Rule 1. in building brands is evolve value and keep building on what you have. Most companies that have dumped an old name for a new one to try to “reinvent” themselves have run head on into customer confusion.

Denny’s may be a top restaurant chain but its focus is on one segment of the market. It may not be my brand. Gap may be a great clothing brand to some but it’s limited to the demographics where it succeeds, just like Jack in the Box

I see a lack of real strategy on building a bigger online community and more of a move towards adding revenue based on targeted groups.

The brands that convey the most customer loyalty like Apple, Coke and Nike are the you brands. The brands that convey your personalized experience that empowers you as part of a greater community.

Brand strategy is the connection between your marketing goals and your customers’ experience. How you position your brand defines who comes to buy, why and how to build your market.

So do you have what it takes to enlist your own army of brand followers? Take a look at how you interact with your customers and ask yourself if you are worthy of their loyalty.

When you think your consumer brand is well-known and enjoys incredible loyalty, that you can’t possibly loose your core customer, be wary. No matter how loyal customers are, they can desert you, especially if they, well, age and die off.

Yahoo seems to have no idea what it’s trying to do with it’s site. They don’t even power their own own search now that it has been “outsourced” to Microsoft.

With branding and tag lines you focus on the simplest words that convey meaning and differentiation to the potentially most loyal consumer.

When you go into a store, whether it’s a Safeway, a Macys or a Trader Joe’s, the signage immediately sets the tone. Is the place fun? Is it formal? Is it “hip”? And lastly, does this place communicate that they have what you want? Beneath the simplicity of hanging signs or shelf talkers can be [...]