Brand Leadership in the contemporary economy

Abstract

The brand leadership as a best practice used by IBM, Sony, P&G, GAP, Nestlé, Smirnoff, Beiersdorf (Nivea) and others was highlighted 10 years ago by professors D.A. Aaker and E. Joachimsthaler who published in 2000 the famous book Brand Leadership. In the last two years, the growing importance of brand’s human interface and increased influence of information sources such as Internet and socialmedia in buying decision led to the proliferation of the brand’s touch points and the emergence of social marketing. Marketing is experiencing a profound paradigm shift, because marketers can not control anymore the conversation with consumers through commissionable media. The paper outlines the importance of brand leadership in the context of changes made by social media. Overcoming the traditional vision of marketing and management and adopting brand leadership become an imperative for business success in the contemporary economy.