The fact is that many brands today are perfectly prepared for a world that no longer exists.

Can old dogs learn new tricks?

It seems who we were, or believe we are, can be a true inhibitor to who we can be. And despite the findings of neuroscientists that neuroplasticity provides hope of old dogs learning new tricks, we often find that they keep repeating their old ones, even when the world has moved on. We cloak this inertia in words like ‘heritage' and ‘tradition', but perhaps at times these are in reality just remnants and leftovers, causing us to remain in the status quo, or worse, go backwards. When is it time to shed the old skin, and grow into a new one? Has the expiration date passed? Disruption is a signal from the future that it was time to change — yesterday, ideally. What if we designed our lives to be a constant quest for new learnings, new insights, novel skills, quantum leaps of understanding, and curiosity for the uncharted with a thirst for wisdom, knowledge and exploration? If we set up a life for ourselves that requested our omnipresent curiosity, might disruption not seem too disruptive? Isn't it perhaps the case that disruption is only disruptive if you are not adaptive?

While hope is not a strategy, I hope that hope remains for my mum and my dad. A part of me wishes that they will extend a welcoming hand and fully invite me to collaborate with them on transforming the business into its full potential. This may never happen. And I am slowly learning to let go of that idea. Maybe some things have served their time. Perhaps consumers have voted too loudly with their digits, and moved on, and no place remains for a sartorial menswear store that runs like it was 1956. And then, whose fault is this? Would anyone miss the brand, the empathy with its customers it stands for, the neon elegance of the Georg Sörman man at St Eriksgatan 41? Was this always meant to be a cautionary tale of what happens if you don't evolve with the times (which doesn't mean throwing the analogue baby away with the bathwater), and in its exasperated last breaths, a signal to other business owners, whether moms and pops, shareholders or boards, that dismissing change, learning and agility will ring the death knell for your brands? Or could it be that from the ashes of Blockbuster, Kodak and potentially my family's business, new Phoenix-birds will emerge that serve the world even better, provide more jobs, contribute more to the local community, and help move the world forward, rather than just be a looking-glass into a bygone era? Maybe sometimes, something has to die for something new to be spawned. Creative destruction. If the world votes on our perceived utility and the value we contribute, and consequently either gives us the Hollywood gladiatorial thumbs up or thumbs down, this should turn the mirror on ourselves and force us to ask whether what we are doing is the right thing or if we need to change. Perhaps it is time to throw in the towel, wind down, or let someone else take over. Yes, I am a little scarred as you can likely hear.

Finding hope in Languedoc-Roussillon

It's May 2016 and nearly three years since I walked the vineyards of Languedoc-Roussillon with my EMBA peers. I find myself on a flight on Cathay 239 from Hong Kong to London in seat 23A. This flight is part of a quest from Elvina Bay on Pittwater in Sydney, via advisory work in Melbourne with two different clients, to a keynote speaking gig in Luton Hoo for an investment firm. Earlier in the week, my Facebook newsfeed, perhaps in its predictive analytics, had presented me with articles on the prevention of jetlag, and curious as I was on how to best handle my itinerary, followed by a subsequent forty-two effective hours in the United Kingdom before returning to a client in Brisbane, while contemporaneously managing this book's manuscript deadline, I learnt (again) that staying away from alcohol is good advice to minimise the effects of jetlag. Note to my neuroplastic brainy self. I normally heed this advice, and with my 240 international travel days a year, that is probably a sage move. On this occasion, however, someone from the Cathay staff had slipped a special promotional wine menu in the middle of the culinary delights we were about to enjoy during this daytime flight.

As I run the thick (and seemingly expensive) paper of the menu between my thumb and index finger, to my surprise my brain's reticular activating system zooms in on the region, the specialties of which Cathay's residential sommelier has curated for us to enjoy — Languedoc-Roussillon! Shock and awe. Yuko Sakashita, Inflight Service Manager and Senior Sommelier, with her Fingerspitzengefühl had cherry-picked bottles from Chateau des Crès Richards, Chateau L'Hospitalet, Domaine de Bila-Haut and a Chateau Rombeau, and noted in her description of the Oenothera 2013 that ‘Domaines Paul Mas have been leaders in the renaissance in the Languedoc-Roussillon region'. She goes on to illustrate the history of the region saying ‘Today, there is a new emphasis on quality, whereas in the past, it was quantity … investment in the wineries has also played a part in the production of many worthwhile wines'. Vive la renaissance! Revival and rebirth is possible, but it does require that you unshackle yourself from remnants that no longer serve your future. We all love a comeback story, but you have to believe in, act on and grow into a new tailored suit that helps you show off your best bits, just like the futuristic vignerons of Languedoc-Roussillon are doing to earn their place in Cathay business class. This is what I hope for my mum and Georg Sörman.

