A brand is not a place, it’s a direction

In this short video John Gerzema, Chief Insight Officer, Young & Rubicam explains the “problem” with brands today
. From his book The Brand Bubble

“Consumers are falling out of love with brands”

“What we found was that consumers were looking not only for a brand to be different, but for to keeping different, we call this energized differentiation.”

“What do brands with energized differentiation understand, they understand a brand is not a place, it’s a direction, they understand that their positioning is no longer static
. And that brands must constantly evolve. Their in peril if they stand still”

This gives a much better idea of the need for fluidity and constant movement for brands, it takes it one step further than “the need for change”, as Seth Godin, amongst others, discussed almost ten years ago.

The video was found on brand new which also includes this parapgraph

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They go on to argue that the exceptional brands that are valued by consumers have a common trait. They are seen as having energy and momentum. That’s a powerful conclusion as it challenges a lot of the assumptions that underpin brand management, marketing and communications. It argues that consistency is a false idol; change, momentum and energy matter more
. And this leads to a very different kind of marketing and brand management.

The Brand Bubble from Brand Bubble on Vimeo

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According to Gilbert, humans avoid risk but admire the people who embrace it. The reason being our understanding of the fact that change is necessary for survival, and in order to evolve someone has to “look down the barrel of danger” :o).

As it is an embedded notion in species that we need to evolve i order to survive, it might be we are looking for the same traits in companies and brands that we want to identify with?