The Magic Of Esteem

The gloss and veneer of a favourable reputation is a precious thing.

- Shubhranshu Singh

Brands are concepts. They live as much in the minds of individuals, aspirants, consumers, brand users community and the collective mass of society as they do in the brand books and marketing frameworks of the brand managers and their partner agencies.

The brand as an amalgam of product, concept, idea and narrative is what gains reputation.

The gloss and veneer of a favourable reputation is a precious thing. It is what is referred to as ‘that immortal part of myself’ by Shakespeare. Devoid of the favourable impression and repute, what remains is inconsequential.

Brand management dictates a set of prescribed activities. Done right, it yields awareness, approval, sales and share. But stellar performance doubled with higher esteem is gold dust. Not everyone gets it. Its alchemy is shrouded in mystery. Why brand image waxes and wanes even for ubiquitous brands is not understood or deconstructed enough. When on a high trajectory, brand belief can reach the innermost recesses of our minds. When discarded, it becomes cold and passé’.

As a knowledge discipline, brand management will need to evolve by roaming across diverse often unrelated fields of knowledge. This deliberate pluralism of context can help to build the cognitive diversity and cultural complexity required to understand brand esteem and repute. The routine will not help. A kaleidoscopic eclecticism is demanded. It should encompass sociology, economics, communication, cognition, anthropology, semiotics and other fields of learning.