Until very recently, people thought about brands as words and images, visual and verbal identities. In today’s world, your brand is the sum of all interactions across your organisation — with customers, users, the wider community, and your employees.

But brands can also be symbols of meaning that are co-created by companies, consumers, and communities over time. Tesla, for example, stands for innovation and creativity, Patagonia for social responsibility, Chanel for prestige. Through ownership and consumption, consumers express their self-identity to others through aligning themselves with brands’ values.

Some 80% customers say that they are more loyal to brands that continue to find new ways to be relevant in their lives. Therefore, being able to emotionally engage consumers and encourage them to come back requires brands to make experiences better, more meaningful, more efficient, purposeful, and memorable. It’s about creating something exciting for people, something they’ll be able to share with their friends.