drive the way

[takashi]

Hello.

I came across this expression, "drive the way".
This is the whole section:
"Advertings drives the way people engage with the brand. But it can also drive the way the brand innovates on quality, and how it responds to social and cultural occasions."

For the first sentence, I think you can rewrite it as:
"Advertising influences people's attitude towards the brand."

But for the second sentence, how can advertising influence the brand on how it innovates on quality and responds to social and cultural events?

If anyone has a suggestion, I am truely thankful.

[Tdol]

Lucozade used to be advertised for sick children. Now it's for peopledoing sports. The advertising has changed the perception of the product. I think it means this.

[takashi]

Thank you tdol.

So for the second sentence:
"But it can also drive the way the brand innovates on quality, and how it responds to social and cultural occasions."

Is it saying that advertising changed the brand's(company's) attitude (perception)?
I am bit confused.
Shouldn't advertising change the way "people" precieve the brand. How can it change the company?

Thank you so much.

[Tdol]

Maybe it's an advertiser with a huge ego.

[TheMadBaron]

Takashi - you've understood the expression correctly- 'drive', in this context means to exert a strong influence.

It's not your fault that the section you quoted confuses you. It's very badly written. You're trying to make sense of something which doesn't actually make very much sense.

'But it can also drive the way the brand innovates on quality and how it responds to social and cultural occasions." '....

I'm a native English speaker and a professional English teacher, and I have no idea what this is supposed to mean. Don't lose any sleep over it.

[takashi]

Thank you so much for your reply, TheMadBaron.
You've saved my sleep.:o

The way the author writes throughout this book is entertaining literture but can sometimes be somewhat hard to understand. He tries to explain simple things in a dramatic or complex way. Maybe he's being poetic.

Again, thank you.

[TheMadBaron]

You're very welcome.

Maybe he's being poetic.

No, his use of language is too clumsy to be called poetic. I think he's just being verbose. :wink: