The future of brand and brand management – Some provocative propositions from a more methodological perspective

Abstract

In the context of dramatic changes in society and markets, namely, the trend to an active and critical society that is growingly concerned about sustainable goods and services while empowering customers and other stakeholders via social media and other Information & Communication technologies, it is doubtless important to critically review the state of the art with respect to branding. When one is heavily involved in both brand research and brand management practice, many issues run through one’s mind and present various suggestions for the future direction of both brands and their management. At the same time, it also seems appropriate to critically review the existing discussion. Given the restricted space available, I decided to combine the two and contribute some provocative propositions to the ongoing discussion, which accentuates a perspective that is slightly more methodological. It seemed especially critical to me to select the following issues: ensuring connectivity to existing management theory and practice, the development of comprehensive integrated brand management concepts, the acceptance of complexity, the foundation of measurement, theory building and management based on the insight and methods of neuroscience, and finally, the plea for both differentiation and situational relativisation.