I thought this article on telecom branding did a great job of summarizing some key tenets of global branding. It’s a long read, but worth it. My two key takeaways:

1) Good brands don’t cover up bad service (more likely, bad service will kill any brand).

2) If the competitive field is level (everyone basically offers the same features and benefits), your brand is the one thing no one can copy (so protect it, invest in it, and make sure everyone knows about it).