Strategic Brand Management, Second Edition

Strategic Brand Management, Second Edition
Average customer rating:

Not worth the money

smooth transaction, exact product, nice&easy supplier

Not what I expected

All you need for Brand Management

The One Source

Strategic Brand Management, Second Edition
Kevin Lane Keller
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0130411507

Book Description

Incorporating the latest industry thinking and developments, this exploration of brands, brand equity, and strategic brand management combines a comprehensive theoretical foundation with numerous techniques and practical insights for making better day-to-day and long-term brand decisions—and thus improving the long-term profitability of specific brand strategies. Finely focused on "how-to" and "why" throughout, it provides specific tactical guidelines for planning, building, measuring, and managing brand equity. It includes numerous examples on virtually every topic and over 75 Branding Briefs that identify successful and unsuccessful brands and explain why they have been so. Case studies will familiarize readers with the real-life stories of Levi's Dockers, Intel Corporation, Nivea, Nike, and Starbucks. For industry professionals from brand managers to chief marketing officers.

Customer Reviews:

Not worth the money.......2007-05-21

This was not at all helpful. It is nothing more than a notebook full of lines with some vocabulary words on the side of the page. It doesn't even have an index, table of contents etc. I was very disappointed with this and would not recommend it to anyone.

smooth transaction, exact product, nice&easy supplier.......2007-05-14

exact product at an affordable price w a smooth transaction

Not what I expected.......2007-02-22

I expected this book to be more than a workbook to supplement another textbook. I was looking for something which actually provided content on Building, Measuring and Managing Brand Equity.

Maybe I misread the description of this book. I was actually looking for the text of the main book in paperback format.

All you need for Brand Management.......2007-02-07

This covers every aspect of Brand Management. There are other books that specialize on some aspects of branding, but this one is a complete reference.

The One Source.......2003-11-24

If you only buy one Branding book this is the bible. Wow, the price on the second edition has gone way up.

Average customer rating:

More smoke and mirrors
What is new here???
350 Pages of 'Everyone Live the Brand Now'
Moves branding to the next level
"Operationalizing" aside

Building the Brand-Driven Business: Operationalize Your Brand to Drive Profitable Growth
Scott M. Davis , and Michael Dunn
Manufacturer: Jossey-Bass
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Brand Asset Management: Driving Profitable Growth Through Your Brands (The Jossey-Bass Business & Management Series)
Building Strong Brands
Brand Portfolio Strategy: Creating Relevance, Differentiation, Energy, Leverage, and Clarity
Managing Brand Equity
Designing Brand Identity: A Complete Guide to Creating, Building, and Maintaining Strong Brands

ASIN: 0787962554

Book Description

In Building the Brand-Driven Business, authors Scott M. Davis and Michael Dunnâ two of the nation's foremost experts on brandsâ map out a strategy that can help an entire organization manage and live (not just think about) its brand. They show how to develop brand-building programs that are the most cost efficient, effective, and credible. And just as vital, they reveal how to create a brand-driven culture within an organization so that building the brand becomes everyone's job.

Customer Reviews:

More smoke and mirrors.......2003-09-09

Oh, the poor trees that suffered at the hands of this book.
What was said in this book could have been said in fewer than three pages. (In fact, it has been said in fewer pages in several Harvard Business School publications.)

This book fails in many ways, not the least of which is the manner in which it fails to give any new, substantive, useful or logical way to operationalize branding. Here is the book's central message: if you buy a "brand strategy" logo, identity, etc. from Branding Agency X get everyone to rally around it; otherwise, Branding Agency X will be held accountable for the brand failure which equals no new business for agency.

Save your money. Just re-read the section on branding in a Kotler text because this book is nothing more than hot air...

What is new here???.......2003-09-05

What is new here...that's the quesiton I have after reading the book. I prefer his previous book. I found the chapter on connecting business strategy to brand strategy to be particularly useful or helpful and this is the biggest challenge in branding...not designing ..but makeing it real. Quite frnakly I prefer another brand book 60-Minute Brand Strategist by Idris Mootee as it covers a lot more in less than 200 pages....and a lot of less words.

350 Pages of 'Everyone Live the Brand Now'.......2003-04-15

That's the Cliff Note version for those of you, like me, who have this as required reading before a big 'brand summit'.

Everything else was rehashed, renamed, or retreaded.

Read it on the plane in about 30 minutes, regardless of the heft.

