Martin Lindstrom, author of several best-selling branding books including his latest, including Brand Sense : Build Powerful Brands through Touch, Taste, Smell, Sight, and Sound provides some information on what he calls instant branding key ingredients, here are some of them:

• Values. Define the values your brand’s communication is based on, if you didn’t when you designed the brand. Your brand’s values are what define your brand’s identity. These values will lead you to discover interesting instant branding opportunities and enable you to make the most of them when the opportunity arises.
• Insight. Dedicate someone in your organization or agency to identify breaking news stories or news-driven trends. Be prepared to grasp opportunities as they appear. The faster you react, the better the distribution you secure. So, select people to keep an eye and ear on popular culture, current affairs, and personalities.
• Courage. Create an instant branding team of two or three creative people. The team should meet, brainstorm, and generate five or six ideas to propel news-driven instant branding campaigns. Then, be prepared to accept the consequences of whatever they come up with.
• Judgment. Be extremely critical. Can the idea create the right momentum and generate the right distribution for your brand? Always ask yourself: would your competitor send the e-mail on because of its irresistibility? Be critical about the message. Test the idea among a range of friends who represent a spectrum of personalities, religious persuasions, nationalities, and backgrounds.
• Prudence. Don’t be overtly promotional. If your message is tainted by even a fraction of self-promotion, no one will forward it. The message must feel authentic.

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