The Results 147 F I G U R E 9 .3 Up close and personal How close/distant do you feel towards the brand? What is your perception of the brand 64% 84% 27% 69% Perception Before joining the community Proximity After joining the community Creating brand value This book is called Brand Together: how co-creation generates innovation and re-energizes brands , because we want to emphasize the framework of the brand as an ever-present element in co-creation. We recognize that not all the companies we have interviewed talk in terms of the brand ­ although interestingly the Brand Together community members do even though they sometimes reject the jargon of co-creation. Yet even when managers don't mention the terminology of branding, it is still there in the background de- termining the processes and helping to focus the outputs. Organizational statements about brand visions and values may sometimes look like win- dow dressing but they are normally built on the roots and aspirations of the business and therefore contain a truth that people can engage with. So even if innovators and engineers are not explicitly aware of the meaning of a brand vision or value, they are still using the ideas implicitly as they design software programs or in-car systems. For example, the way a BMW is designed and engineered is different from a Lexus or a Mercedes because of the long held and carefully nurtured set of principles that determines how staff see the car and the delivery of the driver experience. Adopt a narrow definition of brand and you won't see product engineering as part of it, but if you see the brand as something the customer experiences through both tangible and intangible elements, then how a car drives, the performance of the engine, the braking system, the aerodynam- ics, all matter. They help to define what is distinct about a BMW. It also serves to remind us that one of the benefits of brand-inspired innovation is