Moves branding to the next level.......2002-11-05

Before I read this book, I never thought of a retail clerk or a customer service representative as a company's brand ambassador. But what the authors explain is that brand building should be supported by more than just the people in the marketing department. Certainly, brand has become the strategy du jour among marketing people these days, as evidenced by the number of books on the market. However, this book treats brand in a different context, defining it through the concept of "operationalizing" it, bringing it to life through a company's processes, systems and employees. It makes a great deal of sense that a company's senior executives must embrace the brand and its promise by linking it to the company's corporate strategy, so it becomes part of the culture. Several case studies in the book are helpful for understanding why so many well-known brand names have been successful by using similar techniques to bring their brand to life across the organization.

"Operationalizing" aside.......2002-10-30

Don't let the somewhat intimidating word "operationalize" keep you from investigating the pages of Building The Brand-Driven Business: Operationalize Your Brand to Drive Profitable Growth (Jossey-Bass, 2002). What authors Scott Davis and Michael Dunn show is that brand-building can and should be supported through more than just MarCom initiatives. The retail clerk who actually smiles at and is helpful to customers does far more to support the brand than the priciest ad campaigns - as Wal-Mart has long-since discovered and McDonald's apparently has yet to grasp. The authors posit that building those supporting behaviors and mind-sets (not to mention systems and processes) and then using the brand promise as an integral measure for business decisions is what "operationalizing" is all about. It's interesting positioning that's perhaps ahead of its time - but certainly one that non-marketing, senior decision makers should relate to. There's a lot of confusion among non-marketers as to what "brand" is and isn't. The authors make a case for elevating it to an entirely different level in the organization.

Winning the Profit Game: Smarter Pricing, Smarter Branding

Average customer rating:

Key insight from Winning the Profit Game
Insightful!
Newspaper and Electronic press comments on this book
Maybe the best book yet on pricing and branding

Winning the Profit Game: Smarter Pricing, Smarter Branding
Robert G. Docters , Michael R. Reopel , Jeanne-Mey Sun , and Stephen M. Tanny
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Strategy & Competition | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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The Strategy and Tactics of Pricing: A Guide to Growing More Profitably (4th Edition) (Pie)
The Price Advantage (Wiley Finance)
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Power Pricing
Pricing on Purpose: Creating and Capturing Value

ASIN: 0071434720

Book Description

How to use pricing as a strategic tool to increase revenues and win the war for profit

One of the greatest pitfalls in the war for profits is corporate strategists' lack of a practical understanding of the link between overall revenues and overall costs. In Winning the Profit Game, the thought leaders at A. T. Kearney unveil a revolutionary new approach to establishing clear, strategic links between the top and bottom lines. No dry academic treatise, Winning the Profit Game is a guide to growing profits, in boom times and bust, using smart top-line strategies that optimize price, costs, customer behavior, and volumes. The authors clearly lay out the basic principles involved and also include:

Proven strategies for transforming added value into revenues and winning the war for profits
Prescriptive frameworks for putting the principles and strategies into action, immediately
Numerous success stories based on experiences of A. T. Kearney clients worldwide

Customer Reviews:

Key insight from Winning the Profit Game.......2007-10-23

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1V2XM3N7C12W4 The key insight of this book is that "pricing" is an effective way to communicate with your customers.

Insightful!.......2004-08-04

Re-engineering, downsizing TQM, CRM - you've seen them all. But businesses are still trying to find ways to lead their markets and beat their competition. The authors of this book suggest that pricing deserves the kind of attention that, a decade ago, your organization lavished upon procurement. They believe pricing strategy will be the important competitive differentiator in times to come. That is certainly plausible, and this book offers extensive guidance on how, when, why and according to what guiding principles businesses should change prices. Its copy editors should have been more diligent, because spelling and grammatical errors abound, but the book is nonetheless surprisingly readable. The book makes some valuable points, and we believe it merits marketing officers' scrutiny.

Newspaper and Electronic press comments on this book.......2004-03-01

Readers might find the the March 15, 2004 reviews of this book in the Miami Herald and the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram to be useful:

"[The Authors] have produced something analogous to an eagle in the realm of business books... Like an eagle, Winning the Profit Game is distinguished by its farsightedness. Its clear, precise prose soars above that of most business books."

