Branding is not about what something says or what it means, but how it makes us feel.

Considering LEGO's considerable brand equity, you might expect that the company must have a marketing budget in the billions. Not so. In fact, LEGO's marketing budget is so modest that if I recorded it here, you'd probably think it was a typo. LEGO doesn't do its own talking; it lets LEGO maniacs talk for it.

[Logo] is an encapsulation of an emotion.

Consider Brazilian cosmetics brand Natura, which deploys a direct-sales force of more than 718,000. By knocking on doors, it has established a vibrant network of brand supporters.

Because we're always more woundable when caught at exactly the time where we're in the mood for that particular product or service - and as Big Data increasingly are able to pick up on clues revealing desire - automated systems are increasingly able to hit at exactly those moments, across those channels we move - with an offer matching exactly what we're desiring.

The fact that we all leave behind seemingly insignificant clues behind ourselves - emotional DNA or what I call Small Data - which are able to describe with an insane accuracy who we really are, our personalities and desires. But even more how we all represents out of balances - perhaps I feel too overweight, feel alone or feel I haven't achieved what I'd hoped for when hitting 40. These imbalances are surprisingly visible when visiting consumers' homes - and surprisingly invisible when relaying on Big Data.

If marketers could uncover what is going on in our brains that makes us choose one brand over another-what information passes through our brain's filter and what information doesn't-well, that would be key to truly building brands of the future.