Popular Trends in Branding Across Media

In today’s hyper connected world, building a brand is no longer a one way monologue. It’s a dizzying, exciting, and often chaotic conversation happening all at once across dozens of different media. The line between the brand, the platform it’s on, and the audience consuming it has blurred into something entirely new. For anyone in communications, understanding how to navigate this landscape isn’t just helpful, it’s essential. It means moving beyond just placing ads and learning to engage with digital tribes, tell stories in pieces, and even treat the media itself as a strategic partner.

The challenge of negotiating crowd cultures 🔗

Social media hasn’t just given audiences a voice; it has organized them into powerful “crowd cultures.” These are digital communities, bound by shared interests and values, that can mobilize in an instant. For a brand, this digital crowd is a double edged sword. On one side, you have the potential for passionate, loyal advocates who will share your message, defend your brand, and create a powerful sense of belonging. On the other, you have a volatile force that can turn against a brand with shocking speed, leading to boycotts, public relations crises, and real world consequences.

The key to navigating this new reality is authenticity. Modern audiences can spot a purely transactional relationship from a mile away. They are drawn to brands that stand for something more than just profit. This is where brand purpose becomes critical. A brand with a clear, relatable purpose, one that genuinely aligns with the values of its target crowd culture, can build an authentic, resilient bond. But this bond is a relationship, and relationships are tested.

When the crowd turns: managing brand controversy 🔗

No brand is immune to criticism, and in the age of crowd cultures, even a well intentioned message can be misinterpreted or spark outrage. Trolling and coordinated online negativity are unfortunate realities. This is where composure and a clear plan become vital. A brand that panics, deletes criticism, or responds aggressively can fan the flames and lose control of the narrative.

A powerful example of this was the 2020 controversy surrounding a Tanishq advertisement. The ad, part of its ‘Ekatvam’ collection, depicted a Muslim family celebrating a baby shower for their Hindu daughter in law, a message of interfaith harmony. However, it was met with intense backlash on social media from a vocal segment of the crowd, who accused the brand of promoting a ‘false narrative’. The online vitriol escalated, and facing threats and calls for a boycott, Tanishq ultimately withdrew the advertisement. This case remains a stark lesson in the power of digital crowd cultures and the difficult choices brands must make when their purposeful message collides with a vehement opposing force.

Getting personal with conversational messaging 🔗

While social media plays out in public, another powerful trend is happening in our private messages. The targeted use of mobile media, specifically conversational messaging, is changing how brands communicate. Platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram have moved beyond simple chats with friends and family to become a primary channel for business.

Why is this so effective? It’s personal, it’s two way, and it’s cost effective. For startups and established brands alike, particularly in high consideration sectors like real estate or education, this approach is a game changer. Instead of a potential customer having to fill out a cold, impersonal web form and wait for an email, they can simply send a text. This opens an immediate, one on one dialogue, meeting the customer on the platform they are already using all day.

From a simple text to an immersive experience 🔗

The true power of this trend is the journey it enables. That initial “Hello” on WhatsApp is just the starting point. A real estate brand, for example, can instantly respond with more than just words. They can guide the potential buyer through an interactive experience. This might start with a simple question from an AI chatbot, which qualifies their interest: “Are you looking for a 2 or 3 bedroom apartment?”

From there, the brand can share rich, interactive media directly in the chat. Imagine receiving a 3D virtual tour of a property, a link to a 360 degree catalog, or configuring your own apartment layout, all within the messaging app. This conversational approach guides the user from passive interest to active engagement, creating an immersive, personalized experience that traditional marketing struggles to match.

When the platform is the brand 🔗

We often think of media platforms-like a social network, a news website, or a streaming service-as simple conduits. They are seen as empty vessels that we, the advertisers, fill with our brand messages. This is a dangerously outdated view. In reality, media platforms are brands themselves. They have their own identities, their own values, and their own relationships with their audiences.

Think about it. A news organization has a brand built on trust and journalistic integrity (or perhaps on sensationalism). A social media app might have a brand built on creativity and youth, while another is built on professional networking. These platforms have what you might call a polymorphic identity. They are simultaneously a window to the world, a tool for connection, and a powerful cultural change agent. How a media brand projects itself is critical to its success.

Why media brand identity matters 🔗

This matters immensely to companies looking to advertise. When a brand places an ad, it is not just buying space; it is creating an association. A brand’s reputation is influenced by the company it keeps. If a company that values responsibility and purpose advertises on a media platform known for spreading misinformation or hosting toxic content, that negative association can rub off on the brand.

Conversely, a strong brand identity is a valuable asset. Companies actively seek to associate with media platforms that reflect their own values. Placing a sophisticated financial product ad in a reputable business journal, or a sustainability focused ad on a platform known for its positive community, creates a “halo effect.” The media brand’s credibility and purpose are transferred, in part, to the advertiser. This makes the choice of *where* to place a message just as important as the message itself.

Transmedia branding: telling stories in pieces 🔗

The final, and perhaps most exciting, trend is transmedia branding. This is often confused with “cross-posting,” which is just putting the same ad on Facebook, YouTube, and television. Transmedia is something far more complex and engaging. The strategist B. Tenderich defines it as a communication process where a brand’s narrative is dispersed in unique, distinct pieces across multiple media channels.

The goal is to create an interactive experience that encourages the audience to participate. Instead of just *consuming* a story, the audience is invited to help *build* it. Each platform-a mobile game, a website, a video, a real world event-contributes a different part of the puzzle. To get the whole story, the audience has to move between these channels, actively engaging and piecing the narrative together. This process fosters an incredibly deep sense of loyalty and community.

Building a universe for your audience 🔗

Two classic examples show this in action. Coca-Cola’s “Share a Coke” campaign wasn’t just about putting names on bottles. That was only the first piece. The story was completed by the audience, who hunted for their names, shared photos of themselves giving bottles to friends (using the #ShareaCoke hashtag), and essentially created a massive, user-generated story of connection. Coca-Cola built the platform, but the audience made the story.

More recently, Louis Vuitton’s “Louis 200” campaign, celebrating its founder’s 200th birthday, was a masterclass in transmedia. It wasn’t one single ad. It was a mobile game (“Louis the Game”) with embedded NFTs, a documentary, artistic collaborations where 200 artists re-imagined the classic trunk, and store window displays. Each piece offered a different glimpse into the brand’s heritage and future, creating a vast, “polymorphic” universe for fans to explore, play in, and discuss.

What do you think? Which of these trends do you see impacting your own media habits the most? And as a consumer, do you feel more loyal to a brand that builds an interactive world for you to explore, or one that connects with you through a simple, personal message?

References

1. https://www.worldscientific.com/doi/10.1142/S0218927524500044
2. https://www.messagecentral.com/en-in/blog/whatsapp-marketing-for-real-estate
3. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/brand-identity.asp
4. https://www.ipra.org/news/itle/overcoming-an-identity-crisis-transmedia-branding-and-the-re-invention-of-public-relations/
5. https://www.luxurytribune.com/en/celebrating-timelessness-the-epitome-of-transmedia-storytelling