The word 'brand' no longer carries its old world charm. It is used often casually at the drop of a hat, as if it were a proposition in the long-winding sentence of our lives. However, we are not blaming anyone. Aren't we living in an over-marketed world, littered with brands seeping inside every fabric of our lives? If this sounds cynical and depressing, it simply means that, you have to wake up to the new reality we are living in. Wait, this reality is not about adjusting our fragmented lives in a commoditized world.
This is entirely different. This new reality is all about an invisible, yet powerful seismic shift that has occurred in the last decade. This paradigm shift has thrown to the winds, whatever we knew and read about Branding. Let us understand this paradigm shift using a simple metaphor. Let us go back to the days when we learnt about Astronomy in geography classes.
Let us rewind back to those days when we sat in little creaky chairs, with trepidation and awe, wearing those boxed 3-D glasses, to witness a simulated reality of the solar system. The panaromic image of the blazing sun at the centre of the Solar system, with the celestial objects orbiting around the Sun remains etched since our childhood memory. Not so long ago, brands occupied the centre of our lives. Our lives revolved around them. We were so enamored by their style, elegance and we would do almost anything to rub off the magic of brands in our mundane lives. It helped that brands were few and they often carried an aura of exclusiveness. Several successful brands which were built in the twentieth century were tall monoliths, revered like demi-gods, by faithful followers.
End of Part 1: