It went back to the original idea on which its mega-brand had been built: Coke Brings Joy and concentrated all its effort, company-wide, on coming up with innovative ways to give it fresh life.

FORBES: Coca-Cola Takes A Branding Cue From Will.i.am.: Use What You've Got For a Fresh, New Start

We looked at one list and we saw 39 name-brand, large mega-billion-dollar funds, all of which lost 10 percent or more in September.

NPR: Market Volatility Shuts Two Hedge Funds

Bottom line, I believe that as Google moves forward with its mega-deal, it should take a hard look at who it is and what the Google brand represents to consumers, and make this the focus of its efforts.

FORBES: It's Not Hardware or Soft, It's a Battle of the Brand That Will Shape Google's Quest to Take on Apple

In addition to the world's biggest airport, largest man-made islands, longest indoor ski slope and some of the biggest shopping malls and hotels anywhere, it is also building a mega theme park, Dubailand, which consists of some 45 separate projects, including such brand-name attractions as Legoland, a Tiger Woods golf course, a Six Flags fun fair, a Formula One park, and themed attractions from DreamWorks (a Hollywood film studio) and Marvel Comics.

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