I love that this discussion is happening. I think there are certainly more points we agree than disagree on. The entire concept of “lean branding” is such new t

I love that this discussion is happening. I think there are certainly more points we agree than disagree on. The entire concept of “lean branding” is such new territory, we should first think of ourselves as allies more than protecting our own dogmatic definitions, ideas or positions. With that said… IMO, customers absolutely think about brand as relationship. “I love Lululemon…I hate Toyota…I am an ‘Apple guy.’” As Laura said, “your brand does not exist in isolation.” This is very true. We relate to organizations in the same way we do with people (which is where the whole ‘corporate personhood' argument was generated). We have deep expectations, emotional connection, and preference about which organizations we choose to be in a relationship with, and which we choose to ignore or treat with ill-will (to Bill’s point). Branding shouldn’t be about trying to influence that relationship through clever wordplay, coercion, or beautiful “symbols." These things are lie on the surface of a much bigger and more meaningful depth - the relationship. More to the point, it’s not YOUR brand…it’s shared. The best copywriting, logo design, brand positioning statement, and so on are completely meaningless without a connection to an audience – which is the relationship. Instead, branding should be about trying to build a relationship based on co-creation, co-participation, and co-value. Which is to say, that the point of “branding” is to discover the shared value (emotional impact, shared aspirations, shared journey). Which is to Brant’s point, "How do you discover and create a lean value stream that purposefully creates "satisfaction" from the product utility and "passion" from the emotional impact the entire organization delivers.” That’s the key question. That’s what any discussion about lean branding should address. Shameless community plug: the community around The Lean Brand (which has been out for a while) is tackling these questions together with innovation, intelligence, and an incredible amount of enthusiasm.