Brands: the last flat earth theory

The brand-customer relationship model, which sees the brand as an intangible asset with a value (as a kind of property) is flawed, but it can be useful provided advertisers remember that it is only a simplified version of reality, and not the 'truth'.

Brands: the last flat earth theory

Brian Millar

Whenever an agency offers its services as a 'brand steward' I start to feel a bit uneasy. In my mind the word 'steward' conjures up the Steward of Gondor, that sinister old guy in the last Lord of the Ringsmovie, who presides over the gradual collapse of the kingdom in the absence of any real leaders. He is so obsessed with the traditions of the place that he fails to notice that millions of crazed and savage Orcs are gnawing at his city walls, baying for his people's blood....

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