"The opus opens with a musical metaphor, reminding readers that every era has its own music and its own signature instruments: the driving drums and multiple guitar riffs of rock n'roll, the thundering brass of the Swing Era's big bands and the virtuoso string sections of classical music. 'If we make the analogy with business, what skills is emerging even now as the lead instrument of the 2000s? What will be the key to success in an environment that's tougher, more competitive than ever before?' the authors write. Their answer is pricing-- not by itself but integrated with brand, cost management and product development."

The authors cover the waterfront on pricing comprehensively and lucidly [including]Quick Hits for management."

Readers might also wish to know that this book has been mentioned on yahoo.com's Finance website (2/20/04), and on Consultant News's consultant-news.com (2/24/04). Their comments were (respectively):

"... executives reading this book will learn tools to help them... develop an effective, integrated price and brand strategy, use price as a language which speaks to customers [and] optimize price to increase revenue."

"... by putting brand at the center of their framework, the authors challenge the conception of branding as a mysterious function separate from price. Rather, the two are inextricably connected and a superior price strategy cannot exist without a solid brand strategy."

Incidentally, I would not say we put brand at the center of our book. We do give it a lot more attention than any other book on pricing, however.

Hope this is helpful.

Rob Docters
(Co-author)

Maybe the best book yet on pricing and branding.......2004-01-20

In fact I was surprised at how good it really was. Most business books are nothing more a string of anecodotes and platitudes, whereas here the reader gets a combination of pragmatic detail and genuine insight into what pricing can accomplish if unleashed. A great book to bring to the meeting room since the emphasis is on upper managament getting involved. From a technical perspective, it would appear the authors have spent time in the trenches, not just on their fannies in academia somewhere, as the stategy and tactics they recommend are fresher than anything to be found in Nagle or Dolan. As an example of this check out the chapter on "price as a language" for starters, then go from there.

Marketing Aesthetics: The Strategic Management of Brands, Identity and Image

Average customer rating:

To manage brand at another angle!
Good, but where are the metrics? Hard definitions?
The World is Yours.
A Sensible Perspective
Keys to build identity, providing the artistic dimension

Marketing Aesthetics: The Strategic Management of Brands, Identity and Image
Alex Simonson , and Bernd H. Schmitt
Manufacturer: Free Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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There's No Business That's Not Show Business: Marketing in an Experience Culture

ASIN: 0684826550

Book Description

There is no way to mistake the ubiquitous trademarked Coca-Cola bottle, or the stylish ads for Absolut Vodka with any of their competitors. How have these companies created this irresistible appeal for their brands? How have they sustained a competitive edge through aesthetics?

Bernd Schmitt and Alex Simonson, two leading experts in the emerging field of identity management, offer clear guidelines for harnessing a company's total aesthetic output -- its "look and feel" -- to provide a vital competitive advantage. Going beyond standard traditional approaches on branding, this fascinating book is the first to combine branding, identity, and image and to show how aesthetics can be managed through logos, brochures, packages, and advertisements, as well as sounds, scents, and lighting, to sell "the memorable experience." The authors explore what makes a corporate or brand identity irresistible, what styles and themes are crucial for different contexts, and what meanings certain visual symbols convey. Any person in any organization in any industry can benefit from employing the tools of "marketing aesthetics."

Schmitt and Simonson describe how a firm can use these tools strategically to create a variety of sensory experiences that will (1) ensure customer satisfaction and loyalty; (2) sustain lasting customer impressions about a brand's or organization's special personality; (3) permit premium pricing; (4) provide legal "trade dress" protection from competitive attacks; (5) lower costs and raise productivity; and (6) most importantly, create irresistible appeal. The authors show how to manage identity globally and how to develop aesthetically pleasing retail spaces and environments. They also address the newly emergent topic of how to manage corporate and brand identity on the Internet. Supporting their thesis with numerous real-world success stories such as Absolut Vodka, Nike, the Gap, Cathay Pacific Airlines, Starbucks, the New Beetle Website, and Lego, the authors explain how actual companies have developed, refined, and maintained distinct corporate identities that set them apart from competitors.

Customer Reviews:

To manage brand at another angle!.......2002-03-17

A brand is very important to a company. It is not just a name you call the product or company. It can in fact give the overall impression of your products or company to customers that helps differentiate from its competitors.

I have read several books about brand such as "The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding: How to Build a Product or Service into a World-Class Brand" and "The New Guide to Identity: Wolff Olins: How to Create and Sustain Change Through Managing Identity", which are mostly about how to well use of the power of brand or how to launch the identity program.

