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Summary: The ROI of Brand Management
Review: According to Davis, "In a nutshell, this book is about helping companies better understand how to manage their brands as assets. But it's not about searching for the silver bullet -- the best name or logo, the coolest service or product, or anything on the Internet. This book is about a mindset shift. Obviously, a long-term commitment is required for this mindset shift to take hold and for the approach I describe in this book to work." He goes on to say, "This book provides a roadmap to start to achieve Brand Asset Management [BAM] excellence. It provides some new approaches and leverages successful approaches already established in many companies. And it demands that the brand be looked at holistically, encompassing every functional area within the organization." Davis organizes his excellent material as follows:Phase One: Developing a Brand Vision Phase Two: Determining Your BrandPicture Phase Three: Developing a Brand Asset Management Strategy Phase Four: Supporting a Brand Asset Management Culture Davis examines in detail eight of 11 "Steps", ranging from Elements of a Brand Vision to Establishing a Brand-Based Culture. Along the way, he includes countless examples to illustrate key points; also, practical suggestions based on a wealth of real-world experience. I agree with all of his key points which include * Loyalty drives repeat business. * Brand-based price premiums allow for higher margins. * Strong brands lend immediate credibility to new product introductions. * Strong brands allow for greater shareholder and stakeholder returns. * Strong brands embody a clear, valued, and sustainable point of differentiation relative to the competition. * Strong brands mandate clarity in internal focus and brand execution. * The more loyal the customer base and the stronger the brand, the more likely customers will be forgiving if a company makes a mistake. * Brand strength is a lever for attracting the best employees and keeping satisfied customers. * 70% of customers want to use a brand to guide their purchase decisions. HOW? Davis fully and eloquently answers that question, recommending in the final chapter four "tools" to inspire and then engage employees during the implementation of a BAM strategy: (1) Have them "relive" the preparations which the formulation of that strategy required; (2) make sure they understand the end results to be achieved; (3) make sure they understand which specific actions must be taken; and finally (4), provide and thoroughly explain the game plan for the implementation of the BAM strategy. Davis correctly views employee involvement as "the most important element of Brand Asset Management", suggesting that with such involvement "there is no telling the limit of BAM success." If any of this is relevant to your own organization's current and imminent needs, I urge you to read this book ASAP. Better yet, have all of the key people in your organization also read it, then meet (preferably off site) for 2-3 days to formulate your own "game plan." But it is imperative to keep in mind that everyone throughout the organization must become not only involved but indeed engaged. Otherwise, Davis suggests, "you might as well put your brand investment dollars in treasury bills."
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Summary: A practitioner's guide to brand management
Review: Davis' book is highly recommended for both students and pracitioners alike to gain insight on building a brand both internally and externally and then using that brand to help drive profitable growth. Unlike many books on branding, Davis does an excellent job moving beyond an academic point of view to give actionable guidelines on maximizing a brand's impact and establishing a brand-based culture. This book is a must read for anyone serious about building and managing brands in the new economy.
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Summary: Boring and non-specific
Review: Effective brand managers have been doing this stuff all along, they've just been doing it as an art not a process. Brand Asset Management details how to build a process to develop a brand, assess its health, and support business strategy. The brand and its management have implications well beyond marketing and sales, so Davis argues that brand management is the responsibility of all in the enterprise -it's about much more than techniques used by the brand manager. The brand should inform and drive decisions in product development, pricing, human resources, and business strategy. Brand Asset Management is so prescriptive that it sometimes reads like a checklist, and some will find it best used as a manual capturing all the steps to developing and maintaining a brand.
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Summary: A new concept? You're kidding me!
Review: I find it surprising the way that some business authors claim that they are creating a brand new concept on how to manage something - in this case the brand, using the "Brand Asset Management" concept - when in fact they are only repackaging old and traditional concepts - in this case, marketing and brand concepts - and giving them fancy names (BrandPicture, BrandContract, etc). Don't be surprised if you feel as if you're reading your old marketing or brand management textbook in a new paperback format. It is as if Kotler had rejuvenated himself and lost some weight. There is absolutely nothing new on what the author proposes. From defining the "Brand Vision" to implementing it through communications, pricing, and channel strategy, the only positive someone can take out of this book is that it summarizes everything in 250 pages.
Rating:
Summary: A new concept? You're kidding me!
Review: I find it surprising the way that some business authors claim that they are creating a brand new concept on how to manage something - in this case the brand, using the "Brand Asset Management" concept - when in fact they are only repackaging old and traditional concepts - in this case, marketing and brand concepts - and giving them fancy names (BrandPicture, BrandContract, etc). Don't be surprised if you feel as if you're reading your old marketing or brand management textbook in a new paperback format. It is as if Kotler had rejuvenated himself and lost some weight. There is absolutely nothing new on what the author proposes. From defining the "Brand Vision" to implementing it through communications, pricing, and channel strategy, the only positive someone can take out of this book is that it summarizes everything in 250 pages.
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Summary: Highly Recommended!
Review: Managing your brands as an asset is one of those obvious management priorities that becomes less obvious under the pressure of quarterly earnings. To a great extent, however, short-term numbers depend on the long-term positioning of your brands. Take a look at your organization. Is branding relegated to a department in your marketing division? If so, chances are your brand is being managed as a marketing tool rather than a corporate asset. Because the brand is the living relationship you have with your customers, it is critical that branding be elevated as a corporate priority. This book will show you how. We [...] recommend this excellent book to top executives looking to reposition a company's brands, marketing professionals who have charge of branding strategies, and for anyone whose business relies on the power of your brands.
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Summary: A must for executives wishing to learn Brand Managemet.
Review: The hands on guidance will accelerate your branding efforts. It provides some new approaches and leverages successful approaches already established in many companies. And it demands that the brand be looked at holistically, encompassing every functional area within the organization.
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Summary: Leading-Edge Brand Management Techniques
Review: This book is a must read for any executive charged with brand strategy development and management. I enjoyed reading it and found it extremely useful. I especially appreciate that it provides both the strategic elements around managing brands as financial assets and useful frameworks for implementation tactics. Rather than simply a numbered aggregation of thoughts around brand or a random collection of cases, this book spells out a logical approach to building, executing, and leveraging brands.
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Summary: Definitely worth reading for beginners as well as experts
Review: This book is more of the same rehashed, recycled, repurposed content from the authors. Much of this material is available in any basic marketing text. In fact, this book reads strikingly similar to just about any training manual on the basics of branding. If you've worked at any of the big agencies: McCann, JWT, Y&R, you learn the contents of this book on your first day in about a hour. All the cases cited in this book are stale and extremely weak. The "editorial reviews" listed above are shill quotes from clients who are cited as "cases" in the book. Remember this before you buy: the author, and the firm for whom he works, use this book as nothing more than a lead-generation tool--it's called "thought leadership", a nebulous term used by company to propagate its own way of thinking. Save your money. Don't become a victim of Prophet's propoganda. Buy something with substance like Jean Noel Kapferer.
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Summary: Revolutionize your brand strategy!
Review: This is the best single book on branding I've read. It lays out a very practical program to manage the entire brand development and brand tracking process. Everything I need from A-Z is in this book. I will be using the step-by-step process charts to focus my product development team. And the examples of branding successes--and failures--are great!
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