#branding-process

#branding-process

Dutch Bros, founded by Travis and Dane Boersma, pays homage to their Dutch heritage with its name and windmill logo, symbolizing the Netherlands' cultural significance.

Michelladonna goes around the world to celebrate the cats who live and work in bodegas, corner stores, and repair shops on her show, Shop Cats. The bilingual series launched in 2024 on creator-led production platform Mad Realities, and quickly found an audience drawn to its feline stars and Michelladonna's energy and humor.

Together, the multicultural segment totaled 46 million households in 2024, representing just over 33% of all households in the country—a 12% increase compared to 2017.

Performance has always been the foundation of commerce media because it tied spend to measurable behavior. From sponsored search to sponsored products, the category scaled by delivering outcomes that could be directly attributed to transactions. Automation, AI-driven optimization and closed-loop measurement accelerated that model and made outcomes-based buying the norm. Outcomes still matter. But as AI reduces friction and increases competition, outcomes alone no longer create separation.

Hearing stories triggers hormones like oxytocin (associated with attachment and trust), which helps us attach importance to the lessons behind the stories and make the lessons sticky. At one time, storytelling was key to survival. After all, the cavemen (and women) who listened to the cautionary tales about not straying far from the campfire at night were the ones who dodged the saber-toothed tigers and lived to pass along their genes.

For much of the modern corporate era, brand has been treated as surface area. A story told outward. A set of signals designed to persuade, attract, and differentiate. When companies spoke about brand, they were usually talking about perception: how they looked in the market, how they sounded, how they were received. That framing made sense in a world where markets moved a little more slowly, organizations were stable, and leadership could afford to separate strategy from culture, product from meaning, execution from belief.

This year has been volatile for brands. With tariffs taking effect, the job market slowing, and consumer spending barely keeping pace with inflation, it's no surprise that ad spend has slowed in tandem. Amidst economic uncertainty and an onslaught of unanswered questions, brands are increasingly looking for demonstrable ROI in their marketing and design budgets. Some may choose to invest in a costly new campaign or commit to a new brand identity, while others will default to slashing their budgets altogether.