1. From Differentiation to Distinctiveness
Brands are components of identification, reflecting individuals’ values, preferences, and aspirations. Brands aren’t chosen because they’re marginally “better”; they’re chosen because they feel unmistakably themselves in a crowded world. Focus on questioning “Why should anyone care?” not “How are we different on a feature chart?”
2. Culture Comes First
The game has flipped. Brands don’t lead with a message anymore—culture does. People remix, reject, or embrace brands based on the moments and subcultures they plug into. If you want to matter, start there.
3. We Buy Meaning Before Utility
A product’s function is just the ticket in. What people actually buy is a story, a feeling of belonging, a signal of identity. What we actually “purchase” is a story to live inside, a badge to wear, a tribe to join. A brand is built by the people who use it, not just the people who market it. The brand in itself doesn’t matter as much as the multiple meanings attached to it by its users. Brands aren’t blank canvases. They’re formed of multiple pieces that users put together to form an object that fits their identity.
4. Brands Are Systems of Signals, Not Slogans
A brand speaks through details—packaging, rituals, tone of voice, spaces, interfaces. Together, these small cues create a world people instantly recognize.
5. Design the Gestalt (Not Just the Ad)
A brand is a world where every touchpoint feels like it belongs. Sometimes one simple, authentic signal (like a retro design or a playful loading screen) shifts perception more than a giant ad campaign.
6. Research Like an Anthropologist, Not a Pollster
To find powerful signals, study the culture around you: symbols, memes, stories, tensions. The question isn’t “How do we optimize this message?” but “What role do people need this brand to play?”
7. Purpose Is Optional, Relevance Isn’t
Not every brand needs to save the world. Sometimes what people want is comfort, craft, or just something that feels right. Being authentic matters more than having a lofty mission.
8. You Need to Feel the Brand
The best teams become the brand. They can improvise in character without needing to flip through a brand book. When everyone feels it, coherence happens naturally.
9. Marketing vs. Post‑Marketing
Traditional marketing drives sales and awareness. Post-marketing builds the deeper meaning and signals that make everything else stick. Don’t neglect one for the other.
10. Let the Brand Spread Itself
When your signals are baked into your product, experience, and community, people share the brand on their own. That’s the goal: a story that keeps living because people see themselves in it.
