In this day and age, just about everything is a brand. Companies, services, charities, countries, even people. But what has really caught my interest is how branding is affecting the current election. The recent televised debates have changed our thought process of being one that is built around the parties and their values to one that is centred around the leaders and their personal character.

Gordon Brown's brand position is one of mature experience, Cameron is the young challenger, he's slick and fast moving and of course, Clegg is the surprise package who without the televised debates would still be a distant third. Nick Clegg has been fortunate enough to position himself as the credible alternative. While the other two slug it out, he is able to take the higher ground and has come out on top of the polls because of it. Like any commercial product it now all comes down to marketing and presentation.

And of course, like any brand, one slip can have a huge impact on the brand image of the leaders. What damage to his brand Gordon Brown has done with his off-camera "bigot" comment is yet to be seen.

What we shouldn't forget is that the basics of brand building are on customer relationships and producing better products and services than the competition and generally it will take more than one person to achieve that.