Twice in the last week I've had an encounter with the Toyota Prius brand which left me uttering a slack-jawed "Huh?"
Encounter No. 1: While tooting along down the highway at just over the speed limit in my own car, some dude in a Prius blows by me doing about 95 mph. What's wrong with this picture?
Encounter No. 2: Trundling along through rush hour urban traffic, a person in a Prius in a BIG hurry tailgates me for one long minute, then finally whips out against oncoming traffic in a desperate attempt to get somewhere on time.
Now, the percentage of impatient leadfoots driving a Prius is probably quite low, but they're a good reminder that, for all the time and money you spend crafting the story behind your offering, your customers are going to write at least a few additional chapters in the book of your brand. And those are the pages that matter to the world. Know-nothing yuppies turned BMW from a driver's car into a social-climber's bauble. Porsches used to be driven by people with quick wrists (the better to catch that oversteer!), but now the story is about SUV's for suburban wrists with, ahem, extra padding.
Who is going to write those chapters for your brand?