Since our economy took a nosedive, we've heard a surprising number of people say that they believe branding is a luxury. Of course, we at Kazoo Branding take another view of it: branding is a staple product. It isn't champagne and caviar--it's milk and bread and eggs. We mentioned this "brand-as-luxury" idea to one of our clients, Geanette Poole, who runs Talent Poole talent agency in St. Paul. Geanette's reaction both amused and reassured us: "A luxury? You've got to be kidding." She went on to send us an awesome letter describing how the branding work we did has driven the success of her business. Here's a brief excerpt from the letter:

"Pre-branding, I didn't have a vision for Talent Poole. I've definitely got a vision now. And it doesn't involve business cards or letterhead or snappy emails or monthly mailings or any of that stuff. It's just a matter of having the right language on the tip of my tongue--the words that make me feel confident when speaking about my business to others. It's crazy. It's just words. But they're my words. Kazoo worked through tons of ideas and questions and fears and thoughts, and figured out what Talent Poole needed most."