As the new US administration takes its place in the White House, poised to shape the future of geopolitics and commerce, brand leaders are confronting a stark reality: trust continues to fray. Polarization, misinformation, and a sense of betrayal permeate public discourse. Institutions once seen as pillars of stability are now viewed with suspicion.
As we have learned over the past month, Meta lifted its free speech restrictions. Free speech is in and restraints are out. Meta is taking the same road as X. This means that the relevant differentiation of Meta’s brands, Facebook and Instagram, relative to X, is size and profitability.
In its most recent January 2025 earnings report, Boeing indicated it suffered a $4 billion loss, roughly four times “worse” than what was expected by analysts and Wall Street. Now what?
It is axiomatic that a successful brand should command a premium price in the marketplace. Customers willingly pay such premiums because the brand offers higher quality, more innovation, greater trustworthiness (and associated reduction in risk), or more personal relevance, among other things. While this is true and justifies investment in brand building, it misses an important strategic advantage of successful brand building.
B2B and B2C brands are often assumed to be very different. One big assumption is that B2C brands are bought on emotions and B2B brands are bought on logic. This is partly, but not wholly true. B2B brands are actually also purchased emotionally, but on different emotions to B2C. B2B brands need to focus on generating emotions around things like reducing risk and increasing efficiency.
