Freshly Squeezed Design is a self described "Ad agency, brand, logo and graphic design" studio based out of Lincoln Nebraska. These talented designers are also nice enough to share their design and branding knowledge on their blog, Freshly Squeezed Droplets. Robert at Freshly Squeezed Droplets has a very good post called Brands on the Brain today. It's a very well written description of why we should all be branding.

The brand image can be many things. Most commonly and most visible, it is your logo. However, anything that can create a mental image of your brand - be it words, music, moods, etc. - can become triggers. Now there is physical proof of the importance of branding...

I won't steal his thunder, you'll have to go read his post to see what the proof is.