It’s intuitive to think that anything complex has to be made by something more complex, but evolution theory says that complexity arises out of simplicity. In the context of our modern high-speed world of hyper-media saturation and message complexity, it’s interesting that the theories of early communications pioneers are more applicable than ever.

For example, Marshall McLuhan’s’ definition of the medium embedding itself in the message and creating a symbiotic relationship by which the medium influences how the message is perceived, is a simple proposition yet one that rings very true today.

More so than ever before, content is the connective tissue between people and brands. If we meld the theory from thinkers like Marshall McLuhan around today’s datafication of society, we start to understand that content is no longer a message but rather a trigger for experiences. It must be timely, relevant and authentic in order to be believed and accepted.

It must also be entertaining, ever-different and changing based on individual likes, needs, gender, etc. It’s about knowing people and their context better in order to make brand interaction as relevant as possible through data. The more passion areas and topics of interest we discover, the more connections and events can happen.

In these times of dynamic change and disruption, no longer is it about saying what a brand is, it’s now about how brands live in culture.