The ‘why’ of a strong brand like SM

The ‘why’ of a strong brand like SM | Daily Tribune

SM Supermalls has been named the Philippines’ strongest brand for 2025 by Brand Finance, a globally leading brand valuation consultancy. While ranking 10th in overall brand valuation, SM Supermalls once again clinched the top position in brand strength with an outstanding Brand Strength Index (BSI) score of 95.0 out of 100.

To its customers, this affirms its excellence in marketing, customer experience, and stakeholder trust. For businesses and investors, this shows how a brand delivers transformative opportunities.

The strength of SM Supermalls — with two consecutive years as the strongest in the country — invites us to launch a philosophical inquiry into why it holds such enduring power in the collective consciousness of people.

SM Supermalls, with its ubiquitous presence across the Philippines, can easily penetrate the consumer psyche. SM is top-of-mind for malls and lifestyle destinations as it offers a great shopping environment, amenities and it aligns with modern Filipino lifestyles.

But being widely known is different from being a name that resonates through generations.

Indeed, SM, to many, has become a place to create memories and not just to go run errands. Here lies the brand’s strength, born of its ability to become a meaningful part of the human experience.

What has made SM truly endure is how it resonates deeply with its audience. At the heart of this phenomenon lies what the Father of Modern Branding David Aaker terms brand equity. This is the added value a brand confers beyond the mere functional utility of goods and services. This value is intangible yet palpable, emerging from a combination of awareness, perceived quality, and positive associations.

Philosophically, this echoes the Aristotelian notion of essence and existence. The brand is not simply what it does but what it is understood to be by its audience.

SM Supermalls achieves brand equity and lives by Aristotle’s words by meeting practical needs, providing comfort, variety, and convenience while appealing to the aspirational and emotional dimensions of the Filipino identity.

But beyond essence lies resonance, a concept articulated by branding expert Kevin Keller, who draws from phenomenology to describe the layered relationship between brand and consumer.

Resonance represents the peak of engagement, where the brand is no longer external but internalized, shaping emotions, judgments, and ultimately loyalty.

In a philosophical sense, one might recall Heidegger’s concept of being-in-the-world. Here, an SM Supermall is not simply a space but an extension of the self where individuals find meaning, connection, and a deep sense of belonging.

The existentialist “why” behind this relationship leads us to the paradigm of a purpose driven leadership, reminding us to perform the Socratic method in probing the answer to this question and factors that keep us grounded on our “why.”

SM’s tagline of having it all for you embodies a purpose that transcends transactional activities and enters a realm that shows commerce can serve a broader good in society by offering spaces of meaning, trust, and aspiration.

As SM Supermalls continues to exemplify how a brand can illuminate everyday lives, customers’ days are made brighter and the profound human quest for connection and meaning forges on.

Here, we are reminded of Kierkegaard’s reflection that “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”

SM’s story, like that of any strong brand, is surely of reflection and forward motion, rooted in a past of trust and experience, yet constantly evolving to meet the demands of tomorrow.