Brand is Back: Crafting Authentic Stories in a Skeptical World
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In today’s noisy digital world what we mean by “brand” is changing. That was the big idea from the “Brand is Back” panel where Lauren Wood, President of The Yogi Foundation, Ziad Ahmed, Head of Next Gen at UTA, Adam Faze, Co-Founder of Gymnasium and Amy Powell, President of VICE Studios shared their thoughts. The discussion was moderated by Anna Magzanyan, President, LA Times Studios.
Their conclusion? A brand is a story. And with all the AI out there, honest, human stories with clear values are more important than ever.
Today’s audiences aren’t just buying things; they’re choosing where they spend their time, attention and money, choosing brands that reflect their values. This means brands need to connect on a whole new level:
- Be Real, Be Open: Brands can’t just pretend to have a purpose. They need to genuinely involve the communities they want to reach in creating their content.
- Tell Deeper Stories: Forget surface level stuff. Brands need to get into complex social issues, spark conversations and even offer support.
- Rethink “Value”: It’s less about just selling a product and more about showing the bigger good a brand does. It’s about making that good visible to drive real change.
- Stay Relevant, Human: Even with shorter attention spans the most successful brands focus on timeless stories and real people that connect on a human level.
The panel also talked about the push and pull between being creative and making money. Their takeaway? Impact is the strategy, and revenue is the result. When you tell meaningful stories you don’t just connect with people you build a foundation for real, scalable growth. Businesses are increasingly seeing that profit and purpose can go hand in hand.
Looking to 2030 powerful branding will come down to one thing: a human voice. In a world full of AI generated content it’ll be true characters and authentic, often unheard voices that truly break through the noise. This is about democratizing storytelling where brands become platforms for people to co-create, honor values and truly listen to what the world needs.