While the fallout from the global pandemic permeating all corners of the globe is beyond serious, for established systems by which the world operates it’s nothing more than a disruption. In some corners the loud whispers may be of those who believe that it’s a much-needed, major disruption.

Asset management planning and brand strategy perhaps exist as two sides of the same coin, which is in itself part of the economic, monetary and political system of the world. The question, however, is in the wake of what are some of the most uncertain times any of us alive today are facing, how have asset and brand planning changed across the different industries?

Justifiably, many may argue that the change is in itself a dynamic one, which only serves to fuel the growing uncertainty fire. As aptly noted by Jon Bircher, Chief Commercial Officer at Cello Consulting, the narrative around the perception of big pharma is being challenged on many grounds. “We can’t know all the implications for pharma yet, but it’s clear that the landscape has already shifted and this poses some complex, far-reaching questions that challenge the most fundamental assumptions for companies and brand teams.

So basically as far as the pharmaceutical industry goes, from the point of view of the CCO, it’s a matter of preparing for pretty much any eventuality. Obviously this doesn’t mean a wait-and-see strategy would be employed, because as far as asset planning goes that’s nothing short of economically unsustainable. The brand planning part of the equation is perhaps at more of a liberty to be implemented in such a manner, because branding can be strategically implemented without too much investment in the deployment of production assets, which of course cost money to deploy.

Cello Health Consulting Vice President, Carl Engleman draws on his knowledge of first-launches in the biotech industry, citing the need to consider the broader organisational strategy, but this transcends the pharmaceutical industry.

The health industry is invariably classed as being of the essential services, but it appears as if the emerging trend can be witnessed across different industries, whether they’re essential or not. Or rather, whether they’re classified as being essential. Entertainment and the maintenance of social links may be seen as forming part of the broader health industry, for instance, justified to have importance as far as mental well-being goes.

Either way, planning for uncertainty doesn’t mean sitting back and waiting to see how the world is going to try and go back to regular business as soon as the various economic forces enforce this looming economic restart. Now is the time to build some initiative into your asset and branding planning, making sure to prepare to take hits where hits will be inevitable, but more importantly, making sure to be in a position to identify the emerging way forward to focus on.

It definitely helps to have a leading, specialist advisory firm in your corner though, such as how any sort of business would consult with specialist business consultants and analysts, in the same way that a business active in the health industry would align itself with a specialist health advisory firm.

Zoe Kickhefer
zoe@everydaylifes.com