the new yorker on the diminishing value of a brand.

In this article the New Yorker makes a weak case that the value/importance of a company's brand has weakened in the modern day. It's not true. A brand is just as powerful, if not more powerful than it has ever been - there's just more parts of a brand that can be evaluated.

Old school thinking still evaluates a brand's worth based on it's mass/above the line communications.  A brand is, and always has been, the sum of all parts of a company - its products, philosophy, employees, identity etc. A brand is always on and always communicating. Companies that (and have always) embrace that see the 'proliferation of data' as a positive, not a threat to the brand.
http://www.newyorker.com/talk/financial/2014/02/17/140217ta_talk_surowiecki

the power of experience.

this presentation from liquid feels a little obvious and maybe even out dated, but there are some good case studies on brands that have put their values into action. however, it still surprises me that marketing professionals point to the 'old model' where brands had all the power and could 'tell you what to think.' good brands, people, etc. have always put their values first and used their values to guide every decision.

http://www.liquidagency.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/LA_Retail_Experience.pdf