This book is also about brand identity. But it is totally different from what I have read before. Seldom book about brand will concern for the psychological factors of customers. But it does. Customers do not usually act rationally. Many factors, not just the product itself but a total sensory experience will affect them to make purchase decisions.

This book talks about the management of brand identity by using aesthetics, that is, to create an overall customer impressions through visual impacts. The use of symbol, styles, themes, retail spaces and environments etc can satisfy customers' experiential needs - their aesthetic needs, which creates value to customers. All these are illustrated by many great successful cases: Absolut Vodka, Cathay Pacific Airlines, Starbucks, Nike¡K¡K

Try to read this book and manage how to build brand at another angle!

Good, but where are the metrics? Hard definitions?.......2001-07-26

The other reviews have done a fine job of outlining the many positive points for this book. It certainly does do a wonderful job of attempting to move the practice of 'brand equity' forward. Even if you don't agree with many of the ideas in the book, it's a valuable read. But I *do* have two main problems with the piece.

First, by the end of the book, can anyone give a decent, concise definition of what exactly aesthetics is? Of course, it's a difficult question because much of aesthetics lies in the overall whole impression created by a brand, rather than just on packaging, advertisements, and sensory data. But one major problem I had was by about halfway through the book, 'aesthetics' had come to mean just about anything. Marketing communications? Aesthetics. Packaging? Aesthetics. All sensory information given off by a product? Aesthetics. The environment the product is sold or consumed in? Aesthetics. With a definition this loose, of *course* it's critical for marketers to pay attention to aesthetics, and of course they already do to a large degree. While the emphasis of seeing all these things as part of an interrelated whole is an admirable goal, this leads to my second problem.

Second, since aesthetics is such a 'squishy/stretchy' concept, how on earth are you supposed to measure it, or know when youre doing a great job at managing it? The scenarios where a manager would make one aesthetic change, and then see quantifiable results seems rare. It would strike me as more common that aesthetic changes go hand-in-hand with strategy re-assesments and realignments.

Still, even with my general reservations on the book, I can reccomend it as one of the better practicioner-focused books on branding and brand identity to come out in recent years.

The World is Yours........2000-02-18

Double S drops the 'marketing book' of the year. Now you tell me who won, I see them: they run. Ain't one of you got Cynko cells or somethin? Now when TP dropped the word on this book, I check it at my local library. Word is bond. It's phat.

Suits best cop it, and learn from it. This is better than any stuffed up text you'll find.

Clad in a MGM white T, light brown khaki's, gold around my neck, cigar in left hand, brass knuckles on my right. Cap pulled down, eyes shifty. Black Jag, dark tinted windows.

Others try to copy, beat it, with a twist of my wrist, i end all existence.

A Sensible Perspective.......2000-01-06

The authors assert that, within a marketing context, a company must find "a powerful point of differentiation through the use of aesthetics to create positive overall customer impressions that depict the multifaceted personality of the company or brand." How? The book explains how. Substantial attention is devoted to the branding phase during which a symbol is strategically created, conveys a positioning, provides tangible value, and is most effectively managed on a daily basis. "Drivers" of identity are also explained as is the procedure for cross-functional coordination and other components of what should be a cohesive, comprehensive, and cost-effective marketing program.

During the course of Marketing Aesthetics, the authors examine a number of different products for which various companies achieve "a powerful point of (aesthetics as a strategic tool); Lucent Technologies and Continental Airlines (creating identity and image through aesthetics); IBM (corporate and brand expressions); Starbucks and Gillette (styles); Pepperidge Farm Cookies (themes); The Four Seasons (overall customer impressions); LEGO and Bosch (comprehensive identity management); Godiva and Nike (retail spaces and environments); and Volkswagen, Netscape, and Yahoo! (corporate and brand identity on the Internet). Throughout Marketing Aesthetics, the focus is on real-world corporate experience which the authors carefully examine in support of their assertion that "Business processes do not provide value to customers. Core competencies do not. Even brands per se do not. Value is provided only by satisfying needs." Moreover, "In a world in which most consumers have their basic needs satisfied, value is easily provided by satisfying customers' experiential needs -- their aesthetic needs."

Marketing Aesthetics thus explains the most effective strategies for achieving both brand and identity objectives. Those who derive benefit from this book are urged to read the more recently published Experiential Marketing in which Schmitt develops even further ideas introduced in Marketing Aesthetics.

