Branding is a lot more than a marketing goal. For me actually branding is an outcome of just good plain business common sense. Yet, it is frequently seen as a driver rather than an outcome. The act of associating a product or service with a brand has become part of pop culture. Most products have some sort of brand identity, from common table salt to designer jeans.

There is Attitude branding which is the choice to represent a larger feeling, which is not necessarily connected with the product or consumption of the product at all.

It’s crucial to spend time investing in researching, defining, and building your brand. In the end your brand is the source of a assurance to your consumer.

This is absolute plain and simple common sense and Kaye puts it brilliantly in the quote to which you refer in your discussion.

Success in any realm of life is about getting first getting the basics right. In almost any form of business, the basic fundamentals involve:

(1) finding the right range of products or services (those which add a substantial amount of value to the lives of your prospective clientele, and which your firm is able to produce or deliver on a consistent, reliable and cost effective basis); and

(2) putting in place the processes and systems (i.e. supply chain, distribution, infrastructure and facilities, information systems etc.) to enable your firm to deliver consistent performance and output to your customers in a way which is either better or more cost effective than what your competitors are able to deliver.

Regardless of how slick their marketing effort is (and I am not for one second suggesting that the importance of effective marketing strategies can be overstated), firms which are not getting things right at this simple basic level and are not able to deliver performance which meets customer expectations on a consistent basis are going to have a mighty hard time generating a great deal of success from their marketing activities.

But in the case of firms who get their basics right, the flow of testimonials and referrals from which they will no doubt benefit can be expected to make life a whole lot easier for their marketing personnel out there in the marketplace.

These are all gross-characterizations with each market/technology being different. But if you are in a mature category, don’t assume it’s hopeless. Just be willing to rethink what business you are really in. Apple is a great example–each new technology/product added value to its existing products as they work well in a “suite,” saving users time and frustration.