When we started The Pop Up Agency and proposed a different approach to solving briefs, we were met with both love and resistance. Many established companies were skeptical of our agile methods and some people said it would be impossible to solve briefs in 48 hours.
Fast forward seven years til today and the creative industry has gone through a radical transformation where new players have disrupted outdated business models, developed new processes and changed the rules we play by. Clients have cut budgets in half and taken ownership of their own creative output.
The advertising and communications industry is not the only industry suffering from this disruption in recent years and I believe that the Fashion industry is about to enter the same void as we did a couple of years ago.
In a fresh report by McKinsey & Company, the consultancy predicts that the successful luxury brands and fashion houses of the 21st century will have to disrupt their own business models, image and offering in response to a new breed of small emerging brands that are accelerating thanks to decreasing brand loyalty and a growing appetite for newness. A movement that sounds familiar?
Many of the traditional fashion brands and luxury houses are often successful because of their heritage, but this is no longer enough to penetrate through the clutter of new brands and marketing messages
The report states, brands that will succeed will have come to terms with the fact that a new paradigm taking shape and some of the old rules simply don’t work anymore. Regardless of size and segment, players now need to be nimble, think digital-first, and achieve ever-faster speed to market. This is exactly what we have seen in the advertising and communications industries. But it does not end there...
Fashion brands need to take an active stance on social issues, satisfy consumer demands for radical transparency, sustainability and, most importantly, have the courage to “self-disrupt” their own identity and the sources of their old success to realize that the market is changing with the new generations of customers.
Standing on the sideline and seeing the transformation emerge in an industry that I’m so passionate about makes me want to jump right into it. Two separate industries, yet two parallel movements with many similarities. I'm curious to see where we will end up, but I do think we have an exciting time ahead of us!
