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Apple & The Meaningful Brands Rankings

...rector of Corporate Communications; Sara de Dios Lopez, Global Director of Meaningful Brands; and Amy du Pon, Global Head of Data Insights, for framing the results further. On Apple, Sara shared the following: For most people worldwide, Apple is an aspirational brand rather than a meaningful brand for the majority MB results show that : a) Apple is often very meaningful for its clients & fans but not necessarily to the rest of people & society; Br...
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The 2013 Havas Meaningful Brands Index (Infographic)

...s Index was released. That said, this is still worth checking out. Havas’s Meaningful Brands Index (MBi) measures the the extent to which people feel brands bring benefits to our lives. This brings to mind some of what John Gerzema talked about, which was the growing importance of the CSR function, i.e., brands doing good. One of the most astounding findings: If you compare the US results vs. the global results, there’s an even higher percentage o...
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Meaningful Brands Index Methodology

...dy’s methodology. To that question, Sara de Dios Lopez, Global Director of Meaningful Brands, provided the following. I’ve done some minor editing for clarity. Also, any emphasis is mine. Meaningful Brands (MB) explores to what extent people (+18 years ) perceive brands are tangibly and positively contributing to their quality of life and to society at large. Our framework and the MB index considers 3 key elements (split into 13 dimensions and 44...
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Now on Forbes: The Evolution of Afropunk

...ial audience segment that doesn’t often show up on most media plans. Smart brands are continuing to warm up to the property and it audience, as evidenced by the list of festival sponsors that include Coors Light, beauty brands Mac, Dark & Lovely and Sundial, TV network FX and auto giant Toyota and car-sharing service Zipcar, to name a few. What follows herein is a compilation and condensation of conversations with the principals in Afropunk, Matth...

Building Iconic Brands

...randing models that have been so prevalent, is that the building of iconic brands (cultural branding) happens with brands that people use for self-expression.  More importantly—and this is key—Holt’s research shows that iconic brands speak to cultural anxieties and contradictions that are in the air at a particular historical moment.  He uses as examples VW in the ‘50s; Easy Rider in the in the 60s; Coke in the 70s; Harley-Davidson in the 80’s; an...

POVs On Cultural Leadership: Tim Stock

...ware of cultural zeitgeist. The trouble is the varying definitions of what brands see as effective impact. Brands have spent the last 50 years scripting the cultural narrative which has put their radar off a bit for how culture works in a highly networked world. To steal the words of Don Draper the most important idea in advertising was “new” – and the choices brands made were the calamine lotion to that itch. That model does not stand up to how p...

POVs On Cultural Leadership: Amber Horsburgh

...build an own-able emotion to the base category to which they compete. Some brands need not do that, some brands do. Building a cultural leadership practice is relevant as a branding exercise, but does a service brand need to do so? Say a meals on wheels type? Q3: How does risk figure into the equation of a brand’s cultural leadership? Risk depends on scale, uniqueness and time. Q4: Is there a brand that comes to mind that’s leading a cultural conv...

POVs on Cultural Leadership: Peter Spear

...-5 scale (1=completely suck, 5=rockin’ the house!) where do you think MOST brands are when it comes to leading culture? 2 Q6: What’s the 1 thing you’d suggest brands start doing right now if they’re serious about improving their cultural leadership abilities? I would stop trying to lead and start listening. This is self-serving, of course, but I think it’s ironic that only with the arrival of social media did brands start to talk about “listening”...
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Now on Forbes: Four Brand-Building Lessons From Ava DuVernay

...ers is a great starting point. On a corporate level, look at Havas Media’s Meaningful Brands Index for the companies that are adding value to the world. The key, I think, to DuVernay’s peace of mind is that she’s motivated by a desire to both create excellent films and create real diversity in the marketplace. She’s doing both. 2. Always remember your reasons why. It’s easy to be distracted, especially as the brand gains momentum. But the original...
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Building Nonprofit Brands: Public Programs

...ce that’s already oversaturated with choices. See other entries in this series, originally called Building Arts Brands, here: Building Arts Brands Building Arts Brands: First, Know Your Audience...
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VIDEO: Getting Brands Out Of Category & Into Culture

...t The two make the point that media companies are uniquely suited to match brands to culture and conversations through technology. It’s an argument that Ray made earlier this year in Ad Age. I was skeptical. But here, he and Nazerali lay out the argument in a much more cogent fashion, explaining that you can now understand people better through the data, the digital trails we leave around, and that can be used to develop more impactful content. An...

What Two Guys Learned About The Importance Of Feminine Values

...r economic development and public policy. So what are the implications for brands? Brands have to look outside their categories. Brands that will increasingly command our respect have to be trusted and have integrity. We’ve seen a 50% decline in trust since the global financial crisis and, at the same time, we’ve seen a 400% rise in kindness and empathy as a driver of brand differentiation. Which means people want companies that actually care abou...