Branding Opportunities For A New “Summer of Hope”?
It seems the world situation has never been more depressing– e.g. bitter polarization of our politics, Russian atrocities in Ukraine, dangerous competition with China, the sad revelations about Trump’s latest corruptions, more mass shootings, and now pollution in the Northeast from climate change fires in Canada. But the summer is about to start, which is traditionally a season of hope, optimism and adventure. And with this comes opportunities for brand marketers to identify new flavors and microtrends to emotionally connect with consumers. Every summer is different, as Nathaniel...
Read MoreHow Our Toxic Culture Is Negatively Impacting Gen Z Youth
American culture remains in constant flux. Over the years, each generation has experienced changing values and behavioral traits shaped by wars, economics, new innovations and especially technology. These cultural upheavals are important for brand marketers as trends and emerging values require careful adaptation. In her new book, “Generations”, the psychologist Jean Twenge states “technology has completely changed the way we live, and the way we think, behave and relate to each other”. Twenge summarizes the special characteristics of each generation as a preface for her deep dive on how...
Read MoreThe Evolution Of “Woke” In Political Branding
In March I mentioned to a friend that my daughter recently spoke at a global UNESCO conference in Abu Dhabi on “safeguarding cultural heritage”, mainly relating to climate change. He asked if that was an anti-woke message. I was confused as I hear so many interpretations of what “woke” means today. Did my friend infer that this message was a positive or a negative? I asked myself, how could anyone question climate change or the importance of country’s cultural heritage today. The term “woke” is being used often these days, especially in politics by conservatives when trying to...
Read MoreWhy A.I. Can Use An Emotional Branding Dimension
Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) is coming with a vengeance. Most pundits predict A.I. will dominate business, the arts, education and most communications in the future. But as David Brooks of the NY Times pointed out in his February column “In the Age of A.I., Major in Being Human”, the effectiveness of A.I. is often limited by a lack of emotion, passion, and imagination – the critical human values for fully engaging its audience. As Brooks describes it, “it feels kind of lifeless”. Business can improve the use of A.I. if it adopted the core principles of branding, which is the heart of...
Read MoreFinland: The Brand Leader For Resisting Misinformation
Misinformation has become a severe worldwide problem and a major contributor to rising divisiveness, hatred and even violence. With social media, in particular, opening the door for anyone to create and share falsehoods and conspiracy stories, overall trust in media and government institutions is at an all time low. This has also become a quandary for defenders of freedom of speech, especially when misinformation endangers one’s health (e.g. promoting ineffective or unsafe medications for Covid). Europe has traditionally been more protective of digital privacy than the U.S., with stricter...
Read More
Connect with us