Corporate image is everything. In today's world, you're either a good company or a bad one, and your products will be judged in the same fashion by association. Consumers are savvy as they look at who makes what they buy as much as what they're buying. And the place that most of your consumers are beginning their search is online. Do you have an online brand manager or someone who keeps track of what is said about you in bulletin boards, chat rooms, and blogs?

Delta Airlines just announced that it has eliminated pillows and quit selling food on flights to save money. Clearly they haven't read the growing list of dissatisfied customer postings on flyertalk.com, airlinerage.com, or flightsfromhell.com.

Companies traditionally have looked at customer service issues as separate, and apart, from the sales of the product and based on short-term profitability. Decisions that at first glance don't seem to affect the bottom line immediately are put off if the corporation isn't flush with cash.

Ad agencies won't exist in the future. Branding companies are relics of the past. Web 2.0 and the YouTubification of our culture will replace the online agency. If you listen to the doomsday predictions, it's easy to start believing that the low-cost model and democratization of media is eliminating the advertising agency in New York.

Media content has lost value because of the proliferation of potential sources clamoring for the eyes and ears of consumers. However, as the number of media outlets increase, advertisement campaigns can actually be more interactive and creative than ever. Sprite hides messages in its television commercials to make people stop fast forwarding with their TiVo. Doritos buys a Super Bowl advertisement created via entries submitted on YouTube. Advertisers are adapting their campaigns to the media. In short, we're evolving.

Famous athletes have long been part of the marketing world, whether they're endorsing their "favorite" brand--sure Derek Jeter drives a Chevy--or they're starting their own (i.e., Michael Jordan). Today the brand + athlete pairing is as creative as ever, so let's take a look at how some of today's top athletes have worked with their brand teammates and how it has affected their respective brand's performance.

A recent survey showed that only 17 percent of executives and marketing professionals felt their CEO would give the company's marketing an "A." When asked why, marketing executives said it was because they didn't show their work.

CEOs are not ones to take performance on faith; they need hard numbers to justify spending to a results-driven board and investors. That sentiment was echoed by CEOs; 48 percent felt marketing was only marginally effective.

Welcome to the InfoFrenzy-where customers are customer service vigilantes using the Internet to publicize positive and negative experiences and investigate the brand and corporation behind the product. Genuine consumer comments have replaced the Better Business Bureau or Consumer Reports as a reliable source for brand comparison. Anyone with a modem and a blog represents a potential public relations disaster.

Customers today are armed with the technology to look beneath a brand's attractive wrapping. They want to know about the company that made the product, and whether it shares the same core beliefs and values. And that's where a lot of brands get into trouble.

Companies spend so much time focusing on the brand concept that they forget to step back and consider its purpose. You want to make money for your business, employees, and shareholders. But how can you translate fiscal health into a purposeful brand that connects with customers? Start at your core. And then build your company around it.

When Richard Tait and Whit Alexander sat down to create the board game Cranium, they based it on a simple premise-"Everyone Shines." Some of us are good at crossword puzzles, while others might dominate at Pictionary. But the key is that everyone has a unique skill set that allows him or her to compete in a game based on a variety of challenges.

We are keeping track of what's going on in the world, and we're looking at the implications those events or actions may have on the brands and their respective bottom lines. Then, we're plotting them on our handy-dandy uber-scientific graph that takes a look at the relationship between brands and profit.

The Business of Music
Almost a decade ago, the music industry found itself in the midst of the mp3/p2p music-sharing fiasco. Today, as the dust clears, we've seen evidence (iTunes) of a new way of looking at the music industry, and lately there's been a new wave of change truly challenging the business model, as detailed here in this great NY Times article that asks "if it's retail, is it still rock?"

In today's texting, YouTube, blogging, mobile messaging, media-obsessed world, consumers can get to the core of every business instantly. And they do. To them, saying what you do is not nearly as important as doing what you say.

You sell more than a service or a product - you are selling a culture, a set of beliefs and your brand's mission. Consistency and transparency throughout every layer of your company influence buying decisions and are directly tied to your bottom line. So, your brand must be clearly understood and embraced by your entire organization.

To create a well-developed brand that's focused on profitability follow these steps:

There is plenty of industry buzz surrounding the rising, falling and evolution of the CMO. He's the new corporate wizard, sitting at the strategy table, creating return on investment metrics and a one-on-one relationship with every customer. And in this consumer-controlled marketplace, it's his insight that will drive every department of the organization. So, really isn't the CMO the new CEO?

In days gone by, a CEO was well-equipped if he had solid operational and financial skills. Truth be told, marketing is what makes or breaks a company in today's marketplace. "America is no longer a country of manufacturers." Instead we brand everything  (see what William Gibson says about this). And a CEO has to adopt a marketing philosophy to determine if his brand resonates with consumers. He needs to understand his customers' behavior and govern every action - from new product development to sales to customer service to in-store merchandising - with a focused understanding of their needs.