Brand (re)think

If I could have a wish for 2010 it would go something like this:

• See your brand as something to be valued and honoured.
• As a core operating principle for the whole organisation.
• As something that is owned, understood and enacted by everyone.
• As an authentic reflection of what the company stands for.
• As a bridge between the internal and the external.
• As worth caring about and defending.
• As a result of alignment between what you believe and what your actions show.

I know this goes against common thinking about brand – but hey, it’s the end of the year. A girl is allowed to dream. Fact is, there are people out there who already see it this way and if others get on board, maybe 2010 will see a new (and better) reality for brand emerge.

Happy holidays and joy and peace for the coming year.

See you in 2010.

Michel Hogan is a Brand Advocate. Through her work with Brandology here in Australia and in the United States, she helps organisations recognise who they are and align that with what they do and say, to build more authentic and sustainable brands. She also publishes the Brand thought leadership blog – Brand Alignment.