This post was created in partnership with Kantar
The question of whether a brand should remain consistent or innovate is as old as time. But the truth is, to stay relevant in today’s world, brands need to do both.
During a CES 2026 ADWEEK House session, Will Lee, CEO of ADWEEK, spoke with Jeff Greenspoon, CEO of the Americas at Kantar, and Don McGuire, EVP and CMO of Qualcomm, about how brands can innovate while staying true to their roots.
Intentional innovation and brand consistency
Greenspoon kicked off the conversation by citing Kantar data, tracked over 20 years, showing brand consistency drives an 111% growth advantage, but that 71% of growth has been driven by “disruptive innovation.”
When Greenspoon works with brands to balance these opposing philosophies, he assesses three core factors of the brand: meaning, difference, and salience.
“Meaning” asks whether a brand has an emotional connection with its customers. “Difference” involves how a brand stands out from the competitors. “Salience” leverages the other factors to find ways to make a brand present and memorable in the minds of consumers. To create salience, brands might enter a new market or launch a new product that creates awareness.
“If you go through that logical step, you actually have a blueprint to grow your brand in a way that can still live true to who you are,” Greenspoon explained. “Go back to the first one, which is meaning, then difference, then scale, and find salience. Predispose more people, get into the household, get into the mind state, and innovate that way.”
How Qualcomm reclaimed its story
Qualcomm’s recent marketing strategy is a successful example of finding balance in the tension between consistency and innovation. For much of the company’s 40 years in business, the company made technology, like semiconductors, for other companies’ products, like phones and IoT devices. According to McGuire, they were happy to be “behind the scenes.”
But seven years ago, the company found itself a victim of a narrative put forth by competitors. To survive, Qualcomm had to reclaim the story of its brand, and CEO Cristiano Amón challenged McGuire to elevate Qualcomm—and its flagship chip, Snapdragon—to a “global consumer brand rooted in culture.”
To achieve this goal, McGuire and his team innovated in two key areas: partnerships and community.
Qualcomm’s partners now include F1 Academy driver Doriane Pin and the English football team Manchester United. These partnerships resulted in exposure through culturally relevant moments, like when Pin won the 2025 F1 Academy and musician Sabrina Carpenter wore a Manchester United jersey with Snapdragon’s logo.
As for community, Qualcomm launched Snapdragon Insiders, a 20-million-strong fanbase that McGuire refers to as advocates, evangelists, and “an army of tech enthusiasts.”
