Allen Adamson is co-founder of Metaforce and former chairman of Landor North America. He is the brand expert-in-residence at the Berkley Center at NYU Stern School of Business and often serves as an expert witness.
As AI assistants take over product discovery and purchase, the likelihood of confusion test is losing the consumer it was built around. And brands are therefore losing their primary line of defense. For decades, building a brand has meant the same, patient work. You develop a differentiated story, then bring it to life everywhere a customer might meet it: Advertising; digital; packaging; product design; customer care. Every piece is guided by consumer insight, a hard-won read on what a person feels at each stage of the journey, from the first moment of awareness through consideration to the purchase itself.