Brand ambassadors and influencers

How do we define what brand ambassadors are? Are people chosen to be brand ambassadors because they embody what the brand is supposed to stand for? Are brand ambassadors meant to humanize (or maybe even anthromorphize) brands so that what seems abstract can be made more relatable?

How do we define influencers? Are people considered as influencers merely on the basis of their number of social media followers and audience? And what are influencers supposed to do, influence their followers to buy a brand that sponsors them?

Since my business undergrad years, brands have always fascinated me (and by extension, how various stakeholders manage or are influenced by brands). Simply defined, a brand is a set of associations and perceptions. Brand managers and marketers are not technically literal managers of the brand itself (since no manager can fully manipulate how an audience would perceive the brand). Managers are more like “nudgers”, nudging an audience to associate brands to a certain need or desire that will make the audience want to buy the brand’s products.

In a way, how brands and influencers work parallel how our faith and the Apostles spread Christianity. But can we reduce God, Jesus, or Christianity into a brand, merely a set of perceptions and associations? The faithful could answer no, while the non-believers could conclude that brands and religion have something in common.

In my stint as a market researcher, I have come to realize that brands have power to leverage on the irrationalities of customers, like how Apple may have a cult following despite competitors having better specs and features at times. Brands have the power to turn customers into Pavlovian dogs – salivating over what appears to be the next big shiny thing.

But imagine if brands became a bit like organized faith and benevolent religion, influencing people to live lives of virtues instead of measuring life in terms of the amount we consume.

Instead of tapping into a market’s irrationality, what if brands tapped into a market’s humanity?

---

Luke 6:12-19. The Apostles

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 249: SEPTEMBER 6, 2022]

To flourish is to be able to carry our own cross

My wife and I just finished watching Extraordinary Attorney Woo! (at last!). The last episode’s title (no spoilers) is “Though Unusual and Peculiar”, which fits Woo Young-woo’s special circumstances and struggles to be the best version of herself.

In that sense, we each have our own cross and it is quite heavy. Sometimes, we are lucky to have others help us carry it from time to time, but we are accountable to our own burden.

Maybe to “renounce possessions” does not necessarily mean a literal giving up of what we have, but rather, to recognize that feelings of conveniences are temporary. To “renounce possessions” may mean that we cannot escape having to carry our own cross; it is a challenge to find the strength to do so.

However unusual or peculiar our life may be, no matter how heavy the burden of our cross, there is meaning to be made and a sense of fulfillment to achieve.

It just takes 1, 2, 3 and the courage to try while being true to ourselves to conquer that revolving door.

---

Luke 14:25-33. No one who does not carry his cross and come after me can be my disciple.

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 247: SEPTEMBER 4, 2022]

Fresh insights through fresh expressions

As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to advance, AI can begin emulating human speech, writing, and even art. Writers and artists have begun thinking: can AI and technology replace us?

All the more it is imperative for us, managers, and educators to focus on what really allows authentic development and flourishing; and for now, I am convinced that our ability for genuine insighting, interpretation, and meaning-making is what separates our intelligence from AI.

AI and technologies are tools, or maybe even partners. Maybe their value is to allow us to explore fresher insights and more meaningful ways of expressions.

---

Luke 5:33-39. New wine in fresh wineskins

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 245: SEPTEMBER 2, 2022]

Intentions, behavior, culture

Management research would often explore, from an individual unit of analysis, how intentions and behaviors are formed. From an organizational perspective, we attempt to explain how culture is formed or maintained in terms of endorsed behavior by influential groups.

In practice, it is tricky to study these because oftentimes, our stated intentions may contradict actual actions; what is written in policies or formal documents may not necessarily endorse the kind of culture we want our organizations to cultivate.

The burden of responsibility is heavier moreso with professors, because we preach certain values. But are we always consistent? And in times when we find that we are not, do we correct ourselves or do we fool ourselves into thinking we are correct all the time?

We come to realize that there are so many forces at play – structures and cultures – that our best bet to really flourish is to be aware of our limited agency. The least we could do, no matter how hard, is to keep on practicing what we preach.

As I reflected yesterday and as Adam Neely emphasized: repetition legitimizes.

---

Luke 4:38-44. Preaching in the synagogue

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 243: AUGUST 31, 2022]

To whom do we commit ourselves to?

We need to pay attention everytime we commit to others certain promises. If the exchanges of promises are made with the the intent of each other’s flourishing, then these are commitments that get stronger in time, like a vow of brotherhood or marriage.

But there are times when promises become like Faustian deals with the devil. These are tempting and may feel immensely pleasurable at first, but the trade-off or bargaining chip is our own humanity, and it is never worth it.

—
Mark 6:17-29. Herod beheads John the Baptist

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 241: AUGUST 29, 2022]