Try it today: Ask these questions of a random sampling of 5 customers and employees.

• What do we do?

• Where are we trying to go?

• Why does it all matter?

You will learn a lot through this simple exercise.

Don’t settle until it’s understood throughout the organization and the real test is when you hear customers say it back to you.

He said one thing in passing in the article that I haven’t been able to shake ever since I read it.  Schultz was asked how things had gone so wrong and he replied…

Success is not sustainable if it is defined by how big you become or by growth for growth’s sake.  Success is very shallow if it doesn’t have emotional meaning.

The article goes on to talk about how Schultz’s main agenda since coming back as CEO was to inject meaning back into the brand for all employees.  He did this mostly through bringing employees together and teaching them about the brand again.

I love to watch a leader lead with his heart first, balance sheet second.

Here’s a link to the HBR article should you want to read more. http://ow.ly/2gJvs

Their Open Happiness campaign commercials always ended with a simple, subtle riff referred to as their “Sonic Logo”. Pretty cool. But then consider that they used the melody as a flexible system for a global campaign – a melody that varied based on country and even time of year. And most recently they took the sound to a whole new level by incorporating it into K’naan’s World Cup Anthem.

You gotta watch and listen to this one to feel the breadth of what they accomplished with a few simple notes:

Amazing.

I believe the business type is less indicative of greatness than the ability for a business owner to execute that business with greatness.

Imagine I am starting a business that will sell blank, plain tshirts. Sounds boring, like maybe I might end up becoming Hanes. Then I go even further and decide I want to target 20-somethings. Sounds destined for failure without jazzing up the offering. Like maybe I should be printing ‘cool’ graphics on the t’s.

Now consider what American Apparel created with their brand of plain t’s for hipsters.

D.I.Y furniture (IKEA), simple burgers & fries (Five Guys), lip balm (Burt’s Bees), coupons (Scoutmob).

It seems a business type is not nearly as important as the uniqueness and greatness by which the business type is executed and experienced.

I think it’s the same with companies.  All too often terms like “branding” are seen as something that’s separate from a business plan and how things are really run inside the organization. Unfortunately, that’s basing identity on what you think others would like you to be.  An organization’s identity should be directly tied to who it truly is at the core.

That’s one reason that TRUTH is one of our three core values.

The identity is incredibly fun, welcoming, and different. I love everything about it, from the wall decal illustrations to the menu design to the overall color palette. It feels like the new hip and trendy place to be in Atlanta (and the line out the door confirmed that). After the meal however, I heard several comments about the food as… “pretty good”. There were no real complaints but there were no real celebrations either. The funny thing is, even though my burger was hoe-hum, I will probably go back and I’m sure others will as well.

It made me think “How good is good enough”? Can you get away with a “good enough” product by having a strong brand identity?

It’s the same with building a brand.  You can put a lot of energy into defining and building the initial foundation of a brand.  But the day you stop thinking about it and sticking with the initial plan is the day you start to lose focus.  And we all know that a lack of commitment leads to a weakening brand.

Having the foundational assets of a brand (brand strategy, visual identity system) is just that: the foundation.  That isn’t when your work is done, rather it’s when you can really start building your brand.

If the World Cup was a hot dog, then the uniforms would be the relish. This year alone Adidas estimates to make $1.8 billion in sales from the World Cup, which makes one big hot dog and some very valuable real estate on the backs of each player. A friend of ours, Jared Taft, blogged yesterday about his favorites and was curious to see our thoughts, so here is my Top 10 list.

I judged each uniform on originality, simplicity, function, and flexibility (how well it did within the home/away system). What are you favorites?

10. Argentina

Like most of Argentina’s fans, I choose them solely on their use of light blue. Even back in my days of playing FIFA Soccer on Sega they were my go to because of that distinct color, and I really like the stripes.

9. Brazil

It’s hard to have any sort of World Cup Top 10 list with out mentioning Brazil. That and the echoing of the stars in their emblem help them take my #9 spot.

