到了现代，品牌成为影响我们选择商品和服务的重要因素。它通过品牌识别系统与独特的消费体验让企业建立起无形的品牌资产，使企业具备强大的影响力。优秀品牌形象配合其传播策略可以让消费群体快速形成广泛的认知，并且可以通过建立品牌价值认同，形成对品牌其他产品爱屋及乌式的信任。

为什么品牌会对人产生影响呢？

人类之所以从万物中脱颖而出并成为地球上的主宰，主要得益于认知革命。认知革命让人类产生了虚构故事的能力。虚构故事让智人获得了前所未有的凝聚力，得以突破群体人数限制。随着故事越编越大，越编越精细，越编体系越完备，于是有了信仰、体制、主义、道德准则。这些人类虚构的，不是真实存在的理论，只要人人相信，就可以让上亿人凝结成融合的群体。

如今，人们虚构故事的能力进一步提升，发展出了“想象社群”，民族”和“消费大众”就是典型的“想象社群”。所谓的消费大众，即消费市场的想象社群，这一群人虽然彼此并不相识，却有相似的审美观和消费行为，从而形成身份认同，被定义为一个群体。

品牌的消费群体同样也是典型的“想象社群”之一。品牌以及其背后的企业我们是如何衡量他们的存在的？如果将苹果公司所有的产品、工厂、总部办公大楼都摧毁，苹果公司会依然存在，苹果公司的核心品牌价值与资产不存在于物质实体中。赫拉利教授认为，企业实际上是没有确切实体的存在的，而是人们集体的想象。这就是“想象中的现实”的力量，它不仅成就了公司，还构建了当代社会其他有价值的东西：民族、民主思想、人权、社会规则、法律、社交礼仪等。认知革命让智人生活在自己构建的双重现实之下：一方面拥有土地、河流、山林、牲畜、建筑等客观现实；另一方面则虚构故事，构建信念相同的国家、社会、企业。

因此，对于企业来说，要创建一个强有力的核心资产，就必须在产品之上构架一个有说服力的故事，让目标消费群体相信其品牌的价值。例如，使用GUCCI、Hermes、LV产品的人们走在街头，他们会因为拥有这些品牌而感到自己获得了时尚、高贵的身份识别。越强大的品牌，越能让消费群体对其构建的品牌价值和故事深信不疑。现代商业社会发展的重要特点就是注重塑造具备差异化的品牌价值。

企业利用品牌形象和营销策略，建立与众不同的品牌联想，从而为产品赋予了一层品牌价值，品牌由此产生了溢价效应。品牌价值的共同想象，让消费者进行产品或服务体验的时候增加了一层精神层面的愉悦感，甚至成为了消费者身份品位、审美认同、阶层的象征。一个强势的品牌形象可以发挥出强大的魔力，让该企业的产品在市场中脱颖而出，从而形成用户黏性。

在市场竞争白热化的现今社会，供应链、生产手段日益透明化，很多企业经营和销售都举步维艰、利润率下降。企业在消费者认知中树立品牌形象与价值的重要性已经不容忽视，没有成功构建品牌资产的企业很容易陷入低端价格战的泥潭中。

In modern times, brands have become a crucial factor influencing our choices of goods and services. They achieve this by establishing intangible brand assets through brand identity systems and unique consumer experiences, granting enterprises significant influence. A strong brand image coupled with strategic communication can quickly form widespread recognition among consumers and foster a transferable trust in the brand's other products through the establishment of brand value identification.

Why do brands have such an impact on people?

The emergence of Homo sapiens as the dominant species on Earth can largely be attributed to the cognitive revolution, which endowed humans with the ability to craft fictional narratives. These narratives provided Homo sapiens with unprecedented cohesion, enabling them to break through the limitations of group sizes. As these stories grew larger, more detailed, and more systematic, they gave rise to beliefs, institutions, ideologies, and moral codes. These are human constructions, theoretical entities that do not exist physically, but as long as people believe in them, they can unite millions into cohesive groups.

Today, the human capacity to create stories has further evolved, leading to the development of "imagined communities," where 'nations' and 'consumer masses' serve as prime examples of such communities. The term 'consumer mass' refers to a market segment where individuals, though strangers to one another, share similar aesthetic views and consumption behaviors, thus forming an identity and being defined as a group.

The consumer base of a brand is also a typical example of an "imagined community." How do we measure the existence of a brand and the companies behind them? If all of Apple Inc.'s products, factories, and headquarters were destroyed, Apple would still exist because its core brand value and assets do not reside in physical entities. Professor Yuval Noah Harari argues that enterprises are essentially intangible entities, existing in the collective imagination of people. This is the power of "imagined realities," which not only create companies but also build other valuable aspects of contemporary society: nations, democratic ideals, human rights, social rules, laws, social etiquette, etc. The cognitive revolution allows Homo sapiens to live under a dual reality: one that includes tangible elements like land, rivers, mountains, livestock, buildings, etc., and another that constructs shared beliefs and narratives within nations and societies.

Therefore, for enterprises to create a powerful core asset, they must construct a compelling narrative around their products, making the target consumer base believe in the brand's values. For example, people using GUCCI, Hermes, or Louis Vuitton products often feel a sense of fashion and nobility when seen in public with these brands. The stronger the brand, the more its consumer base believes in the constructed brand value and narrative. A significant characteristic of the development of modern commercial society is the emphasis on shaping differentiated brand values.

By utilizing brand image and marketing strategies, enterprises establish distinctive brand associations, thereby endowing products with a layer of brand value, creating a premium effect. The shared imagination of brand value provides consumers with an additional layer of spiritual satisfaction during product or service experiences, even becoming a symbol of consumer identity, taste, and aesthetic alignment. A strong brand image exerts considerable power, making the enterprise's products stand out in the market and fostering user stickiness.

In today's fiercely competitive society, where supply chains and production methods are increasingly transparent, many businesses face operational and sales challenges, leading to declining profit margins. Establishing a brand image and value in the minds of consumers has become indispensable. Enterprises that fail to build brand assets risk falling into the trap of low-end price wars.