Amazing what a lick of paint can do...

I was reading in a magazine the other day about the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), which has been trying for years to improve the quality of its bus service. As you can imagine, people in California love their cars and dislike riding on buses unless they absolutely can't avoid it.

But the MTA decided to start with a rebranding campaign. They painted the buses new colours (with names such as 'California Poppy' and 'Rapid Red') and slapped some new decals on them. Immediately, 83% of people the MTA surveyed thought that the service had improved - even though they were exactly the same buses on exactly the same routes and the same old timetables! The only thing that had changed was how the buses looked.

Kind of makes you wonder what might happen if you were to refresh your personal brand by investing in your wardrobe, buying a smarter laptop bag, or getting a new haircut for the office, doesn't it?