Read the post and you'll understand the photo.

Sorry we haven't been around for a while, but I suppose I've been all up in Facebook.

But since we're sending out a company e-mail, and so many of you come directly here afterwards, I kind of felt like I ought to give you something to read. And it's going to be basically a coarser, "Juggling in the Dark" take on the subject of that e-mail.

Brand Development as often practiced by design studios and some ad agencies.

Which is to say, it's not brand development at all. And clients are throwing their money away on it.

Oh, it's sure as hell priced like brand development (or more). Five or even six figures (and to the left of the decimal point too!) but what the client gets is a new logo, different take on the web site or a new ad campaign.

(Interlude: There are lots of different definitions for "brand". The one we like best is "A key differentiation around which you deliver a unique value." Note that I did not say: "your web site.")

This is how it seems to work a lot. Client decides their web site sucks and calls a studio to re-do it. Studio tells them "you need some brand development too" and then comes up with a new logo to incorporate into the new website. And, of course, increase the fee income for the job. But the actual brand development goes undone.

I'm talking about real brand development. Giving the client something they can freaking use.

Not to disrespect too many people at once here, but it's hard enough to see the overdone ads that so many design studios produce, so it's really annoying - and a sad financial thing - to see how many clients pay The Big Bucks for a logo or web site or identity package, thinking they are getting a brand position.

Lookee here. If you read the Particles of Thought e-mail we sent out, you saw this already. But it's good information, I think. You can use a clear brand position to determine your best target audience ("If this is what we are, then who most wants to buy it?"), develop new products, decide on business partners, develop an ad campaign (or a logo) and screen potential new-hires to see which ones fit in best with your brand.

You can use your brand position to determine what sorts of Twitter posts to put up, the attitude you may or may not incorporate into them and even what you share on your Facebook page besides pictures of the Office Holiday Party.

Show me how you can do any of that with a logo or a new web site, and I'll buy you lunch.

Somewhere nice too.