Apple, Facebook,… : these giants with feet of clay

We have seen them growing up and becoming giants in a few years time, and thought they were irremovable and all mighty. But here they are, caught in conflict on an economical China/Usa strife background. Some bank on decreases in iPhone sales down to 25% if Wechat is banned from the AppStore. Breathtaking.

It is obvious now : far beyond a mere channel of communication, social networks have become a major economical issue for the states. But the wind changes swiftly as users’ tastes ans habits evolve more and more rapidly. MySpace has been swept away by Facebook. Who will succeed in burying Animal Crossing and Fornite ? Wise guy who can predict it, but it won’t take long.

#old was till now the greatest threat of the tech businesses: becoming an has been app, an app for the elderly. Nowadays, the states’ harsh takeover of their digital supremacy adds a further concern. Will today’s giants be the same tomorrow ? Not so sure in such a moving world.

Europe has completely missed the “social” aspect, but we mustn’t forget the (already) future giant : the Swedish Spotify. In the battle for the digital audio leadership, a European is for once even more in the running .Today’s success doesn’t prejudge a future leadership and the other way round.

A world under Chinese/American digital supremacy? A reality today. But all is not lost for the old Europe if she wakes up now. And it is possible. There is real lifeblood in the startups of our countries. We may then face a world where the tech leaders will be continental rather than global and the cultural and digital supremacy which goes along with. A future world of walled gardens per continent ?

And then, as far as social marketing is concerned , what do we do ? We don’t only think strategy but tactic as well. We do not put all the eggs in one basket, we test innovations but in a rational way . We choose which platform to go on and how, depending on its brand positioning. And we provide that it can all be turned against the following day. We keep in mind that brand positioning, values, brand promises and the quality of the product will always remain greatly primary on distribution, buzz, and audience.

More than ever, flexibility is the key to sustainability.