The Death of Identity: An Introduction to Interactionist Branding. Customers interact with brands in ways that were unimaginable back when the rules of branding were originally written. So it's time to rewrite the rules. Interactionist Branding is a system for managing the meaning of a brand via managing individual customer relationships with the brand and fulfilling the brand roles these relationships dictate--an actionable framework for brand development, deployment, signaling, reignition and optimization. With academic grounding in the sociological theories of Herbert Blumer, Interactionist Branding is the next edge of identity and meaning management systems--blending the best of established branding methodologies and strategies with CRM mechanisms, tactics and one-to-one communications.

1. The Death of Identity
An introduction to Interactionist Branding
author:
Haydn Sweterlitsch
VP, Creative Director
RTCRM, a Wunderman Network Agency
Washington, DC
February 2009
contact:
hsweterlitsch@gmail.com
Twitter: Haydn_S
202.299.7496

2. The Death of Identity
An introduction to Interactionist Branding
by Haydn Sweterlitsch
As the landscape of communications continues
to undergo tectonic shifts, so also do the rules
of our industry. The trend of customers shifting
from passively experiencing brand signals to
actively engaging and interacting with brands
has steepened and accelerated, with no terminal
point in sight.
Managing a brand’s meaning is no longer
a challenge of steering perception with
proclamations and expressions of who/what
a brand is, the values it stands for and what it
looks like. It hasn’t been for a long time. And
simple awareness has never been a valid
all-purpose indicator of a brand’s health and
actualization with regards to performance,
power and place in the life of customers.
The next school of meaning management
Now more than ever, the meaning of a brand is The academic groundwork for this approach
defined by the role it plays in its relationships with to meaning management occurs in the work of
customers. The sum of the interactions a customer sociologist Herbert Blumer, and is crystallized in his
has with a brand not only defines the role this brand essay “The Methodological Position of Symbolic
plays in the customer’s life, but also provides an Interactionism.”1
actionable guide for how the brand needs to treat
One basic premise of Symbolic Interactionism is that
that customer. To successfully manage the role of a
humans act toward other people, objects, etc., on
brand (and thus its meaning), you must manage the
the basis of the meanings those people and things
relationships it has with customers.
have for them. A second one is that the meaning of a
This is the basis of the theory of Interactionist thing is derived from the social interaction a person
Branding and the Brand Role System of meaning has with that thing. Third, the meanings we ascribe
management. It was developed by re-examining to things are modified via an interpretive, iterative
how to effectively manage a brand’s meaning in process we employ in our interactions with those
an ever-changing communications milieu where things.
customer-initiated brand interactions continue to
We can logically extend Blumer’s premises of
grow in volume and consequence. Interactionist
Symbolic Interactionism to describe our approach to
Branding and the Brand Role System point to the
managing the meaning of a brand. To be precise, you
next edge of communications: a true synthesis of
act toward a brand based on the meaning that brand
branding and customer relationship management
has for you, which in turn comes from the interactions
(CRM).
you have with that brand. The meaning of a brand
can and will continue to change as you continue to
have interactions with that brand.
next>role is the new identity
The Death of Identity ©2009, Haydn Sweterlitsch 2

3. Role is the new identity
Before we proceed, let us be clear: When we refer to “identity,” we do not refer to the “visual and verbal
expression of a brand.”2 We refer to the concept of “identity” defined as an enduring personality or collection
of persisting qualities and characteristics that determine the nature of a thing. This is a static concept. And it is
the enduring, persistent nature of this very idea that renders “identity” an outdated construct for the purposes of
creating, managing and optimizing brand meaning.
Unlike an “identity,” a “role” is capable of shifting, evolving and reacting appropriately to fulfill the changing
needs of a relationship.
Before you accuse Interactionist Branding of being nothing more than a new term for old thinking—and think
we’ve simply switched the word “identity” out for the word “role”—consider this: A role needs its counterpart
to exist, while an identity may exist in a vacuum. One’s identity, in both theory and practice, endures even in
the absence of interaction with others. One’s role, on the other hand, ceases to exist when not engaged in
interaction with a counterpart. In fact, a role can only come into being through interaction. For it to exist, a role
must be fulfilled.
Relationships define meaning
For example, if a teacher has no students to teach, To fulfill the role of teacher, she needs to interact
the teacher cannot fulfill the role of teacher and with students, and they need to learn as a result of
will, in fact, cease to be a teacher. It is only when this interaction. What is exchanged between them
the exchange of instruction and learning occurs when they interact—the learning—makes up the
between two participants that those participants economy of meaning in their relationship. And it is
assume the roles of “teacher” and “student” and this meaning in their relationship that defines their
take on the meanings inherent in those roles. The roles.
teacher may think of herself as a teacher; she may
The same holds true within the Brand Role
even stand in front of a classroom looking, acting
System. Whatever is exchanged between brand
and behaving like a teacher. If the classroom is
and customer when they interact defines their
empty, though, she is not teaching (and so she is
relationship. As this relationship occurs, the roles
not a teacher).
that brand and customer fulfill for each other are
Now fill the empty classroom. Even with people defined. Many things are inherent in those defined
at desks watching and listening to her act, look relationship roles: how they treat each other; the
and sound like she is teaching, she may not be a proper tone, style and content of their interactions;
teacher. Unless these people actually “learn” during what they get from each other; how they present
their interaction with her, she is not fulfilling the role themselves to each other, etc. In short, meaning
of teacher (nor are they students). is inherent in these relationship roles. So, if you
successfully manage the relationship between
brand and customer, you’re successfully managing
the meaning of that brand to that customer.
next>non-permanence is a brand virtue
The Death of Identity ©2009, Haydn Sweterlitsch 3

