The concept of brand culture has developed within the last decade as an effect of the fundamental shift in approach to branding. Today, companies no longer rely upon external brand images as a primary means to the production of belief as there is no such thing as a controllable brand image. Instead, belief is produced internally and is lived inside the company. Thus, companies let these beliefs drive external communications and consumer experiences because consumers are attracted to the meaning embedded those beliefs. In modern consumerist culture, brands aren’t just about the product or services they present, but the meaning they generate. This meaning is being adopted by consumers to express who they are and what they stand for. In effect, people borrow meaning to tell a story about themselves. Thus, for a brand to be relevant with consumers and sustainable over time it must operate like a culture. This is precisely the opposite of manufacturing a series of external brand images. When a consumer connects to a brand that aligns with their most deeply held beliefs and sense of identity, they simultaneously pull the brand into their own world and enter the world of the brand. Brand culture provides a world that the consumer can enter. In sum, a brand culture provides a rich body of meaning, which is embodied through a system of symbols and actions. Fundamentally, it is the production of belief-symbols, myths, rituals and community – that perpetually invites people to join brand cultures and it is through the structure of these cultures that belief is maintained.
"Vagabonding is about gaining the courage to loosen your grip on the so-called certainties of this world. Vagabonding is about refusing to exile travel to some other, seemingly more appropriate, time of your life. Vagabonding is about taking control of your circumstances instead of passively waiting for them to decide your fate."-Rolf Potts, Vagabonding
