To make your product more meaningful to consumers, we recommend solving one specific problem for one specific customer, backing it with proof buyers can check, and adapting as their needs change.

Why it matters: When brands fail to stay relevant to what people actually need, they risk becoming forgettable. Havas’ 2025 Meaningful Brands study found that people said they would not care if 78% of brands disappeared tomorrow.

What Does It Mean for a Product to Be Meaningful?

A product is meaningful when people would notice and care if it were gone. Havas says it has measured Meaningful Brands annually since 2009, and its 2025 report found that attachment to the most dynamic brands, meaning those that shift to meet and get ahead of people's needs, is more than twice as strong as attachment to the least dynamic.

Why Do Consumers Switch Brands?

69% of people say they are quick to switch brands when they find a more cost-effective or convenient option, showing how easily functional benefits can be replaced. That makes emotional and value-based relevance equally important, especially when 45% say they have stopped buying from brands that do not share their views and values.

Do Consumers Trust Brands?

Trust influences buying decisions, but many brands struggle to earn it. Edelman’s 2019 In Brands We Trust? study, covering eight countries, found that 81% of respondents saw trusting a brand to do what is right as a major consideration when buying. Yet, only one in three said they trust most of the brands they buy and use. At the same time, 56% said too many brands use societal issues as a marketing ploy, while just 21% said they know from personal experience that the brands they use keep the best interests of society in mind.

These 2019 findings highlight a clear gap between the importance consumers place on trust and the confidence they actually have in brands.

How to Differentiate Your Product From Competitors

We recommend making three choices and stating them in plain words. Choose one specific customer, choose one specific problem that customer has, and describe how your product solves it in the same way everywhere it appears. A simple exercise is to complete the sentence "customers hire my product to." Someone buying a protein bar might be trying to get through a mid-afternoon slump, and someone downloading a budgeting app might be trying to stop worrying about money.

These choices form the core of a brand strategy. In plain terms, a brand strategy is a short written answer to four questions: who the company serves, what problem it fixes, why anyone should believe it, and how it speaks. Writing this down gives everyone who writes or designs for the brand the same reference point. Social media marketing is one place to repeat these choices consistently.

What Proof Should a Brand Show?

Edelman found that more than 70% of respondents link what they buy to considerations such as a brand's supply chain, reputation, values, environmental impact and putting customers before profit. Havas found that 46% of people say they have stopped buying from brands that do not respect the planet or society. Based on these findings, we recommend publishing real reviews, real numbers and case studies, and being specific about sourcing and conduct, so that buyers can check your claims. Social media marketing is one place to share real customer reviews.

Where Does Social Media Marketing Fit In?

Social media gives brands a large opportunity to reach Indian consumers. DataReportal counted 500 million social media user identities in India as of October 2025, although this figure may not represent unique individuals. Instagram had an estimated advertising reach of 481 million, while YouTube reached 500 million through advertising in late 2025. These figures show the scale of the opportunity, but reach alone does not make a product meaningful.

The real value comes from how brands use these platforms. We recommend using social media as a two-way channel by answering questions, showing how products are made and responding to comments. Every post should also reinforce the customer and problem defined in your brand strategy, giving your audience a clear reason to remember the brand.

Note: Advertising reach is not the same as monthly active users.

How Do AI Answers Change Marketing?

People are increasingly getting answers directly from Google and AI tools instead of clicking through to websites. This changes how brands need to create content.

A 2025 Pew Research Center study found that when Google showed an AI summary, users clicked a regular search result in just 8% of visits, compared with 15% when no AI summary appeared. AI summaries appeared in 18% of searches overall and were even more common for questions beginning with words such as who, what, when or why.

This is where AEO and GEO become relevant. Brands need content that AI tools and search engines can easily understand and use when answering customer questions. We recommend answering common questions directly, using plain language and clear question-based headings.

A Practical Way to Begin

Start by writing one sentence that clearly defines the job your product does, then identify the customer group you can serve best. Put these decisions on a single page, support them with reviews and case studies, and use them as a reference for your marketing.

The next step is turning that clarity into communication that works across your digital presence. Creative Nerds helps businesses do this through strategy, storytelling, technology and design, from social media campaigns and creative content to websites and digital experiences.

If you want to build clearer, more consistent communication for your brand, reach out to our team at +91 91670 08137.