Having returned recently from a Hydrogen Fuel Cell conference in Vancouver, where I spoke on branding, I've been thinking about how I might go about branding a car for the consumer market that runs on this emissions-free fuel. It's an interesting challenge, given the head start that gas-powered cars have in branding their fuels and technology. Ads that urged us to "put a tiger in our tank" or drive with "V Power" have always been with us, and today we don't think twice about filling up at the pump with our usual brand. It will take a few more years, …

What do the Supreme Court's ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act, the Arab Spring, and President Obama's recent speech at Georgetown University -- during which he addressed climate change perhaps more forcefully than any sitting U.S. president ever has -- have in common?

If you've seen "This Is The End," Seth Rogen's brat-pack take on the Book of Revelations, some of the scenes of hellfire and brimstone and earthquakes and general pandemonium might seem unsettlingly familiar.

While you may think that your brand has not changed much over the years, the environment in which it operates has. Today, brands "live" on an ever-increasing array of platforms online and offline, facing daily scrutiny from consumers and a variety of audiences. This fact alone makes it imperative for brands to stand for substance, and embody more than just a logo or market positioning. Demonstrating that they are caring about people, the planet as well as profit should be ingrained in the corporate culture to prove that their interests go beyond the bottom line. As Michael E. Porter of …