At the end of September, a breakfast meeting took place here in Rio with two guest web experts: Leo Brossa and Vitor Clemon. One steered the conversation towards creativity and the other towards business, making it necessary for the morning to find a middle ground between business and creativity.

And the common thread in the talks was the phrase "calm down, we know how to deal with the web." This signals that we are now a more mature market in dealing with the digital world. Brands are no longer afraid of social media or their own consumers. But the main message of the day was "calm down," because the internet didn't bring a new world, but new dynamics to our existing structure. Yes, the scenario has changed; now the consumer has the power to vote. They see, analyze, interact, comment, argue, love, share, but at the end of the day, it's the audience itself that decides which message wins over.

It may seem like I'm stating the obvious. And I am. But it took us a few years to understand that the web harbors the same structure as the offline world; what changes is the way of thinking. In other words, the criteria for success – being relevant, differentiated, proprietary, and consistent – still apply. Furthermore, the need to fulfill a brand promise and deliver something that makes a difference in the lives of stakeholders is still paramount.

If the logic of branding still holds true, then the need is to adapt the approach. The good news is that we, as experts in the field, deal with a discipline that was born virtual. Our job is to manage the intangible. And we will continue to do so in both tangible and virtual environments.

The scenario, therefore, has never been better for branding. And that's what we're observing in the market: more companies taking control of their own brand, more theses on branding, more conversation, more brand management. And for brands, we're seeing more digital. A balance as strange and, at the same time, as obvious as creativity and business.