Brands as Meaning Makers
Brands as Meaning Makers
22 April 2013
Tracy Lloyd
Tim Lebrecht is a noted brand and marketing thinker. He recently made a presentation at The Economist’s “The Big Rethink” Brand Power conference in London, at which he urged companies to see the role of a meaning maker for people important to the brand.
Tim isn’t talking about a total rethink of the company’s mission or purpose, but rather as he says, “everyday small acts that make the lives of stakeholders a little bit more meaningful. I believe that maybe the sum of all these small parts is greater than the whole.
So, what are the qualities of a brand that is a meaning maker? According to Tim, a meaning maker:
- makes us see the world with “fresh eyes;”
- considers business to be more than just a numbers game: a powerful vehicle for creating richer human experiences that “mean more;”
- honors our full ‘un-quantified selves’ rather than just catering to our ‘quantified selves’ and our self-interests, against a myopic belief in Big Data and a mindset that equates better algorithms with better lives;
- carves out and defends spaces for the ephemeral and transcendent—for experiences that are “greater than ourselves.”
I urge you to read the entire text of Tim’s presentation here.
22 April 2013
Tracy Lloyd
