And that is one of the ultimate indicators of when a brand has become a part of culture, when its name enters the everyday vernacular-such as Kleenex, Vaseline, or Elton John sunglasses.

Success attracts competitors, however, making it more important than ever that JetBlue hone both the functional and emotional ele- ments of its brand. And as Delta and United eye the low-fare market, one thing they cant duplicate is the DirecTV offering. In 2002, Jet- Blue bought the technology that enables satellite transmission to air- craft, because it saw that as a key advantage of its product and wanted to protect the brand.

Critics wonder if large corporate structures such as United and Delta will be able to replicate the JetBlue formula of expense control and customer orientation. Just as there existed many pianists with as much talent as Elton John, not many were able to make it big in the market. Elton John and JetBlue demonstrate that success in the mar- ket requires both mastering the functional attributes of a product and conveying the emotional elements.

Recognizing that the JetBlue brand is one of its greatest assets, Jet- Blue and Magnet continue to work together on a process they define as brand collaboration, in which they share ideas and creative thoughts on furthering the emotional attributes of the brand. The team refuses to adopt the philosophy of continually throwing money at problems; rather, they try to do the opposite and figure out ways to address issues without investing much, if any, new money. One of these ideas, designed to connect with frustrated travelers, was to install punching bags with humorous thoughts about travel written on them. With phrases like "I left the coffee maker on at home," passengers can read them or hit them-either way releasing a little tension and often end- ing up laughing.

The beauty of something so simple is that in the case of JetBlue, it doesnt seem contrived, because of the history of the brand person- ality. The companys strong financial performance causes its name to be trumpeted in the first paragraphs of many business articles writ- ten about the airline industry-and now the world of branding. But all of the attention does bring the danger of overexposure. "JetBlue continuously walks the fine line of how much exposure it wants for the JetBlue story because they dont want it to become a trite brand image," explains Johnson.

A real challenge for brand managers is to understand how to keep telling a story to get into new markets, without becoming so ubiquitous that people tune out a brands nuances. This is one rea- son that most bands dont tour every year-they wouldnt be new or novel enough and often are too expensive to attract fans that often. The challenge also becomes how to replicate both the func- tional and emotional aspects of the brand in new and different markets. Spreading corporate culture, which is an important part of the most successful company brands-especially Wal-Mart-is a task that can trip up even stellar firms. Sam Walton was the most important ingredient in spreading the Wal-Mart culture within his company because he lived, breathed, and embodied the brand.