Constant Craving

I’ve been escaping into the nostalgic comfort of 1990s music, over the past couple of weeks.

Over the weekend I bumped into k.d. lang’s Constant Craving, a 1992 hit in the U.S., and started thinking about the lyrics. On the surface it sounds like a haunting love song. But I’ve heard its actually about all human desire and longing. Eventually it led me to considering those concepts in the context of modern design and branding.

Not that long ago, branding was really focused on selling. We highlighted features and benefits to consumers. Design was focused on aesthetic, differentiated styling. Products fed a consumer’s craving for status, practicality and newness. But it seems like our constant cravings have evolved and in response, modern marketing and advertising have expanded past profit into the realm on intention.

Why is brand story telling so essential to success now? Maybe because we want more than stuff - we want to feel more, find meaning in things and connect.

Don’t get me wrong — I crave the quick dopamine hit of McDonald’s just like everyone else. I don’t need a deep story or meaning from that, sometimes I just want a break from a stressful day.

But more and more I hear people of all ages talking about how they crave live connections. The pandemic certainly gave us the time and space to consider the things that really matter to us. Live, in-person experiences with other humans seem to be priorities for many of us. Brand stories are beacons that resonate with increasingly specific audiences, building culture and communities.

Seeing, doing, hearing, eating, moving… our value of connection with other people is on the rise. The places we gather in — restaurants, stores, work sites, public gardens, museums — are ripe with opportunity to elevate the human experience, and successful brands are embracing placemaking.

Look, our world is increasingly divided, and I know negativity and tribalism is a profitable and easy way for brands to increase profitability. But I’m an optimist, and I believe by crafting conscious products, events, spaces and experiences that genuinely connect us, they can also enable us to satisfy our craving for belonging. At least until the next craving hits.