Humans conform our perception of reality through the eyes of our Culture. That is why, despite the enormous knowledge available and the obvious need to adapt to the new times, the vast majority of companies continue to perceive reality through an obsolete Cultural Paradigm that does not allow them to be really aware of the the “human” dimension of their Brand and, therefore, that prevents them from facing a new perspective and effective management of this Capital in a convulsive and uncertain scenario, but full of new opportunities.
We could address this issue by stating that the world and the tools have evolved towards the three dimensions, but the vast majority of companies are still educated and therefore anchored in seeing a reality of only two.
Until now the Brand has been understood from the Culture of Marketing using a two-dimensional flat perspective: the dimension of the Brand Promise and the dimension of the Results obtained through that promise. This perspective, based almost exclusively on obtaining an economic return, meets more and more with the limits of its discourse, with an increasingly transparent communicative environment and with an increasingly intelligent and practical consumer, who simply recognizes reality that the Marks “always put their interests ahead of their values” and that it pays them with a logical: “ok, then I will do the same and simply buy the best bidder”.
The basic problem of lack of effectiveness that derives from seeing the Brand from the “two traditional dimensions” is that we always focus on reality through a “mirror” image of short-term results, on which decisions that act are adopted. in reality only on the reflecting surface … instead of focusing them in the long term towards the three-dimensional background reality and “human” that projects it.
In order to be aware of the true challenge of strategically managing our Brand Capital in the 21st century, we should take into account this new perspective based on three dimensions:
1. The dimension of the Brand is what people think of us.
This is the dimension that understands the empirical fact that our Brand is alive “out there”, as a conceptual image in the minds of others and not in our offices … so we must learn to flow knowing that we must contrast, constantly update and “hear” what is the image that others have of us and above all, what elements and why they project it that way.
2. The dimension that our Brand is our Social Identity.
This is the dimension that understands our “natural” place in the Society, as something that our Market will end up depending on sooner or later and not vice versa as it continues to do so far … which allows to establish sincere, honest, ethical and lasting relationships both internally and externally and that allow a realistic and credible Social Mission away from punctual, artificial or interested actions and aligned with our long-term objectives.
3. The dimension that our Brand is our footprint in the world.
This is the dimension that our brand understands as something totally connected with the world to which we belong (digital and physical) and which is defined over time through the facts. Understanding our Brand as a “footprint” (a fact that leaves a mark) instead of understanding it as until now as a “promise” (something independent and without consequences in our environment) is the key factor to acquire Consciousness and Social Responsibility Real that our times demand.
It is increasingly clear that there is no single reality and that to a large extent, we, conditioned by our minds and our beliefs, create it every day in an increasingly chaotic and liquid world … so the most effective from the point of view of View of Social Branding, is knowing how to create “three-dimensional” containers where we can store and flow over time with our Brand Capital, instead of continuing to allow it to escape through the flat surface of paper where we reduce it to figures.