Keys to build identity, providing the artistic dimension.......1999-10-30

Brand management begins with a strategical business perspective, then engages in a marketing oriented brand plan (accompanied by psychographic studies of the consumer) to end up with artistic executions (such as labels, print ads or tv commercials). This multifunctional obligation makes a though order for those who really want to be a complete marketing manager. Companies have to accept that business schools not always prepare future managers in psychological aspects nor artistic appreciation, however these same future managers will be intented to direct marketing research, product design and brand communication. With this book, Alex Simonson and Bernd Schmitt provide a lift for those managers who want to understand these new dimensions of brand management. And, most of all, remind in the urgent need to understand that the consumer is not bound to logical and practical behaviour but rather, is always in the search for an experience, one wich will provide with a sense of good living. An acknowledgement for the authors who have managed to show in a practical format ways to integrate aesthetics to brand identity management.

Strategic Marketing Management Cases w/Excel Spreadsheets

Average customer rating:

Market orientation, target market & strategies
Book sent without CD

Strategic Marketing Management Cases w/Excel Spreadsheets
David W. Cravens , Charles W. Lamb , and Victoria L Crittenden
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill/Irwin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0072514825

Book Description

Strategic Marketing Management Cases is a versatile collection of approximately 45 cases. This casebook has a decision-making focus and addresses the challenges facing marketing managers today. It is organized to reflect the priorities of a marketing manager: market orientation, growth strategies and target market strategies.

Customer Reviews:

Market orientation, target market & strategies.......2006-02-03

This casebook has a decision-making focus and addresses the challenges facing marketing managers today by reflecting priorities of a marketing manager: market orientation, growth strategies and target market strategies.

Book sent without CD.......2005-07-03

Never got the CD. Despite an email sent to the seller, never got a response.

There's No Business That's Not Show Business: Marketing in an Experience Culture

Average customer rating:

Recommended Read
The Show and The Business
This book is a joke!

There's No Business That's Not Show Business: Marketing in an Experience Culture
Bernd Schmitt , David L. Rogers , and Karen Vrotsos
Manufacturer: FT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0130471194

Customer Reviews:

Recommended Read.......2004-01-29

I thought "Show Biz" was thoroughly entertaining--and highly pertinent given today's media circus around everything from the California gubernatorial election to today's leading companies. I read Bernd Schmitt's previous books in my MBA marketing classes and find still his approach useful in aligning my marketing team around the customer experience. This book clearly showed me how entertainment is becoming part of the marketing mix, and energized me to use show business to increase my reach and relevancy with customers. I highly recommend it.

The Show and The Business.......2004-01-29

This book is clever and entertaining. It's anecdotal and moves quickly, but packs a lot of punch. It covers a broad span of businesses and illustrates just how this new type of "Show" business is fundamentally changing marketing all over the world. The authors make a strong case for this type of marketing with their commentary on today's consumer/business culture. I think this book would be edifying for industry insiders and anyone at all interested in today's marketing world.

The book itself has a "show biz" appeal to it, but it backs up the "show" by getting down to business. I recommend There's No Business That's Not Show Business for anyone concerned with cutting edge marketing or branding issues today.

This book is a joke!.......2003-11-25

I have read all books from this author. What can I say? His first and second were good. I don't know what happened, but the quality of his books have been falling since then. The book is full of examples of what can you do to bring a little "show" into your "business", too bad it's written for those few people who get to manage a huge brand, or have something of an unlimited budget to play with! Of course I'd like to have live shows for my customers! Of course launching a watch at a fancy New York dance club sounds cool! Of course I'd love a theme park or a museum of my own! After reading some pages you start wondering if Schmitt is writing for someone to read this book or he's just trying to sell his consulting business. After reading pearls like:"if you're starting a $150 million promotional campaign...", I just had to close this book and look for something more interesting to do. (There's a long time I leave a book unfinished, but this one is entitled to this honor). Get real...

Average customer rating:

Provides a clear system and strategy for 'playmaking'
You need these lessons
Forward Thinking!!
Breakthrough Thinking

The Elements of Influence: Introducing the Playmaker's Standard: The New Essential System for Managing Competition, Reputation, Brand, and Buzz
Alan Kelly
Manufacturer: Dutton Adult
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Pop!: Stand Out in Any Crowd
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ASIN: 0525949844

Book Description

A landmark system for business leaders and marketers, campaigners and bloggers, political junkies and fans of popular culture, The Elements of Influence takes the mystery out of strategy and how it shapes and shifts niche and global marketplaces alike.

