In this week’s episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Emmanuel Probst.Emmanuel’s the Global Lead of Brand Thought-Leadership at Ipsos. He’s an adjunct professor of Consumer Market Research at UCLA. And he’s a Wall Street Journal and USA Today best-selling author of two brand strategy books including his latest -  Assemblage – The Art and Science of Brand Transformation.Just like a master blender uses the art of assemblage to know how to orchestrate, assemble and combine all the right elements to make a fine wine or cognac, a master brand strategist can do the same with their brand. But they have to be able to recognize and understand which elements to use and exactly how to combine them to craft meaningful, impactful brands.That’s the art and science of creating a transformative brand.Some of the topics we discuss include:Not all brands need to demonstrate a purpose, but they do need to help their customers transformHow your brand can be empathetic, relatable, authentic, and genuineYour customers need to understand “the one thing” your brand can do for themWhat the history of James Bond can teach you about assembling and evolving a brandThere is nothing original. Most creations are remixes and recreations of existing elements Brands are now open-source and need to allow for co-creation with customersYour brand is not the hero of the customer story, but there are important roles it can playYour brand is what people say it is, not what you say it isWhat’s driving a decrease in consumer trust of brands RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Emmanuel’s siteEmmanuel’s book - Assemblage: The Art and Science of Brand TransformationEmmanuel’s book - Brand Hacks: How to Build Brands by Fulfilling the Consumer Quest for MeaningEmmanuel on LinkedIn