Scott Galloway, the NYU Stern School of Business professor, warned at the 2023 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, that the "era of brand" is over and that we are moving into a "product age". He believes that the following factors are contributing to this shift: 

Product-centric ads: Consumers are increasingly using ad-blocking tools or streaming platforms without ads, and many of the world's most trusted brands are reducing their advertising. 

Consumer habits: Consumers are no longer as concerned with the downside of a product, and are more likely to expect any brand to treat them well. I believe Galloway is being overly simplistic here. 

Mass diligence: Consumers now have tools like Google search, Amazon reviews, and influencer-driven platforms like TikTok Shop to discover the best products for their needs—often bypassing traditional brand influence altogether. 

Brick-and-mortar stores: Galloway argues that stores are still the most influential factor in purchasing decisions, and that they outrank search, social media, and CRM. 

Galloway also believes that the internet has made it easier to create, distribute, and market products, which means that more products have the potential to become category leaders. 

Branding isn't dead—it just needs to be authentic.

I applaud most of Galloway's sentiment, but I don’t believe branding is dead—it just needs to be authentic. The brand is the product, and the product is the brand. Focus on either separately and you'll get burned. The days of slapping a beautiful brand identity on a crap product are thankfully coming to an end.

"Having a great brand means you get to play the game of capitalism on easy mode."

Rory Sutherland, vice chairman of Ogilvy UK and a globally respected consumer behaviour expert put it perfectly: "Having a great brand means you get to play the game of capitalism on easy mode." He’s spot on. A strong brand doesn’t just help you stand out; it makes everything—from pricing to customer loyalty—that much easier.

Marketing is not your product's janitor.

I see it constantly—engineers and product managers cooking up solutions in isolation, then tossing them over the wall to marketing with an expectation to sell them at lightning speed—especially moronic when we're talking about technical products. Think about it. Your engineers are solving complex technical problems. Brilliant. But who ensures the innovation has the value proposition to drive customer sales or investor interest? Engineers and scientists are rarely good marketers.

Companies who integrate marketing into NPD from day one outperform those that don't—you can't sell what you don't fully understand. Early involvement also ensures faster go-to-market and greater success.

Key Takeaway: Only product-centric brands will win long-term.

In D2C and B2B, the future belongs to organisations that understand the inseparable nature of product and brand—where exceptional products embody brand values, and strong brands amplify product excellence. Success in this new era requires authenticity, transparency, and a deep understanding that brand building isn't just about marketing—it's about creating genuine value through every customer interaction, whether digital or physical. As Rory Sutherland suggests, a strong brand remains one of the most powerful advantages in business, but only when it's built on the foundation of real substance and customer-centricity.

About the author

Jonathan Drainey is a senior brand strategist and marketing director based in Northern Ireland, UK. A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, he partners with select clients in Ireland and the UK to transform their IP into market-leading products and global challenger brands. With a proven track record, he drives transformation and growth through innovation, design, operations, and strategic marketing. A strong advocate for product-centricity and the circular economy, he specialises in the agri-food, health, energy, tech, and industrial sectors.

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