For years, brands have insisted on telling us stories: where they come from, why they’re unique, what values they stand for…
But it’s 2025, and the narrative alone is no longer enough. People don’t want to be told — they want to experience, verify, and feel it.

We’ve moved from product-centred marketing (first stage), to needs-based marketing (second), and now we’re in a third phase — much more complex, symbolic, and emotional.
In this landscape, branding is no longer about pretty words, but about building experiences rooted in coherence, meaning and ethics.

📌 What does this “third approach” mean for brands?

1. It’s not about what you sell — it’s about what you represent.
   Brands are cultural artefacts. They become symbols of identity, values, and ideological stance. Failing to handle that symbolic weight means losing relevance.
2. The story cannot be disconnected from action.
   The article is clear: transformational marketing isn’t a trend. It’s a demand. Brands must act socially and prove, through actions, that their narrative is real.
3. Hyperfragmented audiences and channels require modular narratives.
   Every audience has its codes. Every platform its logic. There is no longer a single “official” story, but multiple synchronised narratives that must coexist with consistency.
4. Authenticity is a strategic asset.
   It’s not enough to look real — you have to be real. Media saturation and public scrutiny force brands to examine their ethics, transparency and impact.

🔍 From storytelling to storyliving

• Traditional storytelling is reaching its limits.
Not because telling stories doesn’t work, but because they must now be ethical and experiential, not just aesthetic.

• The article refers to this as “symbolic value construction” — the act of building shared meanings, emotional bonds, and narratives that connect to real, lived experiences.

• Brands that get this are already working with communities as co-creators, not just targets.
They’re embedding transformational values at the core of what they do — not as a branding add-on, but as their driving force.

⚠️ Real risks of a disconnect between message and experience

When the story you tell doesn’t match the experience you deliver, you don’t just lose customers
you lose credibility, reputation, and influence.

Tangible consequences in 2025:

• Activist consumers: Promise sustainability and don’t deliver? You’ll be exposed in hours on social media.
• Liquid reputations: One inconsistency spreads like wildfire — trust takes years to rebuild.
• Talent loss: Employees want to work for value-driven brands. If they see a disconnect, they’ll walk.
• Loss of differentiation: In a noisy market, brands without a living narrative become forgettable.

And there’s no warning sign: markets don’t give second chances to brands that disappoint.

🛠 How to build storyliving in 2025?

• Action before communication: Do it first. Then talk about it.
• Radical transparency: Don’t hide mistakes. Own them, explain them, and grow from them.
• Authentic co-creation: Invite communities to build the narrative — not just consume it.
• Evolving narratives: Don’t get stuck in one story. Let it grow with your audience and context.

Final thought

In 2025, consumers don’t buy your story. They buy your truth.
That means brands must not only speak well of themselves — they must live their values fully, and turn every interaction into living proof of what they promise.

Because in a world saturated with stories, the only marketing that works is the one you breathe — not the one you shout.