Isabel Verstraete
The C A R E Principles reach deep into the structure of your company, touching your people, your clients, your communities and the world. The C A R E Principles are not a quick fix for a specific business problem. They are the key to your company’s long-term success — and even survival. The many case studies in this book from companies big and small, national and international, prove that taking C A R E of something or somebody is a winning strategy.
Ann Caluwaerts, Executive Vice President Telenet
Turbulence will be the new normal. This also implies a shift in attitude towards how we do business. This book conveys a new methodology for helping brands to prepare for these extraordinary times. Caroline Pauwels, Rector Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Isabel Verstraete worked in advertising and marketing in the Netherlands, France and Belgium before setting up her own strategic consultancy in 2011. She is president of FAM, Belgium’s Female Association of Marketing.
ISBN 978 94 014 7503 7
9 789401 475037 www.thecareprinciples.com www.lannoocampus.com
Isabel Verstraete
The CARE principles bridge the gap between People and Marketing. They are the two sides of your company’s identity. This book will spark great conversations between Marketing and HR, making your company and brand more authentic, agile and simply better.
DOES YOUR BRAND CARE?
If there’s one thing we have learned in recent times, it’s that we live in a fragile world. In the midst of the pandemic, brand expert Isabel Verstraete researched companies that seemed to deal better with the crisis and discovered a pattern behind their success. This pattern turned out to be a shift in attitude towards how they do business. These newly gained insights are bundled together in The C A R E Principles: Collaboration, Agility, Reliability, Empathy.
DOES YOUR BRAND CARE? building a better world with the Principles
Contents CHAPTER 1 Why I developed the C A R E Principles: a personal note 6 CHAPTER 2 The ‘next normal’: tooling up for constant change 12 CHAPTER 3 Why brands should start showing they care today– if they want to thrive tomorrow 18 CHAPTER 4 The C A R E Principles: how collaboration, agility, reliability and empathy can make your brand future-proof 26 CHAPTER 5 Why Collaboration is key 36 CHAPTER 6 Why Agility matters 52 CHAPTER 7 Why Reliability is crucial 80 CHAPTER 8 Why Empathy works 100 CHAPTER 9 Embracing the new kids on the block: Generations Z and Alpha 124 CHAPTER 10 The C A R E SCAN: How much does your company C A R E? 134
THANKS! 138 ABOUT 140 PRAISE FOR DOES YOUR BRAND CARE? 142 END NOTES 148
DoesYourBrandCare_BW_DEF.indd 5
10/02/2021 17:38
27
COLLABORATION
AGILITY
RELIABILITY
EMPATHY
DoesYourBrandCare_BW_DEF.indd 27
10/02/2021 17:38
28
DOES YOUR BRAND CARE?
Showing you care is a great start and might already differentiate you from others. However, developing the C A R E Principles on a deeper level can help you take a leap into the future. Applying the four principles of collaboration, agility, reliability and empathy needs to be carried out in the right proportions, the unique mix that fits best with your company’s DNA. It is not a one-size-fits-all solution. It is not a quick fix.
COLLABORATION
DoesYourBrandCare_BW_DEF.indd 28
AGILITY
RELIABILITY
EMPATHY
10/02/2021 17:38
the C A R e pRInCIples: hoW CollABoRAtIon, AgIlIty, RelIABIlIty And empAthy CAn mAke youR BRAnd futuRe-pRoof
29
The ability to adapt your company’s behaviour in becoming a more collaborative, agile, reliable and empathic version of yourself will take time. Applying these Principles entails a profound adaptation of your organization, your structure, your processes and your way of thinking. It is important to understand why these four Principles matter and why they need to be accelerated.
The good news is: • you can do this step by step, • some transformations can be accomplished without extra costs, • most can be applied by start-ups, SMEs and multinationals alike, • they can be introduced on a small scale without interrupting your existing processes and platforms, • it is not about more investment, but about shifting your investments, • it is about a shift in attitude in the way you do business.
DoesYourBrandCare_BW_DEF.indd 29
10/02/2021 17:38
Isabel Verstraete
The C A R E Principles reach deep into the structure of your company, touching your people, your clients, your communities and the world. The C A R E Principles are not a quick fix for a specific business problem. They are the key to your company’s long-term success — and even survival. The many case studies in this book from companies big and small, national and international, prove that taking C A R E of something or somebody is a winning strategy.
Ann Caluwaerts, Executive Vice President Telenet
Turbulence will be the new normal. This also implies a shift in attitude towards how we do business. This book conveys a new methodology for helping brands to prepare for these extraordinary times. Caroline Pauwels, Rector Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Isabel Verstraete worked in advertising and marketing in the Netherlands, France and Belgium before setting up her own strategic consultancy in 2011. She is president of FAM, Belgium’s Female Association of Marketing.
ISBN 978 94 014 7503 7
9 789401 475037 www.thecareprinciples.com www.lannoocampus.com
Isabel Verstraete
The CARE principles bridge the gap between People and Marketing. They are the two sides of your company’s identity. This book will spark great conversations between Marketing and HR, making your company and brand more authentic, agile and simply better.
DOES YOUR BRAND CARE?
If there’s one thing we have learned in recent times, it’s that we live in a fragile world. In the midst of the pandemic, brand expert Isabel Verstraete researched companies that seemed to deal better with the crisis and discovered a pattern behind their success. This pattern turned out to be a shift in attitude towards how they do business. These newly gained insights are bundled together in The C A R E Principles: Collaboration, Agility, Reliability, Empathy.
DOES YOUR BRAND CARE? building a better world with the Principles