This 2026 marks an era of marketing and branding reset
Feb. 28 marked the beginning of a geopolitical conflict that continues to impact the world’s supply chain and the economy and every imaginable category from oil, agriculture, basic commodities, service, technology products, including semiconductors that fuel artificial intelligence (AI) industries and many more.
Still, there is no stopping the world because humanity is resilient to survival.
Competitors and adversaries remain, whether on the battlefield or in a business and marketing environment. But just like a battlefield, each war may result in old and new heroes and losers, while competitive marketing environments lead to new winning brands, as well as eternal strong brands and losing ones.
Through it all, the general and strategist or CEO visionary and board are responsible for the outcome—either a win or a loss.
Respected leaders, strategists and brands transcend time and generations. Among brands introduced during wartime and postwar periods, some have risen to become iconic brands and the world’s most valuable brands, enjoying decades, centuries and generations of consumption.
Here are some brands born during the war and postwar periods.
Ray-Ban Aviator by Bausch & Lomb
The first antiglare sunglass was introduced in 1936, at the time of the World War II. A US Army Air Corps Lt. General asked the company Bausch to make a pair of sunglasses that would minimize nausea and headache among pilots flying at high altitudes.
Today, after 80 years, Ray-Ban has become an iconic eyewear brand. It has moved ownership from Bausch to the French company EssilorLuxottica in 1999, but its core identity as an innovative eyewear brand remains.
Ray-Ban today is at the forefront of AI eyewear, collaborating with Meta and recently introducing its second-generation Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses.
Hugo Boss clothing
It was founded in 1924 by Hugo Boss, a German fashion designer and Nazi Party member, who was a supplier of militia uniforms for the Hitler Youth, SA and SS during World War II.
Its original dark history was successfully reinvented into a global luxury and fashion brand by grandsons Jochen and Uwe Holy.
The brand continues to be fashion forward and has rebranded into two strong brand names, Hugo and Boss, for young generations, also for both men and women and is now a favorite apparel among the power circle.
Adidas
One of the world’s largest sportswear brands began in 1924 at the Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory by brothers Adolf and Rudolf Dassler. Brand recognition began at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin when US sprinter Jesse Owens won four gold medals wearing the Dassler athletic shoes then known as Geda.
Adolf and Rudolf were members of the Nazi party and during the war, the factory was used to make antitank weapons.
Postwar in 1945, the ownership of the Dassler Factory was split. Adolf created the brand Adidas and Rudolf created the brand Puma.
Today, both Adidas and Puma remain to be iconic fashionably athletic shoe brands targeting the young generation.
Adidas ranks 49th in the 100 most valuable brands by Interbrand, valued at $17.4 billion.
What one does in the face of adversity
A visionary CEO with a marketing and brand mindset thinks like an effective general who knows that in every adversity lies an opportunity. Sun Tzu—author of the most renowned treatise “The Art of War” and himself an ancient Chinese military general of the Eastern Zhou era dating back to 544 BC—recognizes that: “In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity. Opportunities multiply as they are seized.”
Today’s marketing landscape is like a battlefield, where opportunities exist.
Seizing opportunities, insulating the brand from adversity and eventually growing the brand require the intelligent boldness of the visionary CEO who uses the following marketing and branding reset steps.
Scan the environment
The Philippines enjoys a growth projection, ranked third after Vietnam. It also has the 14th largest population in the world and a young population equal to more than three-fourths of the country’s total. Deglobalization, stiff trade barriers, nationalism and supply chain shocks affect the availability of global brands in many countries’ markets, including the Philippines, thus making it far easier to shift consumption to domestic brands.
Sun Tzu’s famous quote says: “Know the ground, know the weather, your victory then will be total.”
Know your target market
Eight generations now live on planet Earth with different needs and wants, motivations and preferences, behavior and personality, etc.
These generations are: Beta Generation, born 2025 to 2039; Alpha Generation, 2013 to 2024; Generation Z, 1997 to 2012; Millennial Generation, 1981 to 1996; Generation X, 1965 to 1980; Baby Boomers, 1946 to 1964; Silent Generation, 1928 to 1945; Postwar Generation, 1901 to 1927.
A brand must strongly identify which segment of the customer it wants to serve for many years to come.
Multiple motivations drive consumer purchases. Some buy cautiously, limiting their purchase to needed but trusted brands. Some continue to be driven by YOLO (you only live once) and FOMO (fear of missing out) motivations despite economic hard times.
Create a compelling value proposition
Successfully crafted brand stories resonate well with the targeted consumer. These are not fancy, hollow promises.
There are multiple reasons or whys to support a compelling value proposition—from innovative technology, heritage, customer service satisfaction ratings and emotional well-being derived by using the brand.
The brand Executive Optical (EO), a chain of 360 retail eyewear stores founded in 1968, has become the country’s trusted optical store of choice, providing eyewear in different product models from store brands to luxury brands and in varying price points.
The brand’s witty, empathetic campaign presenting poor eye sight situations in a light-hearted, witty, empathetic manner, has helped push the brand to become the No.1 optical store brand in its category.
Its expert optometrists, years of heritage, accessible store locations and state-of-the-art equipment are but some of the reasons that have made EO a trusted brand.
Awareness is a strategy
Most businessmen hesitate to put resources behind brand awareness, believing it is an expense with money better spent on stockpile inventory, salespeople or trade incentives. Most fail to realize that when a brand has high top-of-mind awareness (or is first mentioned in a category), ample supply in good locations, is priced adequately to meet consumer expectations and has no disreputable imaging, the brand is likely to be the first to be remembered when the category comes to mind.
The business and marketing environment is no different from a military battlefield. In the words of military strategist Sun Tzu: “Know the enemy, know yourself, your victory will never be endangered. Know the ground, know your weather, your victory will then be total.”
And in a marketing and business environment, “know your customer and consumption” is most certainly achieved.
The writer is chief brand strategist at MKS Marketing Consulting and is an alumna of Oxford University’s SAID Graduate School of Business Strategic Leadership and Strategic Marketing Executive Education Program and Stanford Graduate School of Business Strategic Marketing Executive Education. Feedback at karenvdeasis@gmail.com.
