How to become a social brand

This chapter begins with a discussion about how the digital environment and brands shape each other and about the challenges and opportunities that brands face in contemporary times. It presents a discussion of the features, strategies, and tactics that can make a brand stand out from its competitors and matter to its consumers and fans. The chapter draws on previous findings and literature on the topic to suggest a new model that can help brands cope successfully with the contemporary digital environment. To stand out and matter, brands must become Social Brands. If brand equity stresses the value that a brand affords and attempts to measure it, this alternative way of thinking about what makes a brand ‘good’ focuses on its ability to create and nurture a meaningful relationship with consumers and fans throughout time.