It's about Playmaking. In business, it's what Pepsi does to thwart Coke, and vice versa. In politics, it's what White House strategists do to propel an agenda and win elections. In pop culture, it's what Oprah Winfrey does to build her personal brand and seduce her audience. Playmaking is the essential skill for advancing ideas, controlling marketplace discussions, positioning products, de-positioning competitors, embracing allies, and moving your program forward.

Chemists have the periodic table of elements. Economists have game theory. Those whose work centers on strategy, positioning, and influence have had no framework. That is, until now.

The first definitive system for out-smarting an opponent, managing a brand, protecting a reputation, and orchestrating word-of-mouth, The Elements of Influence unveils this critical and sprawling discipline and introduces The Playmaker's Standard, a new essential language of 25 irreducible plays. It breaks down into precise pieces the moves and counter-moves by which competitive advantage is won and lost, buzz is built, spin is spun, and arms are twisted, and it shows how masters of the game call, run, decode, and counteract the ploys and plans of their marketplaces. Plays are everywhere and everyone is a playmaker, and those who know this - the black belts of business, politics, and pop culture - will always have the edge over those who don't. The Elements of Influence will help you join their ranks. BACKCOVER: Advanced praise for The Elements of Influence

"Alan Kelly is the Bill Walsh of marketing and positioning strategy and tactics. His playbook reads like an insider's field guide to the ins and outs of positioning warfare. Master it, and you can play with pros anytime."
—Geoffrey Moore, author of Crossing the Chasm and Dealing with Darwin

"Ever wonder how marketing campaigns get built? How messages are spun? How public opinion is managed? Here are the answers - in a clear, enjoyable, and eye-opening system that even the black belts of influence will find surprising!"
—Jay Conrad Levinson, author of the Guerrilla Marketing series

Customer Reviews:

Provides a clear system and strategy for 'playmaking'.......2006-12-11

The Elements of Influence: A New Essential System for Managing Competition, Reputation, Brand, and Buzz provides a clear system and strategy for 'playmaking' - how companies thwart others and provide value and competitive strengths. 'Playmaking' is the fine art of controlling marketplace discussions, direction and strategies, and chapters here survey an array of disciplines - not just the business world - to cover everything from positioning to idea advancement.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

You need these lessons.......2006-11-10

I've been a mid-level manager all of my professional career. This book has been nothing short of "life-changing" for me. There is sage advice that is relevant to nearly every workplace. Examples are drawn from today's headlines.
I've applied the principles espoused in this book. My career is now in high gear. For the first time, I'm outsourcing and it fells great. Maybe you will be a convert too. Give it a try. I think this work is on par with other great authors of business literature such as Drucker, Warner, Ellis, Lloyd and Faulkner.

Forward Thinking!!.......2006-11-08

This well-written book is like the twentyfirst century sequel to last century's "Hidden Persuaders". Mr. Kelly has given us a way to rationalize and apply logic to what has been "seat of the pants" marketing up until now. With these tools, competition will move much faster in the future.

Breakthrough Thinking.......2006-10-31

I have never read another book like "The Elements of Influence." It is the first book to deliver both a language and methodology for communicating effectively in business. Using The Playmaker's Standard methodology, market facing executives can design moves and counter-moves that help increase the market visibility and perception of their companies and products. The result is often increased revenue and market share and, almost always, a better perception in the market versus the competition.

In the past, executives relied on PR firms or on their intuition to influence markets. The Playmaker's Standard gives executives the ability to move the dial in their company's favor. As a result, the Plays that make up the Playmaker's Standard become the indispensable tools for executives seeking unfair advantage in the market. Smart executives would be wise to embrace the Playmaker's Standard.

Fame and Fortune: How Successful Companies Build Winning Reputations

Average customer rating:

Very user-friendly and educational
What Your CEO Needs to Know!

