I want to launch my own brand

After my nut-free nuts idea and experimenting with burning chickpeas on a Saturday night (yes, I know, I should get out more!), I want to launch my own brand. 

I was recently toying with the idea of a brand that was actually called 'Little Black' and retailed skirts, dresses, notebooks, pens and briefcases for the serious and sexy executive audience.  If this already exists, just slap me.   

Oh and a total PS to this post is, if John Hegarty happens to read this, which I very much doubt - I am 85% sure I saw him in King's Cross on Saturday.  I was standing right behind him then he dashed off to get the Leeds train.  As I didn't speak to him, I didn't suffer the embarassment that I did when I saw Badly Drawn Boy, clearly a concern of mine.  It's not really the same, but it is kind of.  It would be good to know if it was actually him!

Instant branding - blessing or curse?

Today I've been reading about Build A Brand So this is a site which lets freelancers and start ups create a new brand from scratch from design bits and bobs online to get their businesses and ideas out there.  It's a quick solution, cheaper than a traditional branding agency - and so not an investment.

I find this all rather worrying that there are 'fast and dirty' schemes out there for people with little branding nouse and little cash to create brand after brand - with no strategic integrity whatsoever.  Ok so they're not pedalling this as a solution to branding problems, it's something quick, fast and cheap. 

But for people with little knowledge of the branding process - who happen to be their target audience of start-ups - they may just think that this is a solution and something that'll last the test of time.  Without a proper strategic process, the brand could be fraught with inconsistencies and then after spending money on this solution (albeit not very much) still would have to approach an agency for help at some point down the line. 

This would likely mean a rebrand and in the short time the brand would have been up and running, it would render the initial instant brand would a wasted endeavour.  It's a temporary measure.  Brands aren't.  Brands need a strong gutsy launch to pave the way for the future, not an instantaneous temporal effort.  They need building from strong foundations and I just don't think this solution is strong enough.   

Brand commitment

We're living in a complex modern world and this is certainly not as complicated as things will get!  People are being bombarded with messages from all over the place 'Don't smoke', 'Spend your money, please' - so no wonder people are running scared and don't know what to do for the best.  How do we keep it all together?

We want to keep people committed.  We want them to think something and stick to it.  In the world we're living in today - that's becoming ever increasingly more digitised and we as consumers are mediating and creating our own rich media identities, does that help or hinder brand loyalty?  Is it easier for brands now than say, fifty years ago, to reduce churn and maintain a commitment with consumers because of the complex media environment that is consistently emerging?

I don't really know the answer to this, but I thought I'd raise the issue about what brand commitment is for consumers and whether it is more or less easily achievable these days.  As the world's oldest brands continue to plug their wares in this changing landscape and stay consistently strong despite media evolutions and economic turmoil - is this because successful adaptation and appeal fuels this longevity?