Simple Branding

I've been spending much of my time lately on brand management, and it reminds me of what I've always disliked about marketing.  Don't get me wrong: brand management is important, and failing to manage a brand appropriately can spell disaster.  But how do you go about managing your brand effectively?

According to wikipedia a brand is "the identity of a specific product, service, or business.  A brand can take many forms, including a name, sign, symbol,color combination or slogan."

It seems like there's a huge emphasis on brand design (the name, sign, symbol,color combination or slogan) and how to best display those image factors in a marketing campaign. 

Shouldn't most of the emphasis be placed on the first part of that definition?  A brand is a representation of a product, service, or business.  So if you want to improve your brand's image, why not focus on improving your business and the products and services it offers?

It's easy for businesses to get side tracked into making their brand look pretty, but while that type of branding might attract new business, you won't be able to keep that business if you can't deliver products and services that customers care about.

Any thoughts on this from others with differing insights into branding?