Brands are like bagels

Not many would deny that a freshly-toasted supreme bagel, made right, with care, and delivered at the right time (a surprise treat from your co-worker, for example) is well worth a caloric splurge, and can even be worth an Instagram pic. Heck, you might even talk about how good it is with your peers.

Contrast that with a stale, ordinary bagel you picked up from the store while racing to work. It's hard to see how it's even worth the effort of eating it.

Many brands are like bagels. They're fungible. Except when they're not.

The question is, if you're in such a crowded industry, why would you choose to be anything less than extraordinary?