"Marketing is building a brand in the mind of the prospect". I totally agree. People are exposed to an over-communicated environment, to place a word in the prospect mind can surely lead your company to success. In fact, in customers' mind, there is no difference between your products and your competitors'. Only by building a brand can you differentiate your company from its competitors.
I also agree that brand building is not just for marketing department but for the entire company, as a brand is not only composed of its name but also of its product, service, environment, communication and behavior of the company. Everything a company does is related to brand building. Therefore, apart from the name that includes the logotypes and the color, this book also provides us with a lot of ways to do with the brand. For examples, to focus in its scope, to achieve it with publicity and maintain it with advertising, to promote the category rather than the brand, to distinguish it from the company, to avoid using subbranding etc.
This book is clear in the format and the content, illustrated by plenty of examples of what not to do and lessons on how to brand in the customer's mind! I can get a lot of insights from it.
This book is worth reading! I highly recommend you to read it!
But my concerns end with the cover as everything in between was very well laid out, backed by common sense and facts based on real companies. There are several examples used on every page to explain the total of 33 immutable laws (22 regular and 11 internet). We all intuitively understand branding because we are consumers and hence experience on a daily basis our purchasing being swayed by branding. So it was very nice to be able to read this perfect book on branding and understand so much in such a short time. It won't take more than a few hours to read this book cover to cover.
Let me share an example law without spoiling the book for you - #4 Internet Law: The Law of the Proper Name explains how proper names are better than common names for Internet branding. The clear proof of this is in the common names that never took off - drugs.com, university.com, wine.com, telephone.com, etc. and the proper names that did take off - priceline.com, amazon.com, etc. And I really like the explanation for why this law works.
So if you are a small business owner who can influence the branding of your business, products and services - go ahead and buy a copy of this book as you won't regret it. Of course, the content of this book is not restricted to small businesses. I am sure almost anyone involved in the branding efforts of the companies they work for will find it useful.
Good luck!
That the Ries duo relies on sweeping statements (e.g., "Quality of a product doesn't matter. It's all about brands.") hardly made my intentions any easier. Needless to say, my copy of 22 Immutable Laws of Branding is riddled with lots of ink and copious sidenotes. There is a lot I said "Really?" to while reading.
But maybe that's the thing I adore about Ries Inc. Their books are anything but boring manuals on a topical issue so relevant to almost anyone in business. I was "involved" with this book like I have seldom been with a work of non-fiction. I adored and went all retrospective with the "Law of the Name" and the "Law of Globalism". The writing is trippy, semi-provocative and hence absolutely delectable in a piece of work such as this!
Do I recommend it? Wholeheartedly. A wonderfully satisfying read. Just keep your discerning senses about you and think twice before wrapping your (brand management) career around all the advice this book proffers.
Noteworthy: The whole book is also available in a PDF version, if you are not particularly averse to on-screen reading.