Dear Branding,

They say you’re the sum of all the emotions, thoughts, images, and gossip that exists in the world… but you’re so much more than that. You’re human just like the rest of us—you have a name, a personality, a way of talking, and principles to stand by.

Your powers? Omnipotent. You cast a spell on us. Making us act in irrational ways—choosing Advil over ibuprofen or cheering on a team that never wins. You make beer taste better and instantly turn strangers into friends. You empower us. Giving us something we never knew we were. Giving us something we cannot be without.

Yet you’re vulnerable. So fragile. Taking decades to build, but only seconds to destroy.

You occupy the most valuable real estate in the world: a corner of someone’s mind. And people love you…. or they absolutely hate you. But it’s in this dichotomy the beauty of brand lies—between the loyalists and the critics, the hypebeasts and the trolls—what matters is where you lay your stake in the ground.

Because the worst thing a brand can do… is be invisible.