ABSTRACT
Volumes such as this typically conclude with a wrap-up chapter from the editors that compiles reflections on the included works. We wanted to take a different tack: something that could perhaps deliver better on the goals of capturing state of the art thinking and motivating future branding practice and research. So, we went beyond the editor team and approached some of the brightest and best researchers in our domain – people with foundational contributions to branding– and asked them for help. Each of the thought leaders represented in this chapter was asked to reflect on the future of branding and identify one issue that they found critical to the advance of branding theory and practice. Contributors were encouraged to dig deep and consider the things we are doing well in brand research, the theories and frameworks we are getting wrong, research lenses that are under-or over-utilized, assumptions that should be challenged, forces on the brand landscape in need of exploration, and lost or less-appreciated insights that deserve to be revisited – from within our own disciplines and elsewhere. Four broad themes emerge in these mini-essays. The result is an extensive and dynamic collection of thoughts that encourages the reader to shake loose the dust that has settled on our thinking about the very essence of brands. With these words as inspiration, we can envision a new frontier of research made possible by both evolving technologies and the work of these thought leaders themselves.
