In case you didn’t read David Brier’s scatological upbraiding of Best Buy (“What Every CEO Can Learn From Best Buy’s (Continued) Branding Mistakes”), I’ll save you a few minutes and get right to the takeaways:
The strongest brands stand for something as well being opposed to something else.
Brands try to make themselves meaningful with trite “corporate statements” and “mission statements.” Candidly, I’ve yet to run across an example that did anything more than remind everyone they were working for a corporation. Zero inspiration. No passion. Total lack of authentic energy to inspire.
Only after answering those questions (What does your brand stand for? What is your brand passionately opposed to?) can you honestly determine what to sound like, what to look like, what your design aesthetic is, and why anyone should care.
Most businesses try to answer the first question, but totally ignore the second.
