The brand I’m referring to was Midwest Airlines.  If you don’t live in the Midwest, you’re probably not familiar.  In its heyday from the mid 80s to the late 90s, Midwest was perhaps the best domestic airline in the country.  It was universally loved for outstanding service and amenities.  Every plane had wide, first-class leather seats throughout the plane; there was no coach class.  With quality rivaling most restaurants, the food was included in the price of the ticket and was served on actual plates with real silverware and complementary wine or Champagne.

And, of course, there were the cookies.  Fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies served on every flight.  They were almost worth the price of the ticket alone.  Midwest was truly remarkable among airlines.  No one even came close.

But after 9/11 and the subsequent spike in fuel prices, it became impossible for Midwest to offer those amenities and be profitable.  So they began whittling away at the things that were nice about the brand to save costs.  They were in a tough spot, and they had to do what they had to do.  But it was the beginning of the end for the brand.

A series of takeover attempts, mergers and reorganizations led to Midwest being purchased by Republic Airways, which also owns Frontier Airlines.  In the spring of 2010, the two airlines were combined under the Frontier brand.  And that was that.

There were certainly extreme circumstances that led to Midwest’s demise, but I still think there are lessons to be learned here.  Sometimes brands die due to changing business climates and there is little anyone can do to save them.  But often I think brands fade away, becoming a shadow of their former selves – even if the company survives – because they are not properly cared for and managed.

What set Midwest apart were all the little things.  The seats, the service, the smiles, the cookies, all made flying Midwest a pleasant experience in the sea of discomfort and frustration that is air travel.  Those details defined Midwest’s brand.  People were willing to pay extra to fly Midwest.  When they started taking them away, they gradually became just another airline.

I’m sure you can think of other brands that have gone through that whittling away process.  Whether it’s a local restaurant or an international corporation, perhaps there are things you remember they used to do – nice little details – that they just don’t do anymore.  The company may or may not survive and keep providing its product or service.  But the reason to go out of your way to patronize them is gone.  The brand is dead.

What are the little details that define your brand?  The things that people love about doing business with you.  The things people would pay extra for.  The things your competitors can’t or won’t do.  Make a list of those things, decide which are the most important, and protect them.  Don’t let them become the victim of a cost-cutting measure.

I am not saying your brand shouldn’t evolve and change with the times.  That list of little details may have to change or be replaced over the years.  But the day you start taking them away and becoming more like your competition is the day your brand starts dying.

First, the Customer.

In many cases, the customer is the brand. That is, when you are designing your product, it should be with a specific target customer in mind. What unfulfilled need do they have? What is important to them? Why would they choose your product or service over another?

In a perfect world, these and other questions should be answered before any product development is done. Your product, your brand should be designed around your intended customer, as much as possible.

Of course, we don’t live in a perfect world, and many of us are dealing with established brands and changing times. But we can still ask these questions to determine how well our brand fits, and if necessary, gradually make adjustments.

The Promise

Once you have established who the customer is and what they want or need, next you decide what promise you are making to them. How will you fulfill those unfulfilled needs? More importantly, how will you do it better – or differently – than your competitors?

This is the underlying benefit your product offers. It might be better prices or better service, something that enhances their lifestyles or makes them happier. Whatever it is, it should be something that you can deliver consistently and that your competitors cannot.

The Product

Now you can start designing your product. Your product is the thing that delivers on the promise, and it must do so consistently and reliably. Nothing can damage a brand like broken brand promises. For evidence of this, look no further than Toyota. Quality and reliability is their brand promise, and it was broken. It will take a lot of work to repair the Toyota brand.

The Character

Finally, this is where the designers, copywriters, PR executives and others commonly associated with branding come in. It may seem trivial compared to the elements I’ve described, but giving your brand a personality is important. It can give customers a reason to associate with your brand, or it can be what attracts people to your brand in the first place. Regardless, it should be carefully crafted and managed.

Here’s an excerpt:

Since sustainability is a relatively new concept for the general public, it is defined in a multitude of ways. The mistake that green builders make is not communicating what green means to their company.

Indeed. If you’re going to market yourself as green, be sure you are honest and transparent about what that means. You don’t have to be perfect. Nobody is. But people will give you credit for trying.

And remember, don’t lose sight of your true colors, whether that’s green or something else.

It seems as though Mr. James is like John Cleese in this excerpt of “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” wanting to be rid of Old Man Branding and get on with his life.

