brand building

James Surowiecki's column in The New York last week, Twilight of the Brands, seemed to suggest that brands are dying. He argued that the usefulness of brands as decreased given that "consumers are supremely well informed and far more likely to investigate the real value of products than to rely on logos."

Here’s the latest in the series of posts and posters based on the principles from my new book, What Great Brands Do: The Seven Brand-Building Principles That Separate the Best from the Rest. This principle, Great Brands Commit and Stay Committed, is easy to understand but hard to execute.

Great brands may think big, but they sweat the small stuff. They know that all the little things they do or fail to do in person shape brand perceptions far more than the big things they claim through mass media. So they design their customer experiences down to last detail, and usually appeal to as many of the five human senses as possible, since they know those experiences are so much more impactful, distinctive, and memorable than any advertising or marketing program they could run.

Do you know what great brands do? 

I first met Denise Lee Yohn in person when she spoke at the inaugural CXPA SoCal Local Networking Event in the fall of 2012. She spoke about good brands and great brands, and likened the difference between the two to the difference between failure and success. Great brands reap so many benefits, including: increased sales, higher profit margins, lower costs, greater customer loyalty, and higher market valuation.

Wow! What a month it’s been! The official launch of my new book, What Great Brands Do: The Seven Brand-Building Principles That Separate the Best from the Rest, is underway and that means lots of great resources for you to learn about, well, what great brands do.

Yay! It’s finally here!  The official launch of my book, What Great Brands Do: The Seven Brand-Building Principles That Separate the Best from the Rest (Jossey-Bass).

The book introduces a different way of thinking about and building brands. If you ask most people to define “brand,” they will often turn to the usual suspects: a tagline, logo, advertising message, etc,. Traditionally, brands have been understood in this way – as outward-facing, image-focused expressions. 

On the eve of a special Apple event, it seems the allure of the Apple brand is as strong as ever. “We have something you really have to see. And touch,” declares the invitation to the March 7^th media event. Quite a buzz has been building up!

I don’t know if tomorrow’s announcement will impress or disappoint – nor do I know how long Apple will continue to rock our world.

Found this interesting video on the eatbigfish.com website. If you haven’t read the book by Adam Morgan and are interested in setting up your own brand, which I am, then you should read it. It is packed with great ideas and examples of how to build a better, more exciting brand.