Did you miss our PRINT Book Club with Robin Landa? Register here to watch the recording and buy your copy of Branding as a Cultural Force
In our recent book club conversation hosted by Debbie Millman and Steven Heller, branding educator and author Robin Landa made a compelling case that branding isn’t just a marketing veneer—it’s a cultural force with real consequences. A distinguished professor and prolific writer, Landa argues in her new book, Branding as a Cultural Force, that brands don’t simply persuade; they participate in shaping norms, values, and behavior. That participation, she insists, comes with responsibilities: transparency at minimum, and ideally a long-term commitment to the communities a brand profits from. Landa pointed to companies that try to “perform their promises” by embedding values into operations, not just campaigns—emphasizing that credibility is earned through sustained action, not one-off statements or trend-chasing gestures.
The discussion didn’t shy away from the messy reality that “good branding” and “good ethics” don’t always align. Debbie Millman pushed on the tension between performative values and meaningful accountability—citing examples where beloved brands or sub-brands can project virtue while parent companies (or other divisions) cause harm. Landa’s answer was both pragmatic and pointed: the public has more power than it thinks, especially in an era where social platforms amplify scrutiny and consumer pressure, particularly from Gen Z. The practical test, she suggests, is duration and follow-through: is the brand investing over time, contributing materially, and building structures that outlast a quarterly cycle? She calls this “cathedral thinking”—leadership that plans beyond one’s own tenure—and frames it as the mindset creative leaders can champion from the inside, even when commerce, compromise, and “no bad publicity” tempt brands to cut corners.
About the author: Robin Landa, a distinguished professor at Kean University, is a globally recognized expert in branding, design, advertising, and creativity. She has received numerous accolades, including recognition as one of the Carnegie Foundation’s “Great Teachers of Our Time.” Her commentary has appeared in Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, and Inc. She is the author of more than twenty-five books, including most recently Shareworthy: Advertising That Creates Powerful Connections Through Storytelling (Columbia, 2024, with Greg Braun).
You can order your own copy of Branding as a Cultural Force from Bookshop.org
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