When companies try to come up with new ideas, they too often look only where they always look. That won’t get them anywhere.

If you want to understand why some companies lack innovative ideas, think about the man who can’t find his car keys.

His friend asks him why he’s looking for the keys under the lamppost when he dropped them over on the lawn. “Because there’s more light over here,” the man explains.

For too many companies, that describes their search for new ideas, and it pretty much guarantees they won’t go anywhere fast. While such a company can marginally improve what it’s already good at, it misses out on the breakthroughs—those eureka moments when a new concept pops up, as if from nowhere, and changes a company’s fortunes forever.

Brand management is consciously providing a unique voice or message that is understood on every level. This means both internally and externally and includes customers, employees, suppliers, and vendors. Done right, this translates into the purchase of that product or service over that of a competitor.

We see it all the time. Designers, artists and other individuals who work on communications  promote their services as branding. Unfortunately creating a logo now-a-days means your a brand consultant. We disagree. We believe in creating meaningful foundations that serve to direct long term revenue growth for our clients and their customers through the use of strategic brand development and management.

Our agency philosophy is that we act as shepherds of our clients brands (and our own). We redevelop existing brands or create entirely new ones. And when it comes to sharing an understanding of what is branding, we've found much grey area about how much our audience knows about creating meaningful, long lasting, equity building, sales generating impressions for their products or services.

It's a precarious time for brands. Consumers are spending less money and investing it more carefully. They may be abandoning favored brands for low-priced competitors or generic alternatives. That's why it's more important that ever for established brands to engage in aggressive value building.

Value building is not a new concept. In good times and bad, smart brand marketers have always recognized the need to build value and differentiate-to make their brands a little better than competitors by adding a new feature, creating a special promotion or forging a unique alliance with another brand.

Is couponing a strategy that helps build long term loyal customers?

First, think about your marketing strategy for a second and regardless of a coupons ability to bring (lasting) brand value to your consumer, as important, is the need for trade support. The all important need to add value to the trade relationship is a mandatory and couponing is a retail traffic builder.

We helped our clients drop billions (yes, billions) of coupons over the years and we see couponing as a significant tool in the marketing mix. As a matter of fact when used in conjunction with other sales building vehicles/tools, coupons effectively increase the register ring with multiple, cross category purchases if used in tie-in programming and other meaningful sales programs.

• They help build awareness when used in in-home FSI or other direct mail solutions.

• They can be used as defensive strategies to offset a competitors program used as regional overlays or on a national program.

So back to the original question, lasting brand loyalty, maybe, but the fact is they are an important part of a brand marketers necessary toolkit and shouldn't be discounted.

Elizabeth Gilbert's best-selling 2006 memoir launched a self-discovery movement that could best be described by its full title: Eat Pray Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia.

Although Sony Pictures has simplified the title, the ongoing search for "everything" remains an integral part of the movie release Friday -- especially if "everything" includes the slew of merchandising items, from the "I Deserve Something Beautiful" lotus petal necklace (Dogeared Jewels and Gifts, $72) to the "Only True Love Remains" organic tee (Signorelli, $45) to the official prayer beads (World Market, $4.99).

What part does advertising play in growing and maintaining a brand? In The Fall of Advertising & the Rise of PR authors Al Ries and Laura Ries argue that advertising may be useful in maintaining a brand, but it is a waste of money in the launch or reposition of a brand. Citing major campaigns for global brands such as Nike, Budweiser and Chevrolet, they proclaim that advertising, as a vehicle for brand building, is ineffectual.

Marketing a product to a consumer necessitates getting the word out to the public – buy our product and you will get the best bang for your buck. In today’s economy, consumers are not handing out their bucks so quickly. People are being more thoughtful and cautious before parting with their dollars.

Many economists have declared a recession is already here, thus fueling a critical change in thinking for millions of consumers. We have witnessed gas prices across the nation climbing toward or over the $4.00 a gallon mark, the volatility of the stock market, and the soaring number of home foreclosures due to the subprime mortgage financing crisis. With all these conditions preying on us, we are forced to take a more introspective and analytic approach when it comes to personal buying habits.