The probability rises even higher if the assessment is based on longer time periods. Industry and economy grew up as siblings, both being children of rationalism, and are today more than 300 years old. Their development was marked by the spirit of the Enlightenment, which proclaimed the progress of man through reason. Today, in the so-called post-industrial era, the signs are multiplying that we are entering a kind of economic Storm and Stress epoch as was once seen in art and literature. Ironically, two spearheads of technological-scientific progress, cognitive psychology and neuroscience, confirm today that the mind does not function without emotion and is controlled by the latter unconditionally. Every judgment is based on emotions and is only later rationalized in the form of cognitive opinions. A leading brain researcher provocatively puts it this way: “A human being is an ape with a spin doctor in his head.”

Company managers who overcome their anxiety and integrate modern brand strategies into their portfolio of strategy types, who learn today to deal rationally with the irrational, will have a good chance tomorrow to differentiate their companies long-term and occupy a highly profitable competitive position. Whoever does so has fans, whoever does so is cult, whoever does so sets himself apart by means of a powerful attraction which works by suggestion and holds a fascination monopoly. In terms of competition standards, he is not interchangeable, is unique – and will stay so long-term. A differentiation based on brands is always a long-term strategy. It generates calm and orientation in the company and on the market – you know who you are and what you can do.

Brand strategy is also interesting as a differentiation strategy because it is a growth strategy. One can all too easily slip into thinking of differentiation in competition as a niche strategy. But this is a misunderstanding. The differentiation goal of a brand is uniqueness, the new, as yet unoccupied position among the competitors, not the niche. The circumstance that, by its nature, there are not very many competitors crowding each other in this position and that a correspondingly large market volume could manifest itself does not indicate limited growth. On the contrary, new, original, and vital market positions in particular inherently include the opportunity for tremendous growth from the attraction and bonding of previously undeveloped target group potential. This insight can easily be expanded to encompass entire national economies: differentiation through brands creates vast spaces, room between the competitors’ positions. The fascination which brands generate puts distance between their target groups, generating a general harmonization of the competition. When every company cultivates its identity on the basis of brand differentiation, both it and its supporters set themselves more and more clearly apart from the competitors and their supporters. A genuine Porsche fan does not trade in his car for a Corvette even if it is offered to him at a lower price. And a true “Apple believer” would not touch an IBM Think Pad with a ten-foot pole. Fascination is incorruptible. That is what protects strong brands from price declines and interchangeability.