Brands are in the business of meaning exchange. Meaning is what we consume in all things, be it products, services or our human relationships. It drives our decisions and behaviours. It is the cornerstone of value. Meaning is the core intangible asset for brands to build and retain value and grow long-term equity. Without meaning, brands become innately hollow, empty shells and mere commodities. Understanding how people create, share and consume meaning and how to navigate meaning systemically in the global market full of cultural complexity is paramount to the future success of brands and organisations. Meaning is quickly becoming the new leading business currency in the 21st century. Semiotics and anthropology are the new literacy, the new language that brand leaders need to speak to keep their brands relevant, valuable and profitable in the quickly changing world today. Istanbul, Turkey | November 6, 2019 https://www.brandweekistanbul.com/

1. The Future
Of Brands:
Lead With Meaning
At The Core

2. Hello!
My name is Dr. Martina Olbertova. I help brands craft
their symbolic meaning and cultural relevance.
Founder & CEO of Meaning.Global, a global strategic
intelligence consultancy helping brands adapt to the
quickly changing cultural context of the 21st century,
and an Adviser to The Core Code.
Brand and cultural strategist, semiotician and
social scientist, part academic, part practitioner.
Multinational background in marketing, media and
communication from the UK, Ireland, USA and the
Czech Republic has allowed me to develop a rare
360° overview and a holistic insight into the industry.

3. “This year we are planning to point to the
future of business models, communication,
innovation in marketing under the theme
of “Designing the Future”.
We believe that the “meaningful brands”
strategy is one of the most efficient models
of communication.
~ Sercan Yenipazar

4. What kind of world do we want to live in?
What kind of future do we want to create?

5. “The best way to predict
the future is to invent it.”
Alan Kay

6. WHAT IS THE FUTURE?
Human-led
Value- and meaning-driven
Culturally embedded
Socially progressive
Powered by Identity (Being vs. Buying)
Contextual: Informed by the real world of people
Circular, cyclical and holistic leading to oneness
But in order for us to get there, we need to revisit where we are today.

7. WHAT IS HAPPENING
TO THE WORLD TODAY?

8. THE WORLD HAS
CHANGED.

9. The very foundations of the world we live in are becoming disintegrated:

10. The context of the world we used to know is
changing right in front of our eyes which
redefines how we perceive everything else,
including brands, comms and businesses.

11. IN THE POST-TRUTH WORLD, LACK OF TRUST IS THE NEW NORMAL.
Building and retaining trust in the post-truth world is a
daunting task for any brand today. When we don’t know what
and whom to trust anymore, the ability to do business, build
lasting relationships and deliver meaningful value suffers.

12. The mass crisis of meaning
signals the collapse of the old
narrative of consumption.
We no longer know what things
mean anymore and can’t orient
ourselves effectively in the world
as the very foundations of the
world we live in have become
destabilised and disintegrated.
“CULTURAL DISEMBEDDING”

13. OVER-
SATURATION
Oversaturation of global markets forces companies and brands to rethink their point of differentiation.
Greater volume leads to the lack of differentiation and erosion of meaning. The amount of choices available
impairs our cognitive structures and breeds marketing clutter and overall meaninglessness.

14. HOMOGENI-
SATION
Globalisation has led us to the homogenisation of lifestyles, values, beliefs and authentic cultural differences. Need to
rebuild strong internal values and cultivate a listening culture for employees and customers to recreate distinctiveness.

15. FRAGMEN-
TATION
We have much data and too little meaning. We live in an era with overemphasis
on technology and data, which leads to fragmentation of human sense.

