Last Thursday, July 29th, the Brand Club Austria and designaustria hosted a high-caliber panel discussion as part of the "Austrian Brand Stories" exhibition at the MuseumsQuartier in Vienna. Challenges facing the brand industry were explored – for the first time in a face-to-face format – in the form of a "Brand Bowl".
The in-depth exchange to support the Austrian brand economy was intensified with the participation of well-known brands and their decision-makers and will be continued soon.
Open exchange among top players
Christian Thomas (Board Member of designaustria), Charlotte Hager (President of the Brand Club Austria) and I created an exclusive setting for the event, in which the industry – again with a strictly limited number of participants – met for an in-depth exchange about brand strategies.
Bettina Ullmann (Group Brand Manager Schlumberger) provided initial input on current and future challenges for the Schlumberger brand, thus initiating the professional exchange. Participants in the discussion included Irmgard Querfeld (Querfeld Coffee Houses), Andreas Nentwich (Managing Director Maresi), Florian Laszlo (CEO Observer), Ralf Kober (CEO Springer & Jacoby Austria), and Günter Thumser (Managing Director Austrian Branded Goods Association).
One of our goals as an expert hub for the Austrian brand industry is to look to the future while flexibly incorporating current circumstances into strategic decisions. Quality and depth are paramount for our industry right now – and we at Brand Club Austria are committed to meeting these demands sustainably with our new formats.
New strategies require new formats.
The fact that the Brand Club was finally able to meet again in person was the ideal opportunity to introduce the "Brand Bowl" exchange format.
„"It was important for us to reconnect the industry physically and to stimulate discussions with targeted impulses.".
Charlotte Hager
A major theme that we will carry over into future formats is the dynamics of our time and the associated challenges and opportunities for consumers to maintain a connection with well-known brands.
„"It has become clear that traditional brands in particular have developed innovative approaches to strengthen and expand their connection with their consumers in these challenging times."“
Bastian Schneider – Brand Club Board Member Switzerland
At the subsequent get-together with buffet & drinks, the following were also seen: Valerie Semorad (Team Leader Brand Management Almdudler), Prof. Severin Filek (Managing Director designforum Vienna) and DI Ernst Kloboucnik (Regional Director ÖAMTC).