Full review: This book has the number 25 as its theme. It marks the brand consultancy Interbrand's 25th anniversary, it looks at branding 25 years from now, and 25 people are interviewed. The book starts off with a discussion of brands and branding, and looks briefly at how the phenomenon has changed over time. Differences between brand value and brand strength are mentioned. The editors claim that clarity (of vision, mission and values), consistency (in who they are, what ever they are doing), and leadership (a brand's ability to lead and exceed expectations) are the most important factors for creating successful brands in the future. This introduction also touches on what they see as the challenge for 'new' brands like Microsoft, and the challenge to branding to overcome the suspicion about its nature.
The interviewed people are asked, among other things, to define brands, name the greatest brand today, and their favourite brand. They are asked which brands, or categories of brands, they think may become powerful in the future, and which may fail.
Although the editors say that they have sought to include many different kinds of people, it is striking that only five women and one teenager are interviewed. The majority of contributors are middle-aged businessmen, be it from different sorts of businesses. One strange thing is that one of the featured women, Marieke Van der Werf, is introduced differently than all the other people in the book. The standard formula for introducing the contributors is their name, current profession, education, and former posts. However, Van der Werf is also described as 'mother of 3 young children'. Is she the only parent in this book? Are none of the men parents?
Some of the interviewed people talk mostly about their own company or industry, and it does get a bit tiresome to read about how great and special Starbucks or BMW are when you expected an analysis of the future of society and branding. However, some interviews are very interesting to read, for example Will Hutton, editor of the Observer, talks more about society and branding in general than specific companies, and several people discuss the social responsibilities of companies in the future.
Since all the people in the book were asked the same questions, the interviews get a bit repetitative. The definitions of branding are all quite similar, and Coca Cola is frequently referred to as the world's greatest brand.
In the introduction, the editors point out that the definitions of branding in the interviews are alike, and that the same company names come up again and again. They also point out frequently suggested areas for future brand development - information management, health and well-being, leisure, and education. The book's 'Conclusions' chapter talks briefly about the future for brands and predicts fewer, bigger brands and that life-editing and life-simplifying brands will be even more important. It gives short descriptions of necessary characteristics for powerful brands in the future, and repeats the clarity, consistency, leadership formula again. However, there is not really a serious attempt to sum up or discuss the findings from the interviews, which is a shame considering how much work must have gone into them.
Summary
The lack of analysis means that this book would probably not appeal to academics, or practitioners looking for answers to specific branding problems. It is more reminiscent of a a selection of 25 business magazine clippings, but it will appeal to people interested in the future of branding, and also other people's views of the phenomenon. Also perhaps a good buy for those who want an easy and interesting book to read as relaxation.
Reviwed by Dr Jessica Backlund (MA, PhD) and Shaun Powell (Btech, AIMgt, BAhons), from the International Corporate Branding and Identity Centre.