Usually at this time of year, the leaves are changing color, the weather is cooling, and Halloween decorations are popping up not only in every store but along your block.
This year seems a bit different. With record temperatures from Ohio to Texas, Nor’easters whipping up a fury on the East Coast, and Hurricane Polo wearing away the California coastline, the old comforts of fall are overshadowed and growing distant. The upcoming election isn’t helping either, with both sides of the aisle shouting Armageddon with only ‘their’ solutions as the correct answer. When will politicians all realize they work for us!
For many companies, the 4th quarter is a race to the finish, with an all-out effort to deliver year-end projections before the holidays and celebrate the successes of a challenging year.
From a brand perspective, key actions are needed in the 4th quarter to stand out from the competition, ensure profitable success, and roll out the growth plan for 2027 and beyond. Here are a few tried-and-true tips to help ensure success.
- Analyze your P&L year-to-date, compared to 2025. Note the causes of any up or down trend. Repeat the successes and acknowledge the team members responsible. Correct the down trends by investigating the cause and improving through staff or vendor correction and education.
- Review your 2026 strategy, identify any earlier goals that have not been accomplished, and analyze whether they are still appropriate. If yes, schedule completion this quarter. If not, put them to bed.
- For branding and marketing activities, review year-to-date campaigns and the resulting feedback. Brand building and PR are balance sheet highlights that enhance the company’s perception and are long-term investments. PR is both internal and external, and success shows up in productive, happy teams and supportive communities, vendors, suppliers, and clients. In this review, over the past year, did you share your PR wins with these groups too? It’s never too late to pass them around and thank everyone who contributed.
- 2027 is the Chinese zodiac Year of the Goat…and that can be your company – Greatest of All Time! How do you get there? Define your goals and develop a 2027 research-based Brand Strategy with substantiated future projections that will define the precise route to accomplish these goals efficiently and economically, creating the impact imagined. Your ethical success will make the world shine, and life will improve for all. We are counting on you!
At Christie & Co, we are here to ensure your 2026 will be your best ever- with fireworks and champagne to celebrate- and that 2027 will expand on these successes and bring your Dreams to Mainstream. 2027 is your year of the G.O.A.T.
Gillian