Can you describe your brand the way you describe a friend or do you describe your brand in terms of features and benefits? If you fall into the latter camp, we suggest packing raingear, as you may not be shipped off to a sunny climate.

If you would describe your brand as adventurous, independent, athletic, free-spirited and confident, then you are onto something.

If you describe it as able to go off-road, with wish-bone suspension, low-end torque for towing your boat and a 100,000-mile warranty, then you may consider expanding your description set.

The best brands today are living entities that evoke an emotional response resulting in a sale. Marketers must be able to take the manufacturing and product elements and marry them with the human elements to create that visceral and profitable reaction.

If the CMO isn't able to communicate this, then no one else will either.