Lost in translation: is the digital age weakening brand meanings?

This article discusses the importance of brand meaning and the threats that have emerged against it in the digital age.

Lost in translation: is the digital age weakening brand meanings?

Judie Lannon

The essence of branding is the creation of value, and that value resides in a blend of function and emotional meanings. The digital age is diluting brand meanings due to an overemphasis on short-term activation metrics rather than investing in long-term brand-building activities. In the face of the frictionless shopping offered by Big Data algorithms that bypass marketing, brand-building is essential.

Manufacturers make products but consumers buy brands. The alchemy that effects that transformation from product to brand is the acquisition of emotionally based meaning - through advertising...

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