Navigating Market Volatility Part Three - Building Meaningful Connections.
Unlocking Brand Growth through Emotional Bonds, Market Differentiation, and Mental Availability.
In today’s hyper-competitive, volatile markets, capturing fleeting attention is no longer enough. Brands that endure and grow are those that forge lasting emotional bonds, differentiate distinctly, and become instantly recalled in moments of choice. This trio, Meaningful, Different, Salient (MDS), forms the backbone of Kantar’s scientifically validated brand equity framework, helping marketers understand and drive the levers that fuel sustainable growth.
Meaningful: Creating Deep Emotional and Functional Connections
Meaningfulness reflects how a brand meets consumer needs with warmth, sincerity, and relevance. It’s more than functional utility, it’s about making consumers feel understood and valued. Brands with strong meaningful connections command loyalty during volatility and justify price premiums.
Examples from the Kantar BrandZ 2025 ranking:
Verizon (#12, $73B) focuses on delivering continuous, reliable connectivity, forging a sense of trust in a commoditized sector.
Louis Vuitton (#16, $164B) blends heritage craftsmanship with contemporary storytelling, emotionally engaging consumers worldwide.
Chanel remains a timeless example of meaningful brand building, leveraging deep cultural ties and a consistent emotional promise to stay relevant over a century.
Meaningful brands not only satisfy but affirm consumers’ lives and aspirations, making them chosen companions in uncertain times.
Different: Standing Apart with Purposeful Distinction
Being Different means delivering a compelling, memorable value proposition that sets a brand apart from competitors. This is driven by innovation—not just in products, but in brand ethos, communication, and experience.
Apple (#1, $904B) disrupts markets consistently through design innovation and a powerful, aspirational identity.
Tesla transformed the automotive sector by pioneering electric vehicles with an emphasis on sustainability and cutting-edge technology.
Yuanqi Forest in China forged a health-conscious, youthful image in a crowded beverage market with a disruptive product offering.
Kantar BrandZ data shows brands with strong Difference indices grow substantially faster, commanding greater market share and pricing power.
Salient: Achieving Mental Availability at Point of Purchase
Salience is the mental availability or top-of-mind awareness that drives conversion in the buying moment. It is the brand’s ability to be quickly recalled and considered.
Coca-Cola (#21, $80B) balances global reach with highly localized emotional messaging, owning refreshment moments consistently.
Instagram (#38, est. $250B) seamlessly merges commerce and content, making itself indispensable during social discovery and shopping.
Old Spice’s distinctive humor and bold advertising make it memorable and instantly recognizable in the personal care category.
Strong salience reduces consumer decision friction, directly lifting sales and brand growth.
The MDS Growth Multiplier Effect
Kantar BrandZ analysis reveals winning brands combine all three MDS pillars for superior resilience and growth:
Brands scoring high on Meaningful and Different have 70% higher survival rates over 20 years than those with low scores.
Combining salience multiplies the impact, with these brands achieving 2-3x greater brand value growth.
Pricing power is closely linked with MDS strength, enabling brands to maintain margins in competitive markets.
The triad unlocks loyalty, fuels advocacy, and supports faster recovery from market shocks.
Practical Guidance for Brand Leaders
Deepen Meaningful Connections: Invest in rich consumer research to evolve emotional and functional relevance dynamically.
Amplify Difference: Stretch boundaries through innovation, authentic storytelling, and purpose-driven brand building.
Maximize Salience: Optimize media mix and digital touchpoints to ensure your brand is top-of-mind in key decision moments.
Measure Holistically Leverage Kantar’s MDS metrics and consumer data to diagnose brand health and guide investments.
Balance Short- and Long-term Investment: Sustain brand-building efforts alongside activation campaigns for durable equity.
Case Study in MDS Mastery: Chanel
Chanel’s century-plus leadership stems from masterfully integrating Meaningful, Different, and Salient qualities:
Meaningful: Deep cultural roots and emotional storytelling linked to empowerment and elegance.
Different: Iconic design, bold campaigns, and embracing sustainability with lighter fragrances for diverse markets.
Salient: Strategic omnipresence in cultural touchpoints and fashion moments globally.
This holistic approach anchors Chanel’s resilience and premium standing.
Bottom Line: The MDS Triad Is the Key to Building Resilient Growth Brands
Navigating volatility demands brands that go beyond surface-level recall to create meaning-rich, differentiated, and salient connections. These are the brands consumers trust, pay for, and recommend. The MDS framework is no theory, it encapsulates the behaviors that distinguish market leaders and unlock growth.
