(Image: shoes in NY by Tom Parrott on Flickr)

My experience of brands has been deeply informed by people.
I am going to list 5 brands.
Visualize a person you know that loves the brand.

Ready?

• Converse
• Ben & Jerry’s
• Abercrombie & Fitch
• Banana Republic
• Trader Joe’s

When I buy products from these stores, I think of the people they remind me of.
What if different people introduced me to these brands?
My perception would have been different.

How does a brand break free from associations of people who introduce us to it?  And how does a brand leverage this?

The Dalai Lama is on Twitter @OHHDL. At the time I am writing this, his office has posted 15 updates, and he has more than 1,800 followers.
According to his tweet, “His Holiness thought it was prudent to make his office open and assessable to a more youth and technologically advancing audience.”

I am intrigued to see how his office will use Twitter to promote their website, education and inspirational content.

UPDATE 2/10/09

Ok, we were mislead. That Dalai Lama on Twitter was exposed as a fake. See:  http://www.nowpublic.com/tech-biz/dalai-lama-twitter-ohhdl-impersonator for details.