I is what I is...

If your hobby (like mine) is to determine what the business trend of the year is, I have it, so you can stop looking. Brace your self.. BRANDING.

Everything I read is about branding. Be the brand. Companies are spending their time developing a strong brand (yes, I know.. they've been doing it for years in marketing) through their people. I haven't seen anyone doing a good job yet, but it seems to be the ideal... I know Southwest Airlines blah blah.. but ok... name another...

Newsflash to everyone not on this critical journey towards people centered branding - your brand is not what you WANT your customers to think about you, it is what they DO think about you.

Therefore, all the catchy jingles, fancy logos, and cool marketing collaterals are worthless unless your people back everything up. It's like the quote I read in (one of the most brilliant books out there..) becoming a category of one by Joe Calloway:

"There's an old saying: Don't wrestle with a pig. You just get dirty, and it annoys the pig. Let me add: Don't claim to be something you are not. You just look stupid and it annoys the customer."

You don't own your brand, your customers do. You can give them something to talk about if you work hard at it, good or bad - take your pick.