Business that focuses on its product excellency, sales strategy, risk assessment (pragmatic factors) is about building the tangible assets, its Economic capital. Business that invests significantly and develops on its brand strategy and marketing communication (organic factors), is in fact building its intangible assets; establishing its brand’s Symbolic capital.

Symbolic capital is an emotional reward/payback from our customers/end-users through the accumulation of trust, recognition and reputation of the brand overtime. Symbolic capital provides the much needed human-connectedness on top of those facts and figures feature of the physical products. Symbolic capital is used to influence and motivate the audience in believing in the brand purpose and its offering, yet giving them the liberty to engage the brand in their own terms. Although the process is organic, the conviction of the brand values through the leveraging on the social and/or cultural context that the brand is narrated upon is much more powerful and contagious.

Another intangible asset is Social capital. Social capital is the effect garnered from human interactions. It is also the behavioural positioning the brand conditions itself in towards societal trends and current affairs.

Through the exponential advancement in communication technology such as social media in recent times, this solution has enabled businesses to form global social connections and networks; with the capabilities to bridge and bond them, and to inform and influence all connected individuals in real time organically. In spite of this, the understanding of the brand role and responsibilities and its implementation of its social strategy is crucial to ensure the brand is positioned as a positive force with constructive purpose in mind, and not perceived as a self-serving business that is manipulative and destructive for social contentment. 

Good Social capital is not build around attention economy that aims to fragment our concentration and creates addiction to pseudo self-worth. Good Social capital flourish from the idea of knowledge awakening, and empathic empowering.

Through the meaningful curation of Social capital, consumer become follower turn influencer that help transform the brand into a tribe.

In spite of this, Economic, Symbolic and Social capital are not mutually exclusive. Branded business that choose to focus on either one of these capital wholly risks missing an opportunity to build a more holistic brand. Anything that is overly commercial driven is perceived as commodity or even sell-out. Business that focuses excessively on artistry risks alienating the public-at-large with its exclusive appeal and hence diminishing its economy values. And business that plunges mindlessly in social engagement without establishing any distinctive brand personality or values with its audience will be deemed as pervasive noise and further missed the opportunity to exude its symbolic positioning with clarity and conviction.

Economic, Symbolic and Social are all important assets to have together in order to build a profitable, sustainable and purposeful brand. We believe most businesses understand their Economic capital. The challenge for many business owners will be to discover and define their Symbolic and Social capital and to transform those capitals into the currency of success for their branded businesses.

着重产品优化、销售策略、风险评估(务实考量)的企业为的是要建立有形的资产，也就是经济的资本。而大量投资及发展品牌策略及行销(组织考量)的企业则是在建立一种无形的资产，也就是塑造品牌的符号资本。

符号资本是一种来自顾客/终端使用者的情绪性报酬/回馈，是长期以来对品牌信用、认同及声誉的积累。符号资本为有形产品的质量及特性提供了最重要的东西:与大众的一种连结性。这也用来影响与启发受众，让他们认同品牌的目的与价值，从而建立与品牌间独有的连结。虽说此一为系统性的过程，但透过社会及/或文化氛围所确立的品牌价值却是极有力量且具感染力的。

另一无形的资产则是社会资本。它是从人与人的互动中所产生的结果，也是针对社会趋势及时事变化所定位的品牌状态。

透过近年来快速发展的传播科技，如社群媒体，能够让企业形成全球性的社群连结及网络。不仅有即时连结的功能，也能够告知及影响网络中所连结的每一个人。尽管如此，若想将品牌定位为对社会有建设性的正向力量，而不只是自利且无助于社会幸福感的企业，那么对品牌定位与责任的了解、及其社会策略的实践就显得极为关键。

正向的社会资本并不是建立在所谓的注意力经济上，其目的只是分散我们的注意力，让我们沉溺于假性的自我价值。正向的社会资本应是源自于知识觉醒与同理心的概念。透过社会资本的展现，消费者转变为追随者，进而影响并有助于将品牌扩大。

尽管如此，经济、符号、及社会资本三者之间并不是互斥的。品牌企业若只着重其一，则无法建立一个全面性的品牌:过度利益导向的企业可能被视为功利甚至是背弃了原则；过度重视艺术层面则有可能因不符大众喜好的而降低了经济价值；而一股脑地投入社会参与却没有先建立品牌本身形象或价值的企业，则可能被视为华而不实，并进一步丧失了自我定位的机会。

经济、符号、及社会资本对于要建立一个能获利的永续品牌而言，皆是缺一不可的重要资产。我们相信大部分的企业都对经济资本部分了若指掌，但对许多经营者而言，最大的挑战是如何发掘并定义他们的符号及社会资本，并进一步将其转化为品牌企业的成功要素。