The Four Tenets of Emergent Brands
A new series on what defines the next generation of brands.
Most brands are boring.
Which is unfortunate, because we live in an era where brands could be more useful and interesting than ever.
But we see some hope on the horizon. In our last post, we outlined an excited new breed of businesses we’re calling Emergent Brands. They are imperfect, always in motion and deeply human. They stand out both as brands and businesses. They (like all emergent things) are growing, changing, and shifting. And it’s not just new brands, we are seeing themes across existing brands today that lean into this emergent behavior.
We’ve started to outline the four tenets of these brands, and in our next four posts, we’ll do a deep-dive on each.
Here’s what defines them.
Emergent brands fight the algorithm. Instead, they connect by leaning into the beautiful human mess.
Emergent brands don’t settle for just making content. Instead they make new, unseen worlds real through vivid editorial and experience creation.
Emergent brands are bucking the trend toward seamless ease. Instead they deploy dissonance to break through. Break through with emotional friction and personal resonance.
Emergent brands are done with fake relationships. Those shallow connections were so web2. Instead they focus on going deep, building new kinds of bonds.
With these four macro tenets in mind, our eyes are starting to open again. We believe this next generation of brands will accelerate cultural engagement, lean into human preference, practice ethical technical prowess, and create meaningful growth for everyone.
Want to chat more about Emergent Brands? Reply directly to us or comment below.