Christian Mueller, industry consultant at analysis firm Global Insight, believes Volvo needs the tonic of the 2020 goal. The Swedish carmaker once sat comfortably at safety's apex. Besides the three-point seatbelt invented by its then head of safety in the late 1950s, the firm also pioneered crumple zones, side impact air bags and rear-facing child seats. It became emblematic of the U.S. "soccer mom" of the 1990s, who sought the steel cage to keep her children secure, and of Europe's middle class who liked its solid predictability.

As recently as January, some 77 percent of U.S. consumers polled by Consumer Reports ranked Volvo as the safest car brand. But other carmakers have learned safety sells and are burnishing their own safe credentials, leaving Volvo with what Mueller calls a "huge" brand perception problem. "Being safe is not any more the outstanding quality of Volvo because I can go elsewhere and I can buy a car that's equally as safe," he said.

"I think the competition must certainly be felt by Volvo but clearly they're aiming to hold onto this lead in brand perception," Bartlett said. The automaker already offers ignitions that won't operate if a driver is intoxicated, sensors that assess alertness and sound an alarm if the driver is dozy or drifting, and Global Positioning Systems to help prevent drivers from rushing to their destinations. Should all this fail to avert a crash, the car takes steps such as tightening its seat belts and priming air bags to minimize injury.

The car of the future will have even more foresight…

Radar, sonar and other sensors will extend its so-called "deformation zone" until it becomes, in essence, a huge electronic bumper reaching out on all sides to gather information to feed back to the vehicle. In a crash situation, where many drivers freeze, the car will be able to take over and steer or brake on its own. Reducing pre-impact speed by 15 km an hour would halve the road-death rate, according to Tingvall, so self-braking is key.

In the very long run, Volvo's Ivarsson said, we may all drive the ultimate vehicle: the uncrashable car.

"If you have a really long perspective, I think we will not have vehicles that will crash in the future," he said. "You and I, in the future, we won't accept that. Why should we accept that?"

This leaves us with the thought: are our client brands truly Future Ready? What level of consumer engagement do they desire and what level of industry changing innovation will they set their ambitions for? Take a moment to reflect on the current state of the brands you interface with and then ask yourself – how can I proactively help position my clients for the future. Don’t be afraid to be uncomfortable; as change is inevitable but growth is optional.

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