4. Non-permanence is a brand virtue
To drive a relationship between brand and customer that A single brand must be able to fulfill different roles
is as sustained, deep, loyal and mutually beneficial as seamlessly, fluidly and effectively. Furthermore, the
possible, the brand must have the flexibility to shift roles same customer may want to interact with the same
over the course of the relationship. To remain relevant, a brand in different ways over the course of his or
brand must be able to change what it is to the customer. It her relationship with that brand. Their relationship
must embrace a state of non-permanence—and be able may deepen or shift—and the meaning of the brand
to successfully fulfill different roles. will need to change if it is to remain relevant and
engaging to that customer. The brand will have to
This is not brand blasphemy. It is the reality of what fulfill a different role, because the meaning of what
effective brands must evolve into. Different customers is exchanged between brand and customer has
want to interact with the same brand in their own ways. changed.
Consider Barry Kessel
Barry is the CEO of RTC Relationship Marketing. He
is also a husband and a father. These are just three
roles he fulfills—shifting naturally from one to the
next, often in the course of a single day. In each role,
a different economy/exchange occurs (emotional,
psychological, social, etc.).
How Barry acts and communicates in his different
roles—as well as the content, tone and manner of
each interaction—is dictated by the relationship
in question. How Barry interacts with his wife is
certainly different from how he interacts with his
children or his professional peers, and so on.
Different relationships define different roles based
on the meaning of what is exchanged in those
relationships. The more effective Barry is in fulfilling
his different roles, the more effective and beneficial
his relationships will be.
The flexibility and non-permanence any person
embraces in fulfilling his or her different roles is not
uncommon, abnormal or superhuman. It is simply
a part of being a healthy, well-rounded, actualized
person. Why should we expect anything different
from the brands we create and manage? If anything,
a healthy brand should imitate Barry. If a brand’s
meaning is defined by what is exchanged between
it and the customer, then its ability to effectively fulfill
its role in a customer relationship will determine
the long-term viability, relevance and power of that
brand.
next>new rules, a new system and greater potential
The Death of Identity ©2009, Haydn Sweterlitsch 4

5. New rules, a new system and greater potential
When fully realized and validated, Interactionist Branding and the Brand Role
System make up a new and actionable approach to meaning management.
The approach can be utilized to complement and optimize communications
for an actualized, healthy and robust brand. Likewise, it can be employed in
the creation (or re-ignition) of a brand.
While the Brand Role System itself depends on paradigmatic roles (teacher,
student, coach, etc.), it is a far more accessible and actionable system than
existing archetypal systems of meaning management. This is because the
roles of both brand and customer are defined by the meaning that arises
from their interactions and relationship. Again, to manage the relationship’s
interactions means 1) to ensure the defined role is fulfilled, and 2) to manage
the meaning of a brand.
Customers are not the passive audience they were when the rules were
originally written. In point of fact, customers continue to be more actively
engaged with brands on ever-shifting communications platforms with new
rules of engagement written almost daily, often by the customers themselves.
More customer interaction gives us more opportunities for success—along
with more risks.
The new system of meaning management introduced here synthesizes the
best practices of brand advertising and CRM as never before, and provides
a leading edge for more effective brand meaning management—even in the
trickiest and most accelerated communications landscapes—so that brand/
customer relationships can be deeper and more sustained, loyal and mutually
beneficial than ever before.
1
Blumer, Herbert. Symbolic Interactionism: Perspective and Method (1969).
2Wheeler, Alina.Designing Brand Identity, 2nd ed. (2006).
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