BANI: The Rise Of A New Era

The strategists and executives, whilst handling the Covid-19 situation, understood that the VUCA standard has expired and that the society is in fierce need of a fresh model, which they named BANI, and it initiated the rise of a new era.

The context of BANI is a wholly fresh belief that represents the recent challenges of the globe. 

What is VUCA?

VUCA’s rise was the result of the Cold War in 1987. The acronym was the abbreviation of V that stands for volatile, U that stands for uncertain, C that prevailed as complex, and the last in the pipeline is A that stands for ambiguous. 

Every word out of these four letters has a separate importance base. They were the aspects or challenges that depicted the widespread situation that was given an upswing from the environment in which they were injected and illustrated an ensuing approach.

Let us study each challenge to deduce a reasonable riposte:

Volatile 

The word speaks for itself. It refers to uncertain or precarious dynamic changes that occur in a particular system making it hard to be forecasted. These are the shifts that are welcomed and well-received only when one has a precise vision of its ultimate goal. 

Uncertain

The question of an erratic future scares a lot. Doesn’t it? 

Well, to get that covered, it is advisable to extract as much information as you can and engage in a comprehensive study of the environment. The deficit of accuracy whilst ascertaining the future goals might push you towards the oblivious outcome of your efforts, plans, and strategy, and you won’t be able to detect the area of improvement, howsoever.

Complex

When you work in an environment, you encounter several factors that result in whatever it behaves like. Well, the factors don’t work independently, they correlate to one another and a particular factor is followed by a variety of other small aspects. All this gives rise to a very complex environment. The number of factors as complexity follows a directly proportional relationship.

Ambiguous

Ambiguity is an aftermath of non-detailed, imprecise, or negating knowledge, as well as foreign predicaments. Versatility, along with quick wit, is the key to combat this challenge. These behavioral aspects will result in smooth functioning and achievement of the ultimate objective.

Why is BANI more appropriate?

The VUCA model, however, is of no use in current scenarios. The world has evolved and is amidst new challenges such as global warming, technology, a shift in the political paradigm, pandemics, and several other aspects that were not a part of the VUCA model; hence resulting in the formulation of the BANI model. 

Following the BANI model, the meaning of volatility in VUCA turned brittle, for it is unstable and questionable; uncertainty whirled into anxiety; complexity swiveled into non-linearity, and ambiguity twirled into incomprehensibility.

Brittle

The kind of enigmatic fortification that appears to be substantial but can shortly fall apart. Countries that are wealthy due to exploiting a natural resource that is prone to price changes, or monocultures in modern agriculture that are more susceptible to pests due to their low variability, are examples of this.

Anxious

The stress brought on by constant change when you believe that change is an avalanche and that you have no control over it, worry can lead to inaction. This is exacerbated by the rush of news from the media and “misinformation.”

Nonlinear

Cause and effect are disconnected and out of proportion. We may now be seeing the effects of acts taken 40 years ago on the environment; could these repercussions have been predicted at the time? What is the link between a little act of hunting or eating an animal and a pandemic that is affecting the entire world? The scale at which things happen and the scale at which we see them are vastly different.

Incomprehensibility

The result of too much data is often confusing in nature, like what occurs when AI or Big Data intervenes? Thankfully, what is inexplicable today does not have to be incomprehensible tomorrow.

The way we build meaning in a current arising world has changed direction. Observing civilization as a sequel of perils that can be tactically manipulated through has commenced losing pertinence. VUCA prevailed to understand a complex world. However, the world of today senses mayhem. A new framework BANI stands to replace VUCA and establish a tone of confidence and empowerment.

 

What is branding in this BANI world? And what is the approach the brand should take?

Branding is the method of building your business and its product with a dominant constructive perception in your consumer’s mind.

Branding isn’t all that easy. The dynamic factors of the environment contribute to its successful implementation. However, with the radically changed world, the significance of future thinking for your corporation stands as a challenging proposition. 

The recent pandemic has forced most businesses to reimagine, reframe or rethink their business models. 

