New models of comfort and familiarity are emerging and being amplified in response to the increasing instability and uncertainty of life.

Consumers crave human experiences that meet their need to feel simultaneously anchored yet ready and enabled to roam. The emergence of home as a metaphor in consumers’ minds creates an opportunity for brands to step in and enable consumers to co-create and replicate the emotions that we associate with home. The measure of success in the decade ahead will be defined by enabler brands whose open, flexible systems also serve as an anchor for consumers, a home base that subtly draws them back by offering a sense of comfort that feels just right.

Uncertain and fearful consumers feel stuck between the desire to roam and the imperative of remaining safe. They want to live more mindfully, flexibly, and restoratively by seeking out products, spaces, and experiences that both anchor them and set them free.

Brand, Sweet Brand

To build fierce loyalty, Enabler Brands are those that serve as a metaphorical home base. They create brand experiences that anchor and comfort consumers living in the midst of change and hungry for home-like fundamentals: safety, security and comfort, wherever they roam. Enabler Brands empower consumers with freedom — to experience and experiment with other brands — while always giving them a compelling reason and urge to come back home again.

Enablers know that pragmatic, resourceful consumers insist on participating in recasting the role of their literal homes and creating their metaphorical“home” brand experiences. Enabler brands will sustain engagement by answering a simple question, “How do we give consumers the confidence, resilience and clarity to roam yet return?”