01 I will survive Copyright © 2022 Accenture. All rights reserved. 14 Step one for brands is to understand their own permission space in fine detail, and to avoid invading spaces where they aren’t welcome. This is reflected in calls for brands and people to “stay in their lane” and includes keeping tabs on how new platforms are evolving, whether they belong there, and whether people want to hear from them on any given topic. During Accenture’s research project, one person in the US said: “It feels mostly artificial when brands take a stand on issues that are not related to their specific product. I want brands to be known for being good to their employees and not be wasteful or polluting.” 28 People’s needs are evolving fast—and companies must embrace a life-centric approach to meet these ever-changing circumstances and priorities, as Accenture explores further in The Life-Centricity Playbook. 29 Organizations will need to show their value through meaningful products, experiences, and services, and not through short-term gestures that can ultimately be viewed as PR stunts. The pressures facing people today inevitably impact brands too and when times get hard, companies often make the mistake of dropping things they see as luxuries, like innovation, advertising, and brand building. Brands must resist the tendency to behave in the same way as people do when under pressure—i.e., dropping what they deem to be non-essential. Often, the best innovation happens against a backdrop of constraint and difficulty. Right now, AI and the metaverse (which we cover in more detail elsewhere in this report) are worth exploring as routes to innovate. When faced with hardship, people always adapt and evolve into a new version of themselves, and that will continue to be the case. People will come through this period. The way they adapt will likely define a generation and the products they love. + ultra detailed, cinematic, realistic, change 100