Be Your Own Brand—A Breakthrough Formula for Standing Out from the Crowd

Brands That Last

In the context of business, we sometimes say that you know a brand by its extremes: you really get to know what a brand represents in the worst of times and the best of times—how things are done when everything's on a roll and what happens under duress. Both ends of the spectrum provide an opportunity for a brand to demonstrate its true mettle. And both have a significant effect on the balance in the brand equity account.

The first time a personal relationship provides value for someone else, brand equity starts to accrue. As the cycle repeats, the relationship grows stronger, more resilient, and less vulnerable to the forces that can conspire to pull people apart. John Grisham's novel The Firm (Doubleday, 1991) and the movie ...