There was a great little article on branding in BusinessWeek last Thursday written for those who still confuse "brand" with "marketing" and "advertising."  Couple of my favorite quotes include:

* If you're spending money to advertise and market without being connected to a brand position, you might as well pile the money up and burn it.

* Your product or service is not your company's brand and neither is your logo or your business card. Your brand is the genuine "personality" of your company.

* If you can't define your brand, your customers won't be able to, either. And the risk is that someone else will define it for you--probably your competitors.

* Crafting a winning marketing strategy is challenging enough even when you have articulated your brand promise and is probably impossible if you haven't.

Take a quick read.  You will probably want to send the link around to some of your colleagues.