Branding in the digital era

The contributions received in this Special Issue help to reveal not only the central role of consumers, but also that of other stakeholders in building and constantly renewing brand meanings. Consumer empowerment in terms of brand-related behaviour is contextualised in a broader scope, where stakeholder empowerment plays an increasingly important role. Brand management in this multi-vocal ecosystem requires new cultural and strategic approaches, as well as new skills and capabilities (e.g. listening, responsiveness, negotiation, balanced governance) for which there is still great scope for analysis. As a whole, the papers presented here help to open up new lines of research, with the belief that the theory of branding is merely at the start of its renewal process. The ultimate goal is to effectively lay the cultural foundations and strategic guidelines for a role, that of the brand manager, which will soon be a far cry from the profession described by David Aaker two decades ago.