The social unrest and the pandemic exposed the emotional and social shortcomings of the vast majority of brands. Even before the arrival of Covid-19, some brands were already sensing how their connection with customers was weakening. Today, many brands resemble a desperate parent who doesn’t know how to deal with their teenage child—trying to connect without success because they don’t understand how a fifteen-year-old thinks.

Teenagers need attention. They need a parent who sits down with them, listens, understands, empathizes, looks at them, and respects them for who they are—not as children, but not yet as adults either.

Consumers want to be heard. They want brands to do relevant things for them. They no longer accept speeches that remain only that—empty declarations of good intentions. Like a disoriented parent, companies fail to grasp this because for years they have maintained a purely functional relationship with their customers: the responsible parent who pays for school, clothing, and basic needs, but offers little in terms of affection, connection, or shared experiences.

Brands behave much like people. They have personalities, values, ways of seeing the world, ways of acting, and philosophies of life. When this is not clearly defined within an organization, it becomes nearly impossible to transmit an emotional direction to employees, customers, shareholders, and other stakeholders. And if that emotional north is missing, people will never truly understand or connect with the brand beyond a transactional or functional relationship.

The challenge is no longer about connecting with Millennials or Gen Z. The challenge is far greater: it is about understanding oneself in order to evolve consistently—with a coherent discourse and aligned actions that respect, understand, and value the feelings and opinions of people, not just customers. Today, brands play a community role, extending beyond those who purchase their products or services. Only with this clarity can brands become what we now call Community Brands.

What Are Community Brands?

Community Brands are deeply connected to their environment across four dimensions: social, cultural, environmental, and economic. There are already strong examples of what this means in practice. At BBK, we are helping other organizations—“large” in their way of thinking, not necessarily in revenue—to transform their internal mindset first. Because real change starts from within.

This transformation is built collaboratively and co-creatively with all stakeholders. It involves designing a new brand purpose, redefining values and personality, rethinking relationships and physical and digital experiences, and even reconsidering how the brand is visually perceived—whether through adjustments, evolution, or transformation of its visual system, color territory, and ultimately its communication strategy and execution across all media and touchpoints.

This is the new branding. It is about building a brand across every layer and dimension of an organization. It is not what is traditionally understood as a logo or visual refresh. Today, a visual change is merely the consequence of a much deeper transformation.

The good news is that our methodologies for transforming organizations into community brands work—and there are already leaders committed to walking this path.

For those companies that choose not to take this step, there will be a tunnel at the end of the lights.