Once upon a time, someone at Ford Motor Company may have known what the Lincoln brand stood for in the customer’s mind. But, that was then. Over the years, defining Lincoln has been a challenge. In 2019, Lincoln decided the brand would be American Luxury. That was an undefined title. It was left to the potential customer to fill in the blanks. Today, American Luxury is Sanctuary, as in a refuge or a sacred place.
Self-expressive brands enable us to express our inner selves, “the way others see me.” People who want to express their “real me” are more engaged with brands online and are motivated to co-create brand value. They become brand advocates. Ultimately, they are willing to pay a premium and will develop a long-term relationship with the brand.
Marketers are swimming in data. The amount of data available to marketers is exploding and the analysis of very large data sets, popularly referred to as “big data,” has been touted as the next wave of productive marketing practice. Such data range from records of transactions to the text of reviews and customer service interactions, to images and video. The availability of such data should make brand building easier.
The war for talent has been relentless, even before the so-called Great Resignation and quiet quitting that followed the pandemic. Silicon Valley perks were all about attracting scarce talent. The power of employees has been most evident when it comes to corporate purpose.
You might not think that you are a brand, or that you buy brands, or that where you live is a brand—that is, until you consider that, like so many other things, brands too have evolved.
