.
Plans
From the perspective of our work, we continue to focus our attention on the permanent evolution of the creativity of our solutions and, implicitly, on the assumed role of raising the standard in Romanian branding. And this standard is proven year after year, both by the results of the businesses we work with and by the international branding and rebranding awards, with which our work is rewarded. We will invest in trusting both us as a team and in our processes to create an environment where people can enjoy doing what they love. It is our way of propelling into the future the entire ecosystem in which we operate: our people, our customers, the branding industry.
What to expect in 2024
Even 4 years after the outbreak of the epidemic, many medium and even large Romanian companies are struggling with business stabilization. Especially those that depended on face-to-face interaction with customers or businesses in the event area, HORECA, tourism. But companies that experienced disruptions in the supply chain were equally affected. These businesses are going through processes of adapting to new consumer habits, rethinking their models and looking for growth solutions, reconfiguring their service brands, creating their own brands in portfolios or repositioning their brands to new market realities.
Where do opportunities come from
We believe that startups with a few years old (5-7 years), during which they have tested the viability of their business model and portfolio products, will increasingly trigger brand redesign actions. With the validation of the business model, these companies will continue to look for business strategies of growth, diversification, territorial expansion. For each of these needs there are branding strategies and hence the opportunities of the branding market.
Trends
Adaptability
As a central trend, it should be pointed out that the branding industry in the coming period will be challenged to find a way to harness the potential of creativity and innovation with the help of technology, especially AI, without sacrificing brand authenticity and its relevance in relation to consumer expectations. Everything will depend on how brand people manage to assemble this powerful tool, AI, putting it at the service of human instinct, thinking and creativity.
At the same time, the reality of today, with increasingly unpredictable changes in the dynamics of society, forces brands to be not only adaptable, but also oriented towards transparency, sustainability and ethics in their relationship with consumers and the environment in which they operate. From the development of products or services, to the consumer experience, the future belongs to brands that will manage to connect with empathy to the values and causes of those they serve.
Interactivity
At the design level, the trend will continue to develop visual identities that can be modified and adjusted to fit different environments and contexts. Flexibility and adaptability are becoming priorities in an ever-changing competitive environment. The use of modular elements and flexible components will allow brands to remain coherent and relevant in the face of diverse communication requirements and contexts. Also, introducing interactive elements and animations into visual identities will give brands the opportunity to create memorable and immersive experiences for their audiences. This may include animations in logos or other visual elements that react to user interaction (a relevant example: rebranding Patreon).
Maximalism in Design
We will witness in 2024 the bold return of maximalism. Overlaid visual elements, with vibrant color palette and bold shapes, all working together to create visually stimulating experiences. This trend is characterized by breaking convention, encouraging designers to use unexpected textures, fonts and combinations. The result is the creation of designs that attract attention and spark curiosity, perfect for brands looking to create a memorable impact.
Topics we pay attention to
The world of branding is always in motion and transformation, because almost everything that happens around us influences it. Therefore, we pay attention to everything related to the specifics of brand design work, but we try to be connected as much as possible to economic, social, cultural, artistic, technological phenomena. Among the topics that we look at very carefully, we find:
AI Integration
A key trend for 2024 will be experimentation in branding strategies. This approach involves opening horizons to the new possibilities and techniques offered by AI and finding new ways to innovate and deliver unique experiences that are essential for development and promotion.
We expect to see subtle integration of AI into creative flows. Designers will use AI for repetitive tasks, freeing up time for conceptual thinking and strategic decision making. The key lies in using AI as a tool, not a substitute, promoting human creativity and technical innovation.
The Expanded Role of Social Media
The influence of social media on brand exposure continues to expand. Brands are increasingly using social media platforms not only for marketing, but also for real-time interaction with customers. This approach allows brands to value their personality and interact effectively with their audience, driving sales and building brand loyalty.
Branding industry in Romania in 2023
The effervescence of the branding industry should be reflected by the movements that companies (including state ones) make, which are in the first places at the top of their industry or category. Judging by that, what we saw last year as branding or rebranding initiatives were modestly represented and just as modestly resolved. The truth is that there are companies with branding expertise and experience, and here Brandfusion is undoubtedly an enlightening example, doing extraordinary work for ambitious, sustainably growing companies that are psychologically prepared to take on organic transformations, not just tick a (re) branding initiative to the signal of any strategic investor or board of directors.
Factors influencing the market
We can talk about many factors that generally influence an industry. From global, regional trends, to local market developments, to digitalisation and to new economic pressures for sustainability. Further, I believe that the Romanian branding industry is closely related to the poor representation of marketing in business structures, especially in those in the entrepreneurial area.
Marketing structures are those that can implement a new business strategy, including brand strategy. This putting into practice turns into the power of example, propagates within an industry, intersects and even crosses other industries. As long as these marketing structures are not consolidated in medium and large entrepreneurial businesses, we will have neither specialists prepared to initiate true (re) branding processes, nor results that will keep up the industry's quality standard.
AI in branding
In the field of branding, the work of our team - made up of strategists, designers, content creators and researchers - is increasingly intertwined with artificial intelligence tools. It is essential to adopt these technologies, exploring how they can synergistically improve our creative processes. That's why we actively integrate AI tools into our workflow. These include generating images for inspiration, organizing and interpreting research data, creating marketing content, developing dynamic presentations, etc. Ultimately, we believe that progress accelerates when we understand, use and collaborate with these advanced technologies.
You can read the whole interview herein.