Problem is, Branding is “not quite dead.” In fact it’s getting better. So we would be wise not to club it on the head and throw it on the cart.

To be sure, Branding is vastly different than it used to be. Quality and innovation are more important than ever. But branding still plays an important role in the success of a product (or service, etc.).

First, it helps to define branding. Some say it’s little more than the logos, jingles and ads. I agree that too much emphasis is often placed on those things, but I think branding is much more.

Your brand is the foundation on which the customer-facing portion of your company is built. It is what people – customers, employees, vendors, the community – thinks when they hear your name or see your logo. It is what sets you apart from your competitors.

How you build and nurture that brand is, of course, a huge issue. People much smarter than I have debated this for decades, and continue to do so.

Nevertheless, I’ll throw my hat in the ring. Watch this space for a discussion of the key elements of Branding. And by all means, join the conversation.

Last summer, my wife and I were having trouble getting our three-year-old son to take an afternoon nap on days when he was home. He took them at daycare, probably because all the other kids did. But on weekends and other days he was home, we couldn’t get him to do it, and we suffered the consequences in the late afternoon and evening.

The solution? We re-branded nap time.

We now call it “Quiet Time,” and it’s all the rage. He looks forward to Quiet Time and will often suggest it before we do.

It’s new! It’s cool! It’s the latest thing!

But once Quiet Time becomes passe, it’s back to the creative department.

Resolution #2: Get Organized

Perhaps it’s no coincidence that on the heels of the chaotic Christmas season, people want to get organized.  They’ve acquired a lot of stuff in the last 12 months, and they want to purge what they don’t need, and organize what they keep.

Is your marketing disorganized?  Does it have a lot of pieces and parts that might be duplicating efforts?  Do some literature pieces have a different look and feel than others?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, it’s probably time to organize your brand.  Start by stripping it down to its essence.  What makes you different or better than your competition?  Why should your customers care?  How do you need to reach your customers?  With those questions answered, you can start to see what your marketing needs are, and which pieces you should toss, which pieces you should keep, and how you should organize them so they are all working together.

Like organizing your closet, it’s an arduous process.  But at the end of it, you’ll have a lean, effective, strategic marketing plan that represents your brand well.

So here is the first of three ideas:

Resolution #1: Quit Bad Habits

Aside from losing weight, quitting smoking, drinking or other nasty habits is the most common New Year’s Resolution.  We all want to leave behind those things we do that may be doing us harm.

The same goes for your branding.  There are probably several marketing “habits” that you have that are harming your brand.  Maybe even killing it.  Perhaps you’re using a tired, old ad campaign from the 90s, or advertising in the same magazine or on the same radio station you have beeen for years.  Or maybe your Web site is hopelessly outdated.

This is the time to take stock of your marketing efforts and be honest with yourself about what is working and what isn’t.  And if it isn’t working, then it’s time to quit.  Cold turkey.

Not sure if the analogy worked.

Blogger Brett Duncan has a recent post that takes a decidedly more direct approach. He says Segmenting is Stupid. He’s right. He made a few points that my post didn’t.

The ignorant like “brand extensions” and “segmenting” because it doesn’t require a commitment. It doesn’t involve neglecting a market. It doesn’t force you to make a decision. It’s a crutch.

He also advises marketing consultants whose clients want to segment their brands to “slap them across the face.” Personally, I wouldn’t advocate violence, but I think we get his meaning.

• There’s the combo-word approach, where you take two descriptive words and cram them together to make a new one. Examples: Nabsico, Conoco, Carfax.
• There’s the regular-word-word-that-sounds-cool approach, in which you use an otherwise mundane word, preferably with one or two syllables. Examples: Ford Focus, Apple, Intel.
• There’s the historical/literal allusion approach, in which you name your product after a Greek, Latin or Biblical reference. Examples: Nike, Raytheon, Samsonite.
• Of course, you can always name your company after the founder.
• Or, you can take the simple, straightforward approach, like these guys.

You could do that.  You could institute a recycling program or a carpooling program for employees and put out an ad that says how green you are.

But if you want to stand out and be a leader, go beyond what’s expected and look for new ways to be green.

If you sell electronics, run a promotion in which people can bring in their old TVs to be recycled or properly disposed of.  If you sell cabinets or appliances, go out of your way to work with contractors who minimize waste and use green building practices.

You could even institute a cell phone recycling program by offering to collect customers’ old cell phones and shipping to a recycling service like gazelle.com.

By taking some initiative, you can make it easy for your customers to be green by working with you.