Amazon has built a powerful brand without spending much time or money on the obvious tools of branding.It's in stark contrast to the Internet startups that have flooded the market in recent years. The logo is boring, the site layout is distinctly utilitarian, and the company doesn't run any advertising to claim associations with lifestyle benefits or a happier planet. There's little social media buzz about the brand, other than the occasional customer complaint.

In fact, I'm not sure anyone attaches anything more esoteric or complicated to Amazon's brand than "I can buy stuff there."

And that's the point, isn't it? Like Wal-Mart, it doesn't purport to offer an enhanced somethingoranother, or automate an activity that we were just fine doing in our own analog way before. The "experience" of shopping at Amazon isn't uniquely colorful or memorable. It just works, for the most part.

"Form follows function," or so the architecture phrase goes. Maybe shipping charges, product recommendations, and easy checkout are more relevant to Amazon's customers than any aspiration of its communications? I just think it's interesting that one of the more successful and lasting technology brands is most notable for its lack of what gets celebrated most often in the marketing trades as "branding."