如何打造一个突破性品牌？

品牌建设是高级艺术，里面总有一些学问：你要确定品牌应该代表什么和向什么人做宣传，你要建造一个强有力的消息平台，将资源对准正确的媒体。这一观念依然精确无误，但如今，消费者评价品牌的方式以及他们的观点的传播方法都发生了彻底改变。为了获得有关见解，《财富》的杰妮弗·雷因戈尔德和宝洁公司前营销主管、吉姆·斯腾格尔公司的品牌咨询顾问吉姆·斯腾格尔（Jim Stengel）进行了对话。

《财富》: 与一二十年前相比，如今在品牌建设方面最大的挑战是什么?

斯腾格尔：是努力传递一种目的感。我觉得这不是新出现的情况，它已经存在好些年了。人们在这方面做得越来越来。在不久前美国全国广告商协会（ANA）上，我听到了好几个员工帮助公司找到目的感的精彩故事。其中一个是是关于芭比娃娃的生产商美泰（Mattel）的。芭比娃娃低迷了很长时间，没人知道该拿它怎么办。员工于是回到了公司成立的时期：创始人希望芭比娃娃做些什么？公司最初的意愿是让女孩子们想像自己成为各种角色，在玩耍的过程中激发自信心。

与过去相比，还有什么其他变化呢？

我们一定要关注 “故事性”品牌的崛起。这些品牌拥有容易看到和理解的故事。人们希望让品牌充满人情味，有个性，有趣味，像是一位朋友。

在品牌的信息宣传方面，社交媒体一定是跟从前最大的不同之处了。

巨大的不同。它给你带来品牌的拥护者，让你与消费者对话，了解更多的信息和进行回应。品牌建设就是全力争取那些有可能成为你的品牌的拥护者的那些人。你必须容忍很多人谈论你的品牌，授权他们这么做。

社交媒体也可能伤害一个品牌，而且是在很短的时间内。你如何应对这种情况？

一旦出事，你必须能够驾驭。采取措施之前，你要多花些时间考虑清楚。这是需要不同的决策流程和一支敏捷快速并且得到授权的团队。星巴克在搞种族活动时出现过失误，但并未造成持续的影响。他们度过了那场风波，因为人们都知道，他们本意是好的。而且，他们很快承认：“我们在这事上做得不对。”这么做很有人情味。

有些总倚仗规模来做宣传的大品牌遇到了挫折，为什么？

规模不是坏事，但它不再有从前那样的竞争优势。原因是，销售渠道如今变得多种多样。另一个转变是计算能力和每人可获取的数据有了惊人的提升。此外，市场的生态系统也和从前不一样了。你不能低估谷歌和Facebook的巨大影响。（财富中文网）

作者：Jennifer Reingold

译者：Ty

There has always been some science to the high art of brand building: Identify what the brand is supposed to stand for and whom you are trying to reach. Build a strong messaging platform. And target your resources to the right media. That approach is still accurate, yet both the way consumers evaluate brands and the method by which their meaning is disseminated have changed completely. Fortune’s Jennifer Reingold spoke with Jim Stengel, head of branding consultancy the Jim Stengel Co. and former global marketing head atProcter & Gamble (PG), to get some perspective.

FORTUNE: What are the biggest changes you see in building a brand today vs. 10 or 20 years ago?

Stengel: People are ­really trying to convey a sense of purpose. I don’t think that’s a fad; it’s been with us for several years, and people are getting better at it. At the recent ANA [Association of National Advertisers] meeting, there were several remarkable stories about employee enablement of the company’s purpose.One was Mattel. Barbie has been in a funk for a long time, and no one knew what to do with her. They went back to when the company was founded. What did the founder hope Barbie would do? The original intent was to get girls to think of themselves in various roles and inspire confidence through play.

What other changes are there?

We have to look at the rise of the “story” brands. They have a story that’s easy to access and understand. There’s a willingness to be human and have a personality and have some fun. They behave like a friend behaves.

Social media has got to be the biggest single difference in how a brand’s message gets out.

It’s enormous. It lets you create advocates and to have a dialogue, to learn more, and to react. The brand building is about fully engaging those who are potential advocates. You have to be okay with lots of people talking about your brand—and give them license to do so.

Social media can also really harm a brand—and ­quickly. How do you deal with that?

You have to be willing to jump on [problems] when they happen. Before, you had more time to think. That requires a different decisionmaking process and a fast, nimble, and empowered team.

When Starbucks stumbled on its race initiative, it didn’t have lasting impact. They blew right by it because everyone knew their intent was good. And they quickly said, “We didn’t get that right.” It was very human.

Some big brands that have always relied on scale to get their message out have stumbled. Why?

Scale is not bad. But it’s not the competitive advantage it used to be. For one, everyone is now selling through different channels. Another shift is the incredible rise in computing power and data available to everyone. Also, the ecosystems in marketing are different. You can’t underestimate the overwhelming influence of Google and Facebook.