16. NOISE
The ubiquitous clutter & noise clogs our minds and poisons our ability to think clearly.

17. Culture is quickly becoming the new #1 intangible product of brands which pushes clients to act in unknown ways.
Rising cultural irrelevance as traditionally led organisations are out of touch with our lived social reality.
CULTURAL
IRRELEVANCE

18. GLOBAL BRANDS ARE INCREASINGLY CULTURALLY IRRELEVANT,
BUT RELEVANCE IS KEY TO GROWING & RETAINING BRAND VALUE!
H&M product photo, 2018 Prada keychain, 2018 Gucci sweater, 2019
Puma’s House of Hustle, 2018
Dove body diverse product packaging, 2017 Gillette, The Best Men Can Be, 2019 Pepsi Kendall Jenner ad, 2017
#FEMALE_BODY_DIVERSITY #PROGRESSIVE_MASCULINITY #DIVERSITY_UNITY
#ACCIDENTAL
RACISM
#GLORIFICATION_OF_POVERTY
Cultural irrelevance is a systemic problem. These brand fails show a systemic inability of brands to reflect reality as is and create diversity as an output.

19. DOVE: BODY DIVERSE CAMPAIGN, 2017
Global backlash against Dove for portraying a tone-deaf,
insensitive and literal take on body diversity in packaging.

20. H&M, 2018
H&M stores in South
Africa trashed after the
'racist' ad.
The stores had to close
down in Johannesburg.

21. STARBUCKS, 2019
“Sino-struggle”:
US coffee chain's reputation
tanks nearly 10 times faster
than Apple's in China during
the trade war.
With rising nationalism, the
evident “foreignness” of
globalised brands without the
point of “meaningful
differentiation” for the local
culture becomes a big
problem. (BrandZ, Kantar)
What once used to be seen as
aspirational is now a downside.

22. PEPSI, 2017DOLCE AND GABBANA, 2018
The Italian fashion brand health score has fallen
14.1 points amongst Chinese consumers.

23. Cultural irrelevance is everywhere around us today and it’s the primary
reason why brands can’t grow and lose a significant value in business today.
-$

24. It is widening year by year as the society evolves faster than brands can catch up with.
Systemic inability to navigate culture effectively and produce cultural relevance.
We need new tools and new kind of logic as consumer research can only get us this far.
There is a deepening symbolic divide in business today...
BRANDS &
ORGS
CULTURE &
SOCIETY

25. We bridge the gap of meaning between brands/organisations and
culture/society to maximise value creation and cultural relevance.
Meaning.Global

26. THE
INTERNAL
WORLD
THE
EXTERNAL
WORLD
When brands are in alignment with what the culture society look like, they can create authentic meaning.
TO CREATE TRUE MEANING, BRANDS NEED TO MIRROR THE WORLD WE LIVE IN.

27. vs
How we look at things matters.
Metaphors create meaning.
We have become accustomed to see
and manage organisations as machines.
This creates siloes and fragments value
creation. But what if they’re really more
of living self-evolving organisms?
KEY Q: ARE MARKETS MACHINES, OR LIVING SELF-EVOLVING ORGANISMS?
The traditional model embraced a linear
mechanistic view of organisations, which
had flattened our perception of reality
and natural human differences by treating
people and production like a machine.
The new organic model embraces
organisations as living breathing dynamic
organisms with culture and humanity at
heart. This allows them not to mindlessly
replicate things but create new value by
adapting to the lived context around us.

28. Profit generation
Efficiency
Endless growth
Waste and cost-cutting
Optimisation and agility
Short-termism
KPIs & Quarterly results
Data measurement
Tech-led & process-driven
Enculturement (fitting in)
Diversity & inclusion as a pre-requisite
Performance oriented
Machine view
Linear thinking and repetitiveness
Silos, fragmentation, compartmentalisation
People as resources (passive)
Top-down approach
Competition and subordination
Orgs as Vertical & Horizontal Hierarchies
Traditional consumer/market insights
Value Creation
Effectiveness
Meaningful growth
Sustainability
Meaning creation
Long-term mindset
Vision & shared goals
Meaning measurement
Human-led & mission-driven
Engagement (belonging)
Diversity & inclusion as an outcome
People oriented
Organic view
Cyclical, contextual thinking and creativity
Holism, promoting new connections
People as active creators (active)
Bottom-up approach
Collaboration and empowerment
Orgs as Living Dynamic Ecosystems
Multidimensional sense & cultural meaning
VS
OLD WORLD LOGIC NEW LOGIC

29. THE DIVIDED BRAIN
https://www.ted.com/talks/iain_mcgilchrist_the_divided_brain
WE LIVE IN A LEFT-BRAINED WORLD, BUT
WE NEED THE RIGHT BRAIN FOR CONTEXT.

