Power dynamics in the world are beginning to change. At least in perceptions and conversations, rather than holding powers of policy and impact. And in a world ruled by image, where fame is the biggest currency that is bought and sold, with access to the most coveted circles being the most critical signature of power, perception is key.

In these perceptions, finally, the working class has begun to assert their presence. Refusing to be silent spectators and participants in their own oppressions by the rich, they are now publicly calling out the issues.

Extremely powerful workers' rights movements have shaped history as we know it. However the cultural shift we see today, is that not only are they calling out their oppressors, they are now comparing their lives to that of the lives and styles of the oppressors.

This is a cardinal shift.

So whether one looks at the protest of the Amazon workers projecting their video on Jeff Bezos’s home during the Met Gala, while he sponsored the event, to closer home during the export workers strike in Noida, as they compared their lack of food and fuel to their factory owners purchasing luxury cars, or the delivery person’s strike on New Year’s eve.

This recognition of chasmic gaps in means, and the comparison of it, is a shift that is critical in a world ruled by capitalism and algorithms designed to show us what is most profitable for the largest companies employing the workforce.

In this changing cultural dynamic, there is little patience for pretence. And now more than ever. For brands catering to lower middle classes and working classes, glorification of grit, exhaustion in the name of motivation, while they actually exhaust themselves for survival, would be detrimental. Similarly, anthemic ideas of equality and equity, when not practised, would run the risk of appearing performative and therefore not only rejected but also criticised in conversations.

Understanding what working-class aspirations actually are becomes important. Have we assumed that the aspirations climb a conventional ladder? Their aspirations are not the lifestyles of the rich (and their oppressors) anymore. The working class is looking for brands and tools that don’t help them dream anymore- they have their dreams and their potentials, and they have now begun to recognise what holds them back. What they seek is enablement and empowerment.

How do the brands catering to them enable them to unlock their dreams? How do they empower them to find a way around the obstructions that systems offer in their daily lives? What is it about the brand and product that propels their confidence in themselves a little more? They don’t need to rely on brands anymore to help them visualise a different future. They need brands to help them claim it. And build the acts that get them there better and faster.

On the other hand, and extreme, to stick to a functional story of the product, its supremacy and why it works, is a legitimate way to also build a relationship. Where the benefit is the proof, and that is the relationship.

So, brands must note the cultural shift and nuance to respond to their various target groups differently. Noting where power sits and where it is being challenged helps navigate changing dynamics and uncover new ways to make brand promises more compelling.

The author is executive vice president, strategy, Virtue Asia.