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How and when did brands get so small? It seems that despite the greater availability of tools and engaging media to connect brands with consumers, the impact of brands on society has greatly diminished. Why are the trillions of dollars currently spent on marketing only getting us “Paris Hilton” brands instead of timeless “Liz Taylors?” It seems that this past decade’s media revolution has empowered consumers while making brands more insecure.

Brands that want to be leaders must learn how to lead. They must facilitate what we call “branded movements” – or powerful collaborative statements with non-traditional groups such as grassroots organizations and influencers resulting in powerful brand communities. How do branded movements begin?

Brands should first adopt a more assertive attitude with regards to the roles they can play in society. They should not be afraid to ask themselves how they can change the world. This type of weighty question will naturally guide your brand to true values and give clarity, edge and purpose to your branding strategy. Plus, doing so will also bring you closer with a stronger base of consumers that are already asking themselves that very question of the brands they embrace.

A growing number of examples of branded movements is feeding consumers’ appetite for brand meaning, including General Electric’s “Eco-magination,” Lance Armstrong’s “Live Strong,” Dove’s “Real Beauty”, and Bono’s Red Campaign. At the core of these initiatives is a brand becoming human, inspiring through values, and then building communities through stories and interactions through imaginative use of creative and media.

“Branded movements,” work because they give everyone involved a sense of purpose around the brand and its values. They are also powerful because they allow to brand to touch upon society’s big shifts as well as the themes impacting the day-to-day decisions of individuals and families. The brand becomes both symbolic and relatable, inspirational and accessible. It is then, by being truly a part of consumers’ lives that our shrinking brands can become big again.

As part of the idyllic period that is the sabbatical between Christmas and New Year’s I read a clever book by Mexican writer Jorge Volpi entitled “El Insomnio de Bolívar,” which loosely translates to “Bolívar’s Insomnia.” In this tome Volpi explores whether the concept of Latin America exists or is an exotic construct crafted by foreigners. The author doesn’t seem so convinced about Latin America, at least as most of the world sees it in the form of a quaint form magical realism, balmy banana republics or a whole other slew of extreme stereotypes.

According to a somewhat caustic Volpi Latin Americans aren’t that much different from the rest of modern societies, don’t have a lot in common with other Latin countries, don’t interact all that much with each other, and tend to look somewhere else for inspiration. And that somewhere else for many, especially writers and artists, is increasingly the United States. Ironically it is when confronted with the U.S. and its somewhat simplistic take on the region that a true pan-regional Latin identity surfaces. This makes Latin Americans soul brothers and sisters with Canadians who also deepen their sense of pride when comparing notes with their American neighbor.

And while the book scores some good points by studying the erstwhile notion of cultural identity in a digitally connected global village where broken English is the most spoken language, my epiphany after the read was slightly different. This book clarified that the true modern day Latin Americans that Bolívar had in mind are U.S. Latinos.

continue reading “U.S. Latinos, What Simón Bolívar Dreamt About All Along”

At a time when pockets are tight, the general alarm regarding economic decline has given rise to a number of concerns for new-age marketers. A slight edge, a propitious insight, can now make the difference between bankruptcy and billions. This has marketers across the nation scrambling to develop new strategies in a evolving media-scape that they don’t quite understand how to best use, in an effort to gain even an inch.

What marks this economic downturn as unusual are its unique recipients. The Millennials. This generation of brethren, brothas, bros, is the crème of the crop, the best ones yet. Larger (in number) than the Baby Boomers, more well-connected than Oprah, and smarter than you imagined young people could ever be, the Millennials are almost too cool to be true. Born from the early 80’s  to the late 90’s they grew up between the 1990s and 2000s.

This generation of technology-bred, media-soaked, and information-thirsty youth is a class apart, saving wildlife, going ultra-green, and rescuing underprivileged orphans in their spare time. They have not known an era without computers, cell phones or CD’s. They are “the empowered generation” that take information for granted, and make more demands upon what companies can and should offer. Unlike their Gen X predecessors who invented the term “reality bites” Millennials are idealistic and truly believe they can make a difference. continue reading “The Millenials have arrived”