What makes a brand "Good"

I've spent decades building iconic brands, and studying what makes them resonate, what makes them last, and what makes them grow. This is what I nerd out about.
Lately, I've been thinking about a question I can't ignore: we're living in an era where anyone can launch a brand in minutes. AI tools churn out logos, copy, and entire brand identities and campaigns at scale. The barriers to entry are lower than they have ever been. New brands flood the market every day. Yet so few stick.
We're drowning in brand noise. Attention is easy to buy and impossible to keep. Every brand wants to capture your eyeballs and won’t leave you alone until it captures your clicks, but few are willing to speak to your heart, meet your real desires, or stand for something beyond the transaction.
It's made me question something fundamental: What makes a brand truly good? Not "good" as in successful or trending or viral, but good as in intrinsically good. Purposeful. Human. Enduring.

This piece is my attempt to unpack that question. To understand what separates the brands we scroll past from the ones that stay with us. And to make sense of a hard truth I've learned over the years: "growth" and "good" don't always mean the same thing.

1. Good brands understand people like anthropologists do.
   Good brands are rarely built by thinkers who follow a playbook. Good brands don't approach their target users like marketers do.They approach them like students of meaning, of culture, of rituals. They act like anthropologists. They're curious about what people actually care about, not just what they'll click on. They study patterns, they thrive on exploring what makes people tick.
   They don't ask, "How do we get people to care about us?" They ask, "What do people already care about, and how do we show up there in a way that matters?"
   Warby Parker didn't just see "expensive glasses." They saw people who wanted to express themselves but felt locked out by price and a shopping experience that robbed people of the joy of trying on. They understood that eyewear wasn't really about vision. It was about identity, accessibility, and playfulness. Price was only the surface problem.

   
   

2. Good brands have a point of view—and the guts to live it
   A mission statement shouldn't be only for the company website. It's a belief system that drives every decision made, even the hard ones. Especially the hard ones.
   Patagonia didn't invent sustainability. They took a moral stance when it wasn't trendy or profitable. They refused virgin materials. They taught customers to repair gear instead of replacing it. They literally told people to buy less. And somehow, that became their growth engine. Today, Facebook Marketplace is full of pre-worn Patagonia jackets that people trade with pride.
   That's the paradox: the more a brand stands for something specific, the more people want to stand with it. Conviction is magnetic.
   But here's the thing. You can't fake it. People can smell performance from a mile away. Your values have to show up in how you operate, not just in how you advertise.

   
   

3. Good brands move culture, not just product
   Every brand says they want to "tell stories." But few have the patience to build those stories in a way that actually shifts how people see themselves or the world.
   Dove's Real Beauty campaign worked because it made people uncomfortable. It asked women to question beauty ideals they'd quietly accepted their whole lives. It wasn't just inclusive. it was disruptive. There’s a lot to unpack for this campaign, because I feel Dove should and could have done more. But it did more than most other brands even think of. It started the conversation.
   Nike didn't just celebrate athletes, they redefined who gets to be one. "If you have a body, you're an athlete" wasn't a tagline.
   That's what resonance looks like. Not everyone will love you. But no one can ignore you. And the people who do connect? They become believers, not just buyers.

   
   

4. Good brands practice the future before it arrives
   Innovation isn't about shiny new things. It's about new behaviors, about sensing what's shifting beneath the surface and acting before the world demands it. It’s about identifying patterns and then demystifying how that pattern might show an unmet need.
   Airbnb didn't invent spare bedrooms. They normalized the idea of staying in a stranger's home, something that felt impossible until suddenly, it didn't. They understood that sometimes you crave the feeling of home when you’re far away from home. And they built a platform around that insight.
   Leading from the edge means you're willing to be misunderstood before you're proven right. You have to believe in something and be willing to try it out, and be wrong, and try again.

   
   

5. Good brands are human enough to make mistakes
   Even great brands mess up. The difference is what they do next.
   When Zappos lost a customer's shoes in transit, they didn't just issue a refund and close the ticket. The CEO sent flowers and a handwritten apology. Then they told the story publicly, not as a PR stunt, but as proof of their values.
   When KFC ran out of chicken in the UK (yes, really), they didn't hide. They ran a full-page ad rearranging their logo to say "FCK" with a genuine, self-deprecating apology. People loved them for it.
   Good brands don't fear mistakes. They use them to show they're run by humans who care. Vulnerability builds trust faster than perfection ever could.

   
   

6. Good brands design experiences that feel seamless
   Experience is everything.
   Apple stores don't have salespeople. They have "Geniuses". You don't check out at a register. Someone with an iPad comes to you. Every choice whispers the same thing: you matter here and our products can help you get where you want to be.
   Good brands don't just orchestrate touchpoints. They compose an experience where everything feels connected and intentional, like it couldn't have been any other way.

   
   

7. Good brands make people feel seen
   At the end of the day, this is what it all comes down to.
   Good brands remind us that they “get” who we are, or who we could be. They say: I see you. I get you. You're not alone in this.
   Glossier didn't create beauty products for models. They created them for the person staring at themselves in the bathroom mirror, trying to feel like the best version of themselves on a regular Tuesday.
   A good brand doesn't just perform goodness for the camera. It practices it, quietly, consistently, behind the scenes. Even when it's hard, even when no one's watching, until the world catches up.

   
   Diksha Idnani
   Founder, Good Brand Lab