Mario Simon from Millward Brown Optimor says that “the brands that have created the largest connection with their audiences (and the largest values for their companies) are those that stand for true ideals, because true ideals directly tap into people’s quest for meaning.”

Mario also argues that:

1 Brand ideals work for both big and small brands.
2. Brand ideals can be individual, social or societal.
3. Brand ideals are internal organizing principles, not external positioning statements.

It seems to me that Mario uses the term brand ideal in the same way as I use the term social object — a cause, passion, interest, lifestyle, profession or place that acts as the catalyst to connect people.

It also seems to me that the shift from “products to purpose” that Mario talks about is similar to the shift from “ads to acts” that Leo Burnett talks about in its ‘Humankind‘ book and the shift from “commercials to communities” that I talk about in Social Squared.

I have a feeling that these ideas are approaching the tipping point and marketers from both the client-side and the agency-side are beginning to feel their gravitational pull.

However, we are still talking about these ideas, not acting on them. I am now waiting for the shift from “talk to action”.

If you would like to interview me for a story or invite me to speak at a conference, please e-mail me at gauravonomics@gmail.com, call me at +91-9999856940, or connect with me on Twitter.

If you liked this post, you might also like:

• Hindustan Times Story: “Social” is About Both the Medium and the Message
• I Am Really Excited About My New Asia Regional Role With MS&LGroup
• The Social Squared Manifesto
• Consumer Brands and Social Squared: How Much of the Right Thing is Too Much of the Right Thing?
• What If Brands Stopped Promoting Consumption?
• How The Facebook Generation is Driving the Imperative For Corporations to Shift to a Value For All Strategy