Written by: Paz Esperanza T. Poblador Marketing Department De La Salle University INTRODUCTION How does an undefined yet strong heritage human brand compete in this rapidly-evolving, social-media crazed, digital-marketing driven business environment? The fiercely competitive arena of the fashion industry, where artisanal apparel tends to be so quickly commoditized by imitators and aggressive competition from top-of-mind global mass-produced brands, is where Filipina designer Patis Tesoro has been thriving and surviving as a passionate serial entrepreneur for over four decades now. Regarded as The Grand Dame of Philippine Fashion, she has done her fair share in uplifting homegrown arts and crafts by meticulously creating unique pieces of textile, clothing, home decor, and fine art, all of which have been sold worldwide. BRANDING FROM THE MACHINE AGE TO THE DIGITAL AGE There was a time when brands were incidental in that little thought was put into their definitions. Front-page worthy inventions were the first kinds of brands, and products sold themselves precisely because these innovations made life easier for the consumer (Klein, 2001). When competitive branding emerged in the Machine Age, it suddenly became essential for firms to differentiate their goods because, ”the market was now being flooded with uniform mass-produced products that were virtually indistinguishable from one another” (Klein, 2001, p.6). This ‘manufactured sameness’ , coined by branding guru Naomi Klein (2001), required the development of an image-association, so that the market could easily relate with the brand. Thus, a more meaningful consumer DLSU BUSINESS NOTES AND BRIEFINGS ISSN (Print): 2345-8216 | ISSN (Online): 2350-6814 Volume 3 | Number 1 January 2015 Defining a Filipino heritage brand in the digital age