Since when did brand marketing become akin to controlling chaos? It seems that media proliferation, rapid technology change, enhanced consumer control, and the rise of the retailer have all combined to create a new world of marketing where choices are endless, few rules exist and marketers have no clear roadmap to follow.

As a result, marketers today are suffering our own choice paradox. We have so many options when it comes to delivering brands to consumers. However, this bounty of choice has only wrought angst and anxiety for many marketing practitioners.

It wasn’t always this way. In the “olden days” of pre-2000 America, branding — especially for consumer packaged goods — was largely a reductive exercise. Marketing content was simple and message-based. Brand promises were often reduced to a single claim. In fact, some of the most successful brands were those with the narrowest definitions.

Back then, marketing was conducted within a closed-loop system. We had one-way communications with the limited touch-points of television, print, and packaging. It was a highly controlled and highly precise world where brands never deviated from message, and everything was measured. It was all very neat and tidy.

Today, as we all know, everything has changed. Brands are no longer single-message vehicles. While they are still built upon singular ideas, they must also embrace greater dimensionality. They must be supported by a comprehensive set of values, experiences and beliefs in order to gain traction and cultural relevance with the modern consumer.

Furthermore, marketing support is no longer delivered in a tight, closed-loop system. Marketing is now part of an ever-expanding, dynamic and open system, where regular people are able to voice their opinions and share them widely. Brands can be embraced or destroyed without any active involvement from brand owners themselves, and marketing outcomes can be wholly unpredictable.

We may not wish to admit it, but there are many aspects of brand marketing today that we simply cannot control. For this reason, marketing may now be viewed as more of an attempt to control chaos than anything close to traditional management.

Chaos and Modern-Day Marketing

I was curious: Is there anything we can learn from the study of chaos? Chaos theory refers to the mathematical study of systems that are apparently disordered. However, what chaos theory is really about is finding the underlying order in seeming randomness.

As it turns out, a key principle of chaos theory is that the outcomes of any dynamic system are highly dependent upon initial conditions. In fact, despite their chaotic nature, dynamic systems may still be completely deterministic, in that future states (or outcomes) depend solely upon the initial conditions of the system.

It seems to me, if we use chaos theory as a guide, then perhaps there’s hope for marketers after all. Perhaps by controlling “initial brand conditions” and deploying the right marketing strategies, we can still control our destinies, and the destinies of our brands (phew!). In fact, this is what branding is all about.

So, how do we set “initial brand conditions” that will enhance our chances of success? Clearly, we need to start well before communications development, and reassess foundational brand strategy. We need to strengthen core brand equities to ensure they have the strength to communicate clearly and succeed in “disordered” environments.

In this heightened context, brand platforms must be built upon deeper meaning that transcends message-based marketing to guide all brand behaviors and establish stronger human connections. They must be even more clear and telegraphic so as not to get lost in translation as content is passed along by consumers and other third parties. They must be nimble and flexible in order to translate effectively into different channel environments. Finally, they must be fully transparent as consumers seek out and share brand information and look to define brands on their own terms.

Building upon these fortified platforms, a brand’s visual identity plays a more critical role than ever. Visual identity provides the graphic tools that enable aligned, yet effective, communication in an array of channels and contexts.

Brand managers need to invest more in design systems so that they extend effectively across owned, paid and earned media and conceptually bridge the broadcast, digital and physical worlds. Design systems must enable blending of brand and other contextual equity, such as retail partner messaging, in a way that builds mutual value. They must foster effective communication at every stage of the purchase decision journey, from purchase trigger to fulfillment, to ultimate product experience.

Navigating Forward

So, how to move forward? There is no secret formula to navigating these new and tumultuous waters. By their very nature, emerging “open” marketing systems are fraught with variability. However, it is always a good time to reassess brand foundations to make sure they are built to withstand outside forces. With this in mind, here are some simple thought starters to consider as you chart your forward course. Use them to start a conversation about adding greater depth and dimension to your brand.

Conduct a Brand Identity Audit. Do you truly understand your brand? Its underlying values? Is there “baggage” on your current brand-positioning model that needs to be updated or trashed?

Define Your Brand Purpose. Think of this as a mission statement for your brand (and a lot of brands have not yet defined one). Explore how this purpose might manifest itself via product development, brand communication and brand behavior.

Craft Your Brand Story. How did your brand come to be in this world? What is its history and heritage? (It is astonishing how many packaged-goods brands can’t tell this simple story.) Clear brand stories are critical; as consumers research and communicate with your brand, they need to understand where you’re coming from.

Define a Contextual Platform. Define a specific context or media platform that your brand can own. Knit this platform into your brand’s DNA. Traditionally the purview of media thinkers, we find that defining the places and spaces your brand should live to be a useful construct for brand identity definition.

Conduct a Visual Audit. Look at visual expression across the entire consumer decision journey. Where are your current visual assets succeeding? Where are they falling short?

Enhance Iconic Expression. If needed, refresh your brand’s core identity; define the core visual and sensorial equities that communicate your brand.

Deepen Brand Systems. Build on your brand’s iconic expression, and establish richer visual and verbal language that will support communication at critical steps on the purchase decision journey. Develop robust visual toolkits for key “engagement” channels, including digital and retail.

In a disordered world, it seems that the relative power of brands may only increase. In the face of a chaotic landscape, brands themselves have the power to deliver soothing order, becoming touchstones that help people to understand and define their lives.

By refocusing on the fundamentals of brand identity, marketers can strengthen their brand propositions, and if lucky, achieve clarity that will carry them forward.