One cannot deny that something is changing in the branding corridors. With the rise of social media, combined with the fall and stagnation of the financial markets, a new sound is echoing. Are we leaving the capitalist era behind us? With a bit of imagination, a growing choir of branding moralists is singing a new sweet song of  social empathy, from greed to generosity and the economy of the gift.

• Can 'branding' transform from being the jester of capitalism to the knight of happiness?
• Can branding professionals enter the corporate  C-suite and change the agenda from money to societal contribution?
• Can branding help create a better world for our children?

Although it might be tough to rely on the sincerity of our fellow branding experts - money driven and ego-centered as many of us are - we have no difficulty in believing that brands can help change the world for the better. As brands have the capacity to unconsciously change behavior, they somehow should be able to change human behavior for the better.

Individuals want to belong to groups of people and by doing so they will adhere to the morals and beliefs of such groups. Once the brands surrounding us and impacting us by triggering feelings related to domains such as generosity, friendship and social justice, people will start adhering to such ideas and change their behavior in that direction.

What if all branding & communication professionals and other business consultancies would collectively join that choir and start singing that same sweet song to their clients? Would we be able to make an impact and change the world for the better? Shouldn't we just try?

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