Ease into the week — Wave your Magic Brand Be Gone wand

I don’t know about you but Sunday nights are time for me to catch up. On my reading, on my work, on my relationships — all with an eye on Monday morning and knowing that the 180 mph pace is about to resume.

Sundays also seem to be my day for deep thoughts. I thought it might be fun to ease into the week together with a question that is sort of about branding and marketing but also has a personal element to it as well. A chance to get to know each other AND talk shop. Perfect for a Sunday night.

Once a brand becomes part of the consumers’ consciousness, it’s pretty tough to shake. It’s a lot easier to seed a brand than it is to do a 180 degree adjustment to a brand that is already firmly implanted into people’s mindset. So here’s this week’s question:

If you could wave your "Magic Brand Be Gone" wand and erase a bad brand that you don’t think can be repaired or redirected, whose brand would you erase so they could start all over? Oh…and Paris Hilton is off limits, that’s just too easy!

My answer? Reality TV shows. I will say right up front, I think most of it is dreadful. And deserving of the brand it has earned. But, in the midst of the greed, nastiness and gratuitous everything…I think there are a few shows that spotlight the human spirit, like ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Unfortunately, TV producers believe their own brand and see to try to outdo themselves in making the worst, most exploitive reality TV shows possible.

With my wand, I’d wipe out those pre-conceived ideas and let them try again.