Visionary Minds 🇺🇸 ANA ANDJELIC (Esprit) - How to Build Brand Gravity in a World Obsessed with Virality?
Dec 16, 2025
Ana Andjelic, Global Chief Brand Officer and sociologist turned cultural strategist, explains why brands must operate as cultural systems. She discusses building brand gravity over chasing virality. Conversations cover cultural programming, CMOs as producers, aligning creativity with commercial metrics, and measuring culture as business capital.
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Rebuilding From Brand Origins
- At Esprit, the brand's center of gravity was bold art direction and graphic identity from its early days.
- At Banana Republic, imagined worlds and handwritten catalogs were the core aesthetic to rebuild around.
Brands As Continuous Cultural Producers
- Cultural programming treats brands as ongoing cultural producers, not one-off campaign machines.
- Ana Andjelic says CMOs must act as showrunners who continuously produce cultural products to build influence.
Reorganize Around Shared Annual Briefs
- Reorganize silos so brand, merchandising and product design collaborate under shared annual briefs.
- Build 2–4 customer personas early and align every department to those real people.