Cheryl Berman
Chairman and Chief Creative Officer, Leo Burnett U.S.A.
Brands live and breathe. They flourish, prosper, stumble, and gasp. Brands get sick and brands get well. Brands grow tired and old, and sometimes a brand dies right before our very eyes.
Brands need love, passion, and loyalty to survive. To become great brands, they need a potent, active belief by consumers that their brands are the ones to be trusted, brands that always deliver on promises. Their brands even reflect consumers’ own self-image, as all of our collective brand choices work together to inform each person’s own brand.
Great brands know who they are and behave as such, consistently delivering their promise, yet constantly evolving to stay relevant and meaningful. Great brands never sit still. They grow because they make choices that others hesitate to make. They thrive by embedding themselves in our culture and becoming an integral part of consumers’ lives.
No matter what we may read or hear, a great brand can never be owned by some holding company or corporation. It is and always will be owned by the people who believe in it.
