The reality is that a brand can no longer afford to be "friends with everyone."

Brands' use of social media is not a matter of yes or no. It is simply a matter of how and when. The next generation of consumers will expect their brands to always be available, providing interactive experiences and bringing value to our lives by taking advantage of social media tools in their marketing communications

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.

Here in particular the idea of contextual communication - i.e. communicating the right message, at the right time to the right audience - seems to generate an increasing effect on the consumer in a manipulative way.

A brand is an emotional construct. It helps you to project an image to the world which you'd like to own.

I think it is fair to say that the end goal might be a demand yet your focus when building brands should rarely focus on this objective.

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.