30. WE NEED TO REBALANCE HOW WE CREATE VALUE IN THIS WORLD.
Left
Brained
Right
Brained<
• Processes
• Shot-termism
• Profit-focused
• Cost and lean optimisation
• Linear mindset
• Efficiency (resources)
• People
• Long-term vision
• Value-driven
• Meaning cultivation
• Cyclical, holistic mindset
• Effectiveness (resourcefulness)

31. We need to start viewing businesses
as the dynamic ecosystems of
cultural meaning that they truly are.

32. © Meaning.Global 2018
32
A living breathing ecosystem of values,
behaviours, needs, desires and norms that
people share in a particular space and time.
It tells stories that hold the society together.
WHAT IS CULTURE?

33. Culture is our operation system.
It brings structure, order and
meaning to our lives.
Helps us navigate our everyday reality in a
structured way that seems ‘normal’ to us.
Unconscious software to our human
hardware that makes us understand the
world around us and our place in it.
We share it with others through our minds
and the shared meanings – this keeps us
on the same mental wavelength.
CULTURE = THE HUMAN OS X

34. Meaning is created between people and brands based on shared values, social ideals and cultural identities.
MEANING IS THE MATING GAME

35. Brands are in
The Business of Meaning Exchange.
Brands are in
The Business of Meaning Exchange.

36. Meaning is what we actually consume in brands. It’s about what brands represent to them, their personal relevance.
The meaning YOU create is the value THEY will consume.
WE EXCHANGE MONEY FOR MEANING.

37. Meaning is the core value of brands –
it is their innate symbolic essence.
The core intangible asset you need to
build to retain value and grow equity
Needs to be at the heart of brands to
encapsulate value from the inside out
If brands don’t make sense, they can’t retain
value and become hollow and meaningless.
MEANING IS THE CORE VALUE

38. vs
BRANDS AND BRANDING ARE TWO VERY DIFFERENT THINGS:

39. What’s in a can of Coke?
Global brand with a distinctive taste:
Uniqueness in a globally relevant concept
Metaphysical space:
World of Dreams & Aspiration
Brand Emotion:
Joy, Happiness & Born to Impress
Strong global insight:
Big moments are created through
sharing life & world with others
Cultural specifics:
Reflecting on the American values
(big defining moments, dream big)
Claim: Open Happiness
Taste the Feeling
Brand proposition:
Brings happiness in every day
(it’s a feel good product)

40. MAPS OF MEANING: BRANDS CREATE NETWORKS OF ASSOCIATIONS IN OUR MINDS

41. #1 PREMISE OF MARKETING
“People consume
meaning, not brands.”
= What brands represent
to them versus Brands
and physical products

42. THE #1 TASK FOR MARKETERS
To create mental
chains of connotations
in people’s minds.
The more coherent
they are, the more
value you create.

43. THE NEW BUSINESS CURRENCY
Meaning is becoming the new core
business currency of the 21st century.
Semiotics and anthropology are becoming
the new kind of literacy for today’s world.
Understanding how to navigate meaning
amidst global cultural complexity is key to
future success.
Leaders who are able to create meaning will
become the creators of their brands’ future.

44. PURPOSE x MEANING:
WHICH WAY INTO THE FUTURE?

45. “People don't buy
what you do; they
buy why you do it.”

