品牌建設是高級藝術，里面總有一些學問：你要確定品牌應該代表什么和向什么人做宣傳，你要建造一個強有力的消息平臺，將資源對準正確的媒體。這一觀念依然精確無誤，但如今，消費者評價品牌的方式以及他們的觀點的傳播方法都發生了徹底改變。為了獲得有關見解，《財富》的杰妮弗·雷因戈爾德和寶潔公司前營銷主管、吉姆·斯騰格爾公司的品牌咨詢顧問吉姆·斯騰格爾（Jim Stengel）進行了對話。

《財富》: 與一二十年前相比，如今在品牌建設方面最大的挑戰是什么?

斯騰格爾：是努力傳遞一種目的感。我覺得這不是新出現的情況，它已經存在好些年了。人們在這方面做得越來越來。在不久前美國全國廣告商協會（ANA）上，我聽到了好幾個員工幫助公司找到目的感的精彩故事。其中一個是是關于芭比娃娃的生產商美泰（Mattel）的。芭比娃娃低迷了很長時間，沒人知道該拿它怎么辦。員工于是回到了公司成立的時期：創始人希望芭比娃娃做些什么？公司最初的意愿是讓女孩子們想像自己成為各種角色，在玩耍的過程中激發自信心。

與過去相比，還有什么其他變化呢？

我們一定要關注 “故事性”品牌的崛起。這些品牌擁有容易看到和理解的故事。人們希望讓品牌充滿人情味，有個性，有趣味，像是一位朋友。

在品牌的信息宣傳方面，社交媒體一定是跟從前最大的不同之處了。

巨大的不同。它給你帶來品牌的擁護者，讓你與消費者對話，了解更多的信息和進行回應。品牌建設就是全力爭取那些有可能成為你的品牌的擁護者的那些人。你必須容忍很多人談論你的品牌，授權他們這么做。

社交媒體也可能傷害一個品牌，而且是在很短的時間內。你如何應對這種情況？

一旦出事，你必須能夠駕馭。采取措施之前，你要多花些時間考慮清楚。這是需要不同的決策流程和一支敏捷快速并且得到授權的團隊。星巴克在搞種族活動時出現過失誤，但并未造成持續的影響。他們度過了那場風波，因為人們都知道，他們本意是好的。而且，他們很快承認：“我們在這事上做得不對。”這么做很有人情味。

有些總倚仗規模來做宣傳的大品牌遇到了挫折，為什么？

規模不是壞事，但它不再有從前那樣的競爭優勢。原因是，銷售渠道如今變得多種多樣。另一個轉變是計算能力和每人可獲取的數據有了驚人的提升。此外，市場的生態系統也和從前不一樣了。你不能低估谷歌和Facebook的巨大影響。（財富中文網）

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作者：Jennifer Reingold

譯者：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.