What's the Brand Idea? 7 structure and low shipping costs. Amazon started as the "world's largest bookstore" but parlayed its early success in a narrow retail category into vastly expanded offerings, including music, housewares, drugstore items, clothes, you name it. Amazon's small idea wasn't books, after all, it was online retail sales. A slew of useful business books have been written about Amazon and other retailers (online ones, such as Zappos, as well as brick- and-mortar businesses such as Nordstrom's and Starbucks) who quickly turned "small ideas" into big profits. Even something as simple as a new and exciting design can be the dif- ferentiator. In the era of iPad, design matters. Bottom line: you need a different mental angle for your brand, one that shows how your brand is different or superlative. And you need to express that in every communication about your business. You must always be ready to answer the question, "What do you have to offer that's different from what's already out there?" In short, you will never be a breakthrough branding star unless you aim for that small, unique, clearly focused idea--an idea that's crisp and