Why not use the power of social media to REALLY learn what people really think about your brand?

This handy little app called Brand Tag throws up logo and asks you to define it in one word.  It’s creator, Noah Brier, calls it an experiment in brand perception. Part rorschach test, part zeitgeist, this tool gives a manager the tag cloud of brand attributes that is, quite frankly, brutally honest (if you happen to be the poster child for horrible customer service). On the other hand, even halo brands like Whole Foods have a few ‘undesirable’ qualities (look at the size of the cloud around the phrase, “whole paycheck”).

Based on the tag cloud results, here are some other brands that could use an increase in their strategic brand spend this year:

Cannondale — definitely loved by a select few who can afford the pricey ride, it seems to suffer from some larger scale recognition issues that other luxury brands (Louis Vuitton, Bentley) don’t seem to have, although they each respectively have some other issues to deal with!

NBA — one of the most prevalent tags is Michael Jordan, who retired more than a decade ago!

Suburu — seems to be suffering a brand identity crisis between “rally / motorsport” and “lesbians”

BlueCross — when the words that leap out are: death, evil, rip-off and scam…it’s probably time to invest money in marketing.

Zappos — simply put, stands for shoes…for the 37 people who have heard of them (and love them like me!

Go play, add your brands and post your comments about which brand caught your attention (and why).

<Hat tip: Ken Burbary>