ABSTRACT
Reinforcement is a powerful relationship: The basis for it is both the customer's satisfaction with what s/he sees as the superior performance of the brand, and the feeling that the brand has made him/her better and smarter – in his/her own eyes and in those of others. Identification is about loving the brand and loving oneself. The consumer likes the brand a lot because it reflects and expresses his/her own values and aspirations. For many years, brand differentiation was regarded as being the main engine of brand growth, profitability, and brand value. The Playful relationship embodies the pleasure principle; not in the sense of indulging in overly hedonistic excess, but in the way that childhood ludic behavior is imported into adult life, and appropriately transformed by normally healthy adults. Digital brands as a category generally deliver performance, but that performance is not reinforced by a strong "good job" brand attitude.
