No sooner had I posted that previous entry, did FC Now reader Kirsten Osolind email me a recent piece on Chicago's brand. City leaders just finished a year-long research project designed to discover Chicago's brand identity: slightly bland.

It's not just Chicago that's jumping on the brandwagon. "Other cities undergoing similar brand studies include Baltimore, Columbus, Ohio, Denver, Minneapolis, Phoenix and Pittsburgh," the article indicates. "Smaller towns also asking about themselves include Columbia, S.C., Spokane, Wash. and Sparks, Nev."

What's the brand identity of the town in which you do business? Is it in line with your own personal and organizational branding?