For every grand and finely worded statement by the CEO, the brand is also defined by derisory consumer comments overheard in a hallway, or in a chat room on the Internet. Brands are sponges for content, for images, for fleeting feelings. They become psychological concepts held in the minds of the public, where they may stay forever. As such you can't entirely control a brand. At best you can only guide and influence it.

A New Brand World: Eight Principles for Achieving Brand Leadership in the Twenty-First Century (ed. Penguin, 2003) - ISBN: 9781101200285