Posts by Jay Gronlund

Why A.I. Can Use An Emotional Branding Dimension

Posted by on Mar 16, 2023 in Blog | 0 comments

Why 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...

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Finland: The Brand Leader For Resisting Misinformation

Posted by on Feb 17, 2023 in Blog | 0 comments

Finland: 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...

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What George Santos Reveals About Brand Authenticity

Posted by on Jan 10, 2023 in Blog | 0 comments

What George Santos Reveals About Brand Authenticity

George Santos, the recently elected Republican Congressman from New York, has taken the disinformation phenomenon to a new level   His lies about his background were so blatant and full of extreme fantasy that it begs the questions of why, how did he get away with it initially, and what can we learn from his attempt to invent a new life, or really a new personal brand.  Moreover, what does this tell us about the dangers to our society when such extreme misinformation can enable untrustworthy politicians into our government? A branding perspective can help explain the intentions of Santos. ...

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The Emerging Re-Branding Battle: Stakeholder And Woke Capitalism

Posted by on Dec 16, 2022 in Blog | 0 comments

The Emerging Re-Branding Battle:  Stakeholder And Woke Capitalism

The gloves are coming off.  The lines are being drawn.  Just like everything else these days, the interpretation and branding of a new version of “capitalism” is being politicized, dividing business and community leaders, and of course politicians.  The steadfast emergence of stakeholder capitalism as a model for promoting the public good beyond just making a profit, has created an intense backlash, mainly among conservatives who label it “woke capitalism”. The driving force of social responsibility, especially among young people and also many corporate leaders, has significantly expanded...

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Viewing The “Election Denier” Faction As A Lifestyle Brand

Posted by on Nov 15, 2022 in Blog | 0 comments

Viewing The “Election Denier” Faction As A Lifestyle Brand

A lifestyle brand is an idea with a promise based on specific values or interests shared with its audience to make an emotional connection.  It could involve a group of people, a culture or an individual (e.g. Martha Stewart).  The election denier group in the Republican Party is essentially a lifestyle brand.  It is the face of an extremist conglomerate of MAGA voters, Trump supporters and far right conservative activists, who all reject the 2020 election results despite no evidence. Understanding how this new lifestyle brand is perceived by all voters today helps explain the Republicans’...

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