Fame and Fortune: How Successful Companies Build Winning Reputations
Charles J. Fombrun , and Cees Van Riel
Manufacturer: FT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Strategy & Competition | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Leadership | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Systems & Planning | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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Advertising | Marketing & Sales | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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Similar Items:

The 18 Immutable Laws of Corporate Reputation: Creating, Protecting, and Repairing Your Most Valuable Asset
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ASIN: 0130937371

Customer Reviews:

Very user-friendly and educational.......2005-11-20

Mr. Fombrun is the reputation expert. In this book he and Mr. Van Riel do a great job of ilustrating corporate reputation in simple and clear terms. The use of graphs, examples, metrics, and references to other authors makes the content very credible and useful. This book serves as a guide for quickly applying the concepts of reputation to any organization. It's very easy to read. Don't expect deepness, it's more of a excellent introductory text for those unfamiliar with the topic of corporate reputation.

What Your CEO Needs to Know!.......2003-10-04

Finally something I can use to convince my CEO that reputations can and should be managed! The book provides a comprehensive overview of the critical success factors of reputation management and discusses a number of interesting case studies to underline key points. Though its a complex subject the book reads pretty easy and I could relate most of it to my daily work as a communications professional. To me, the bottom line is I can now start a discussion in my firm about the need for managing reputation and use solid arguments based on both research and other companies' best practice. It seems that being able to explain what drives reputation and who should be involved in managing it is half the work...

Average customer rating:

A Valuable Text
Not recommended
Highly Recommended !

The New Strategic Brand Management: Creating and Sustaining Brand Equity Long Term
Jean-Noel Kapferer
Manufacturer: Kogan Page
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Brand Portfolio Strategy: Creating Relevance, Differentiation, Energy, Leverage, and Clarity
Harvard Book Review on Brand Management (Harvard Business Review Paperback Series)
Building Strong Brands
Strategic Brand Management (3rd Edition)
Designing Brand Identity: A Complete Guide to Creating, Building, and Maintaining Strong Brands

ASIN: 0749442832

Book Description

A comprehensive and practical review of the new rules of brand management.

Customer Reviews:

A Valuable Text.......2007-02-09

I am the Principal of Cohesion Inc, a marketing & business consulting organization, and also a part-time course director in the marketing faculty of the Schulich School of Business, York University in Toronto, Canada.

I believe that this text is a valuable addition to marketing and branding literature, especially given the insights it provides with respect to branding challenges in the European context.

Not recommended.......2005-11-03

I do not agree with the previous positive reviews.

First issue I have is with the language. The text is very wordy and convoluted. I do not find it clear and straightforward at all and, in my opinion, it does not make for a pleasant read. I think the problem might be due to the fact that the author is writing in English, not in his native language.

While there is (some) content, I found several questionable points, like statements that appear contradictory, explanations that do not make sense and factual inaccuracies.

If you are looking for a practical reference on how to manage and build a brand, how to systematically approach a real business situation, I would not recommend this book.

Highly Recommended !.......2005-03-02

This is an authoritative, well-researched textbook on global branding. Surprisingly, it reads lighter than its considerable bulk because author Jean-Noel Kapferer uses vivid examples of real companies and products to make his points. His branding war stories make the material easier to digest, but only to a point. This remains a textbook, with more than 50 tables in 497 pages, so don't expect to zip through it. However, it is an extremely useful single source about modern brand theory. If you are a casual marketer, as opposed to a serious student of branding, reap this book's rewards by referring to specific chapters to solve problems. You will find thorough answers and illuminating examples from companies worldwide. Kapferer keeps branding in perspective and recognizes that brands are built on successful businesses. We find this book genuinely valuable and strongly recommend it to anyone in marketing and corporate strategy development.

Average customer rating:

Alliance Brand: Fulfilling the Promise of Partnering
Mark Darby
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0470032189

Book Description

As pressure continues to build on organisations to achieve more with less, partnering offers tremendous promise as a strategic solution. However, up to 700f such initiatives fail to meet their objectives. In this book, alliance expert Mark Darby argues that, in the age of the extended enterprise, firms must display a positive reputation and hard results from their alliances in order to attract the best partners and stand out from the growing crowd of potential allies. Building on this, he introduces the Alliance Brand concept, explores its critical success factors, and shows in detail how to apply it in your organisation.

Darby's straightforward advice and comprehensive maps and tools will guide you on the journey to fulfilling the promise of partnering. The results are higher revenues and reduced alliance failure rates, along with lower costs and fewer risks. Alliance brands also have more satisfied staff and partners, and a transparent, audit-friendly process to satisfy increasing governance concerns. This leads to sustainable alliance success, and ultimately 'partner of choice' status in your chosen industries and markets.

That's a compelling return on investment. That's an Alliance Brand.

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