8. Cameroon

It’s hard for me not to like Lions, they are my favorite big cat. The simplicity of the lion face on the shoulder and the ever slight roaring lion on the opposing side is beautiful.

7. Italy

An all white simple jersey just does it for me. No fluff. Just classy. I love the hits of royal blue under each arm, sure to cover any excess perspiration.

6. USA

I couldn’t leave our guys out of it, but more so I really appreciate the boldness of the solid stripe. My only critic would be to lighten the blue a bit and add this guy.

5. Algeria

I do not know if I’ve ever seen a mint green used as the primary color for a jersey in the World Cup. It contrasted with the red makes a dynamic color scheme. I love the simple stripes and the white sleeve cuffs.

4. Serbia

The cross from the nation’s emblem is echoed beautifully across the entire jersey, and the reason for making my #4 spot. Nothing says Communism like all red, so I was glad to see some blue on the sleeves.

3. England

Ah the motherland. England’s away jersey made my #3 spot for their functional use of the sleeves. Some might see this as a negative given the summer heat in South Africa, but after 90 minutes of sun and slide tackles, a little coverage might be nice. My favorite detail of this jersey is the all blue emblem. It contrasts the solid red beautifully.

2. Switzerland

It’s hard to deny the simplicity of the tried and true Swiss cross. The line work on this jersey is beautiful and I enjoy the little character on the right chest, even though its a bit cheeky.

1. New Zealand

This is absolutely the best World Cup uniform I’ve ever seen. Having a single symbol, the leaf, is incredibly powerful. Combine that with the classic black and white color scheme and you’ve got yourself one amazing looking set. I don’t know how the Kiwi’s will do, but their uniform is the winner in my book.

And my least favorite? France due to the 1988 swooshing lines.

What are your favorites?

I traveled to Houston over the Memorial Day holiday to visit friends. My first time to the city – third time to the state. I knew it was home to Whataburger, Big Oil and boots, but beer was not the thing that came to mind when I thought of visiting the megapolis.

Saint Arnold Beer. A brewery founded and flourishing in Texas since 1994. A microbrewery whose entire focus is making and delivering not just a handcrafted, but also incredibly fresh beer. Fresh is key for St. Arnold’s – on average they’re getting beer into the hands of consumers a mere 3 days after being brewed. Its on purpose and on-brand.

Their focus doesn’t stop there. In addition to fresh they intentionally deliver their beer to Texans, and Texans only. They are Texas born and bred and and don’t plan on taking their product anywhere else. Its part of their Identity, and is visibly part of their passion.

Their brewery was a great place to visit – full of folks hanging out for the afternoon with picnic lunches in-hand and taps pumping out the good stuff for the small price of a $7 entry fee.

I’ll miss the opportunity to have it back home in Atlanta – but I’ll also be looking forward to having it again the next time I visit.

Passionate fans, focus, and a growing enterprise. All outcomes I’d wager are tied not just to a great product, but also a result of their decision to brand regionally.

Brand Camp is a two-day intense branding workshop retreat that brings together like minded entrepreneurs to discover their company’s unique identity in the marketplace. Unlike most workshops, there is a very tangible take away, the brand brief.

I asked the attendees to send me some quotes about the experience and here are a few I received the day after we got back.

“Matchstic’s Brand Camp was amazing.  In 48 hours we were able to verbalize what our company is about and where we go from this point forward.  Being able to discuss it with Craig and Blake, and other businesses, to get their feedback and guidance was invaluable.”

“Going to Brand Camp, I was nervous that we really weren’t different and truly unique from other consulting companies.  But, Matchstic did an amazing job of pulling it out of us — helping us realize that we really are unique.  It wasn’t that they told us who we need to be, or that we just made up what we want to be — they helped us realize who we really were.”

We have a few spaces available for our June 2010 Brand Camp, email brandcamp@matchstic.com or call Craig at 404-446-1511 for more information. Space is limited to five companies per camp – so get on it!