Porto Business School (PBS) has officially launched the Brand Futures Lab, an applied innovation lab developed by its Innovation X Hub (IXH) in partnership with EY. The launch took place this Wednesday during the event “Leading with Purpose: The Future of Brands, Leadership and Trust,” bringing together business leaders and experts to discuss the role of brands as strategic assets.
Co-directed by Ana Côrte-Real, Faculty & Corporate Relations Director and eMBA Director at PBS, and Hermano Rodrigues, Principal at EY-Parthenon, the Brand Futures Lab is designed as a space for strategic experimentation, focused on thinking, testing, and developing solutions to current and future brand challenges.
The lab operates at the intersection of academic research, executive knowledge, and co-creation with organizations, aiming to turn insights into solutions with real impact. Its mission is to position branding as a key driver of competitiveness, trust, and sustainable value creation.
“The launch of the PBS–EY Brand Futures Lab marks the beginning of a collaborative platform dedicated to exploring the future of brands, bringing together companies, academia, and market leaders. In a context where organizations must balance exploration and exploitation and manage different leadership rhythms, brands play a central role as a trust architecture that connects strategy, organizational culture, and customer experience into a consistent value proposition,” said Ana Côrte-Real.
The project aims to foster an ecosystem where brands act as engines of growth and shared prosperity, through innovative collaborations, knowledge sharing, and inclusive leadership. It will bring together companies, executives, agencies, academic institutions, and public organizations to co-create solutions that strengthen competitiveness, reputation, and long-term value.
The Brand Futures Lab methodology follows an innovation cycle that ranges from identifying barriers to economic and social development to ideation, solution design, and implementation through Solutions Labs. Its activity will focus on six priority areas: branding for SMEs and scale-ups, location branding, AI and branding, personal and leadership branding, brand internationalization, and brand activation and experience.
Regional impact and leadership development
Key initiatives include the annual Branding Outlook Report and the creation of the “Brand Performance North” index, a barometer of brand value within the regional economy.
In the executive education pillar, the Brand Futures Lab introduces BrandWise, a high-level offering for leaders and marketing and communication professionals, focused on areas such as digital branding, brand purpose, reputation, and positioning. The portfolio includes certified and modular programs, such as the Brand Leadership Program and Brand Strategy for SMEs, as well as masterclasses with international speakers.
Additionally, the project features the “Scaling Up Marketing and Brands in the North” initiative, an acceleration program for SMEs, startups, and micro-enterprises in Northern Portugal. Through an annual cohort model, brand maturity diagnostics, and the North Branding Summit, the initiative aims to enhance the sophistication and international projection of regional brands.
Two brands, one vision
The partnership between Porto Business School and EY reflects a shared vision of creating value with impact. In a context of accelerated transformation, this collaboration combines academic expertise, executive practice, and strong ties to the business ecosystem, reinforcing the role of brands as strategic assets for the future of organizations.