Strong brands are made of?
It is not like the men of steel thing. It is certainly not only about a great product. And it definitely does not involve a business strategy.
In my research on brand communities, and study of consumption cultures, which ironically lead me to do my thesis on anti-branding did make realize one thing about strong brands. They have a story. This is not a story they've deliberately crafted, it is their true story. It is about their founders, leaders, and their captains. Strong brands could've been built by the principles of branding. But that was two decades back, also known as the golden era of post-modern branding. The post-postmodern branding paradigm is built of the foundations of identity. Brands that have a story have an identity. Spending $X million on a campaign does not work anymore.
Strong brands are made of strong narratives, strong stories.