The skills required in this BANI world are altogether different from what it was earlier. As we know, to promote a flourishing branding execution, we need to be well versed with the changes in behavioral patterns of consumers. Therefore the skills or factors required to achieve that is:

1. Faster growth of mindset 
2. Adaptability
3. Strength and creativity to imagine
4. The power of downfall
5. Sense of empathy

Faster growth of mindset

Correspondence to B of BANI, which stands for brittle, elucidates that it is simple to shatter and subjected to immediate negligence. If something is brittle, it needs capacity and resilience.

A growth mindset is a necessary component for a thriving branding process. The exercise of experimentation undergone during the learning of developing a growth mindset helps us understand that failure is a part of the process and not something that can be avoided. It is an opportunity for never-ending improvement of goods and services.

For example, monocultural farming effectively depletes the soil, also making it more powerless. This signifies that one slight mistake may result in only this crop’s harvest failing and this results in the innovation of new kinds of farming to sustain the soil vitality.

Adaptability

Uncertainty leads to experimentation whilst producing innovative or creative branding methods. The hypothesis testing leads to mitigating the risk of failure when the product or service goes out before the world.

In association with N of BANI that stands for non-linearity, it is the disorientation between cause and effect about time, proportion, or perception. It calls for context and adaptivity for facing this challenge. It helps in aspiring for an effective consequence rather than a forecasted outcome based on nothing concrete.

For example, in terms of magnitude, scope, infection, and fatality rates, the current pandemic has created an unprecedented crisis – and the fight will likely go for months, if not years. The climate crisis follows the same nonlinear tendencies. The launching of new products or rebranding of earlier ones is done keeping this new trend in mind. This is called adaptability. One cannot follow the trends of the past but has to live in the present.

Strength and creativity to imagine

To go beyond the grips of fears and anxiety, branding must be promoted through marketers who possess the courage to imagine creatively. This leads to the establishment of a team where ideas are welcomed and praised. The environment thus generated is comfortable for employees to scoop in their opinions and fresh ideas.

For example, when there is a launch of a new food product in an Indian market of the company which is a success abroad, they strive to provide the consumer with the quintessential blend of Indian spices and aroma to attract them towards their chain. This is done not only in reality but is advertised in such a manner as well. 

The power of downfall

Accepting failure will have to feel normal if BANI’s universe incorporates incomprehensibility as a basic component. We tend to blame ourselves for failures in a world where design thinking is absent. This is related to a fear of being judged if one expresses new thoughts or ideas.

This habit is restricting, as it results in opportunities to participate and collaborate being overlooked. In a different situation, though, a world that promotes branding, talking about failures, and learning from them might help us find better solutions. When teams accept and incorporate feedback, solutions tend to evolve.

For example, software may only work with a single line of code, which appears to have no purpose or function in any coding logic. Delete the line, though, and the software will become worthless. It may be a programming cliche, but it perfectly encapsulates the concept of incomprehensibility. Even though programming normally follows logical patterns, the case is well-known, and cause and effect do not make any sense.

Sense of empathy

Branding requires a deep connection of marketers with its consumers. They need to develop an understanding of their understanding, expectations, and behaviors. This way, a business gets to comprehend what is important to the consumer. For the redevelopment of goods and services and the success of the business, the application of empathy is a must job. 

This skill corresponds to the A of BANI that stands for anxiety. For the explanation, anxiety stands for fear that any preference we formulate might be the incorrect one. If we feel nervous, we require empathy and mindfulness.

For example, once there was a delay in the airline when hundreds of its flights get delayed with passengers stranded at the runways.

The airline reacted quickly and, to everyone’s astonishment, ordered hundreds of pizzas to be distributed to passengers, who were delighted to eat on the cheesy delicacies while waiting for the storm to pass. A situation that could have turned ugly on social media took a surprising turn for the better when Delta Airlines went above and above in terms of customer service. The airline not only empathized with the passengers’ suffering but also shown its caring side by actually caring for its customers.