#brand-equity

#brand-equity

"Magnum prevented Ben & Jerry's from putting out a post supporting Black History Month. (Ben & Jerry's) wanted to come out with a post calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Magnum prevented that. We wanted to support the student protesters. Magnum wouldn't allow that."

Today, consumers aren't just searching for a term and expecting a list of references. Instead, they are asking a question and expecting an answer. With the number of Google searches per U.S. user falling nearly 20% year over year, many consumers are migrating from traditional search engines to AI platforms such as ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini. According to a McKinsey survey, 50% of consumers "now intentionally seek out AI-powered search engines, with a majority of users saying it's the top digital source they use to make buying decisions."

Yes, AI can optimize for clicks. But it cannot build brands. And what Meta is quietly building is not a brand engine. It's a revenue machine optimizing attention flows to maximize yield. Its yield. Not yours.

Brand value isn’t just a by-product of good execution. It’s a measurable asset only if it checks the boxes that make it defensible, durable, and differentiated.