My colleague Benoit Tranzer has just written a Point of View about the need for brands to appeal to the new “mindful” consumer. Mindful consumption, he suggests, is demonstrated by consumers buying fewer products and fewer brands, and being more considered in their choices. Benoit believes this trend heralds a new era—one in which brands will have to work hard to appeal to people’s shifting priorities. His POV is well worth a read, but I have to admit that I am unsure whether or not he is right.

Is 500 million a big number? That seems like a dumb question, right? Of course it’s a big number. But then the U.S. deficit is $1.471 trillion. So that’s a HUGE number—particularly when you’re a U.S. taxpayer. What about the nearly 2 billion with access to the Internet? Sort of middling huge? In the light of those numbers, how do we feel about 500 million?

The social media savvy among you will already have figured out where I am going with this. Facebook boasts over 500 million active users and some companies are using that number to try to scare up some business. Take this quote from a recent press release issued by a budding new media company:

As I suggested in my previous post, branding is a double-edged sword. Once you have created a strong brand, you must then continue to invest in it or else suffer withdrawal symptoms: stagnant sales performance, weakened margins, and increased vulnerability to competitive action. But, I wondered, what equity metrics might signal that a brand is in need of life support?

There is a lot of evidence that strong brands make more money and are worth more than weak ones. Analysis of Millward Brown’s own Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands ranking demonstrates that the strongest brands outperform the Standard & Poors equity index. But once you have created a strong brand are you then hostage to it?

My musings on this topic were sparked by reading this post titled, “Risk Areas of a Brand,” by Joy Abdullah. Joy proposes that as brands have grown in importance, so too have the risks involved. This theme is familiar for anyone who has read The Brand Bubble. After pointing out the need for risk to be identified and managed, Joy discusses the sources of brand risk, both internal and external, including quality, customer service, consumer behavior, retailers’ actions, and regulatory issues.

Finally someone has got it right. Old Spice’s “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” has become an iconic success for the use of viral marketing because it has generated mass reach. Instead of engaging just a few people, it has engaged tens of millions.

There are many articles documenting the success of Old Spice’s ”The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” (TMYMCSL) so I will not bore you with the details, but for those outside the United States who may not have heard about it, here is a brief overview. The campaign started with some quirky commercials featuring ex-football player Isaiah Mustafa. Notably this one aired in the Superbowl.