If there is one thing that seems to be getting clearer and clearer in the world it is that people everywhere are wanting to be free, to be transparently informed, to be connected, and to be open to new ideas. People want this in all aspects of their lives and even in their brands.
In my 11th post on my Goodbye/Hello blog
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/patt-cottingham/goodbyehello-11-irans-cle_b_226277.html on Huffinton Post I wrote about the clerics of Qum in Iran who recently issued a statement siding with the Iranian's of the opposition movement and Moussavi, calling the new government illegitimate. The will of the people, association of clerics, and the reform movement of Mir Hussein Mossavi tests the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's power and President Ahmadinejad's legitimacy. Now of course there are those in Iran who believe that Ahmadinejad won the election fair and square. Yet for those who challenge the election outcome it shows a strong powerful current for at the very least transparency. Those clerics of Iran who have sided with the opposition are looking to sustain a brighter Iran throught the love of truth.
What can the clerics in Iran teach brands about loving transparency and truth? People by nature respond to truth because it appeals to their higher selves. In Maslow's Hierarchy of Human Needs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow's_hierarchy_of "acceptance of facts or truth" is in the top most tier of Self-Actualization. Brands that reach this level of self-actualization are brands that are truthful, fair minded, ethical, know how to resolve problems, are hightly creative, and enjoy a light hearted perspective. Brands can either mirror the society around them or compel people to evolve their behaviors to be far more altruistic. As we move move into a global society brands, like Iran's clerics of Qum, can help us by appealing to our higher human need for the love of truth and transparency. Lessons about branding can come from the most unlikely of places.
