Global Choice and Competition Economic globalization, global choice, competition and the spread of technology have made brands the most effective way to cut through the clutter to building long-term brand value. The CMI view of brands is that they emerge from the interactions of customers, employees, and media not growing from the top down, but from the bottom up in a distributed social network. Branding Strategy The process of constructing a brand strategy is more complex than most companies think. A company’s brand identity is a unique set of associations that a brand aspires to maintain with its customer; associations that should represent the strategic goal for the brand. Every representation of a company’s image that people see, whether it’s corporate stationery, brand names, a product and its packaging, a brochure or annual report, a logo in an ad, a sign, graphics on a vehicle, or a name badge worn by a counter clerk, can successfully shape opinion of key audiences and offers an opportunity to win respect and admiration. Business and organizations can successfully shape opinion of key audiences by strategically managing and delivering the many vehicles of their communication program. Brand Consulting That’s why successful companies hire CMI brand strategy, brand consulting, and brand management services, to plan and produce business communications. They realize that they need professionals to help them figure out which message to send out and how to deliver it and make it memorable and compelling.