A platform for the future

I am proud of a lot of the progress with Georg Sörman's space odyssey into the future. Together with our heroine, Birgitta, and my hero Lars-Olof, who we must highlight as another change agent in this saga, we have made several inroads into the future. Our digital agency, Thinque Digital, has acted as the inbound marketing agency for Georg Sörman in a formal capacity since March 2015, and an informal capacity since November 2013. From a branding perspective, we have made huge strides in the professionalisation and communication aspects of the renaissance brand — Georg Sörman 100 — that we launched in April 2015.

Let me showcase some of the highlights of the inbound content marketing and branding successes so far. We hope that there will be many more to come.

The brand renaissance

The brand renaissance for Georg Sörman was rolled out in four distinct phases — yes, transformation doesn't happen overnight. In true Digilogue spirit, we divided this omnichannel approach into an analogue and a digital renaissance (see figure 11.1, overleaf).

In the Georg Sörman 100 brand renaissance we sought to go back to the sartorial origins of the brand and the classic Grace period of Swedish design of around 1910 to the 1930s, during the latter part of which the original Georg Sörman neon sign was erected (see figure 11.2). You will notice that the typeface used in the brand renaissance has shifted towards a more classic style, and in its modern simplicity the cross-bars in the ‘E' and ‘A' have been lowered to reflect the original neon-sign (designed by the Graham Brothers for its 1937 inauguration at Kungsholmen). The collar cut-out in the ‘M' used in the brand renaissance is an iconic illustration of menswear and shirts, and also indicates negative space — which we subconsciously associate with the timeless and timely idea of classic, yet modern, menswear.

By going back to many of the original design elements of this classic and award-winning neon sign, we believe the renaissance brand shows a futuristic outlook with confidence in its provenance and origins.

The following sections provide some highlights of the things we are most proud of and which continue to live on in Georg Sörman's second century. The great thing about the digital world is that we are always searchable, and everything can live on actively or in archival form forever. And I hope that Georg Sörman chooses to invest in a transformational future for itself, in a way that continues to serve its customers — old and new — seamlessly (see figure 11.3).

New Georg Sörman website

Since 1916, we have had a passion for style and quality. The relaunched website (see figure 11.4) and inbound strategy for Georg Sörman marked a clear delineation with its past, and showcases its relevance for both baby boomers, generation X, generation Y and tomorrow's gentlemen. Have a play on georgsorman.se, where you will also find the whole history, timeline, and relevant players in both Swedish and English. Together with in-store efforts, this has led to a 205 per cent increase in the digital database since our efforts began, which is promising for the future.

Välsytt Herrnytt — the Georg Sörman broadsheet

Currently in its third edition (see figure 11.5), this broadsheet was inspired by the age-old expression ‘Välsytt Herrnytt', which has been the brand's tagline since time immemorial. ‘Nytt' can also mean news in Sweden, so we wanted to make this broadsheet as newsworthy as a high-quality magazine, including content that ranges from clothing care, styling tips, men's health, Anglophilia, war history and its impact on clothing, and interviews with notables. Coinciding with the postal arrival of the second edition in 2015, sales jumped 47 per cent year on year, on a weekly basis.

From father to son — the cross-generational appeal

The storytelling and authentic communication of the brand and values is clear in the cross-generational, ampersand (&) focus of the website (see figure 11.6). The imagery communicates timelessness and the passing of the baton between wise gentlemen and ambitious next gens, which is deliberate as the brand represents cross-generational values and succession, and aims to curate the same intra-familial bonds among its customers.

Inbound marketing blog

Prepare once, use often. As we started producing written and video content for the broadsheet, events and newsletter, we knew these could also be repurposed for blogs to provide the content to new audiences and help with our search engine optimisation efforts (see figure 11.7). Investments in videographers and fashion photographers could be amplified via subscribable blogs, all built on the HubSpot platform for optimisation and segmentation, to ensure that the right customers receive the right information, and that their customer journeys are as seamless as possible.

Social media amplification — Facebook

Social media and opening up our brand via channels like Facebook (see figure 11.8) has massively improved the reach. The digital version of the broadsheet and brand videos about Georg Sörman, with focused targeting on psychographics similar to our existing clientele, and representing the new type of clientele we also want in-store, were amplified in their reach, representing a great spend per dollar (or, in this case, krona) invested. Facebook has also been a huge asset in terms of event hosting, and scaling our family and social networks for organic growth.

Social media amplification — Instagram

Instagram is a channel where we began at zero and started building a solid following for the new brand, along the new brand guidelines (see figure 11.9). For a formerly old-school brand, Georg Sörman has built a decent following that is now engaging with a #virile #centenarian.