[The American Brands Council]
Rich Jernstedt
Executive Vice President, Senior Partner Fleishman-Hillard
There are new criteria for a brand to be “great.”
Communications for the brand must still be
creative, integrated, and, more than ever, interactive.
Personality, equity, and distinction are
critical. Brands must deliver on promises.
Audiences still have the final say in determining
a brand’s greatness. It’s purchased, or
not. It’s believed, or not. It’s advocated, or not.
But now the stakeholders have more control.
They are deciding — even one by one —
whether, when, how, and where information
about the brand will reach them.
And, if they allow it to reach them, they
exert even more control. They express opinions
about it to others. Not just word-of-mouth,
but electronically. So, consumer-generated
media is very influential.
To be great now, a brand must be important
enough to be let in to the stakeholder’s world;
multidimensional enough to allow immersion
in a variety of ways, places, and times; and relevant
enough to generate digital endorsements.