46. The WHY isn’t yours, it’s the people’s why.
Which is really meaning to brands, and not purpose.
People don’t buy YOUR why. They buy THEIR OWN why –
their own values, needs, desires, beliefs and identities.
So, focus on the why, absolutely, but not on your own.
Focus on adding real value to people’s real lives.
HERE’S HOW THE WHY MOVEMENT GOT IT WRONG:
?
?
?

47. WHAT’S WRONG WITH
BRAND PURPOSE?
* It’s good as an aspirational vision to achieve, but bad as a brand positioning.

48. Purpose made companies externalise their real
brand value to the mythical land in quest for a new
lofty promise (that is in itself unattainable) instead of
crafting an ownable symbolic meaning.
PURPOSE FAIL #1

49. PEPSI, 2017
“Woke-washing”:
A tone-deaf take on the
message of global unity.

50. Purpose cannot fix the dichotomy when
companies claim one thing but do another.
It actually deepens the crisis of trust.
PURPOSE FAIL #2

51. Sculpture: Kristen Visbal - Photo: Federica Valabrega
FEARLESS GIRL, 2017
Female empowerment or Wall Street pinkwashing stunt?
The company who launched the Fearless Girl got fined
$5m for not paying women and minorities as much as men.
Commissioned by State Street Global Advisors
“Trust is the antidote to fear. It is earned through when actions meet words.”

52. Social Progression vs Real Behaviours
Lack of accountability for brand’s own actions
creates a toxic veil of corporate deception.
A brand advocating social inclusion,
gender equality and a new inclusive
world cannot charge a pink tax on its
female products through the mother
company.
Brand purpose was wrongly relegated to a
consciousness Band-Aid without carefully
thinking through the implications of such
strategy onto the world at large to be carried
through by the brand’s corporate behaviours.
Purpose needs to guide not just brands, but
their organisational behaviours.
CSR vs ‘PINK TAX‘

53. Purpose led companies to overshoot their social
mark by claiming risky social positions, in result of
which brands become irrelevant and meaningless.
PURPOSE FAIL #3

54. A beautiful uplifting message of social progress and the best that
men can be turned into policing masculinity and looking at boys as
future predators in the making due to its ideological framing.
GILLETTE (2019):
“THE BEST MEN CAN BE“

55. Start with People.
Embrace THEIR why.
Not your own.
People don’t care about your WHY.
They care about their own WHY.
It’s all about Personal Relevance.
INSTEAD:
DON’T.

56. FOCUS ON MEANING,
NOT JUST PURPOSE.

57. A ROLE REVEARSAL :
What matters is what
brands mean to us –
our own personal identity
and how they help us
achieve what we want to
achieve in life.

58. POLITICAL AND POLARIZING, BUT:
• Making a strong value-driven statement
• Taking a social stand for what matters
• Instantly culturally relevant
• Inherently human: “It’s impossible to become
someone if you’re everything to everyone.”
The power of saying no defines all the yeses.
• Inspires us to take action in life
• Creates urgency. Impossible to ignore.
Nike’s online sales surge 31%.
MORE MEANING MEANS MORE VALUE.

59. IN 2020, WE ARE HEADED
TO PERSONAL RELEVANCE
WE ARE STEPPING INTO
THE NEW MEANING PARADIGM.
A full 180° turnaround from Brands to People.
• BEING versus BUYING
• USERSHIP versus OWNERSHIP
• AUTHENTICITY versus BRAND ILLUSIONS
• INDIVIDUAL IDENTITY versus MASS CONSUMPTION
• EMPOWERMENT versus ASPIRATION

60. ?
So, what kind
of future do
we want
to design?

61. LEAD WITH MEANING.
BECAUSE MORE MEANING MEANS
MORE VALUE.
IN THE FUTURE,

62. What does it
mean?
This question needs to be at the core
of everything that you do.
AND REMEMBER...

63. Thank you!
@MartinaOlb
Meaning.Global
Any questions?