Has "branding" been dumbed down?

Before most people thought of brands, the few who did saw them not merely as logos, but as a reputation with $ value to the company. However, as designers, ad agencies and others have entered the business with a creative perspective, they saw the brand as being defined by logo and presentation. Therefore, it became far more subjective. The core value of a brand has been obscured, and companies fail to maximize them. In some ways, when a private equity company buys a brand such as Pert from P&G, this is a more accurate measure of a brand than any logo (which can be changed at a moment's notice).