Brilliant Books on branding and beyond

People often ask us which books they should read on branding and marketing, in addition to the brandgym ones of course ;-)

So, we put together a paper on "Brilliant Books - Branding and Beyond" with 8 of our favourite titles. In this post of headine three of the books. You can download the whole paper by clicking here: Download Brandgym_Paper 5

How Brands Grow (Byron Sharp)

If you read one book from our list, this is it. The book puts a bomb under many of the beliefs on which modern-day branding is built, backed up with bags of empirical evidence. In particular, Byron argues that there is no such think as brand loyalty: all brands have similar re-purchase levels and usage frequencies. Brand growth is all about driving penetration through physical availability (be sold in lots of places) and mental availability (be recalled and relevant at the moment of buying).

 

Baked In (Alec Bogusky and John Winsor)

The days of mass marketing being able to save an ordinary product are over, according to this jargon-free and nicely illustrated little book. The solution? Create truly innovative products and services with the marketing “baked in”. This way, products sell themselves without the need for much ad spend.

An example of this approach is Prada’s new clothing line which is proudly “Made in Peru” by the best local craftsmen – every product tells a story.

 

Yes! 50 Secrets from the Science of Persuasion (Steve Martin)

This book has 50 fascinating stories on consumer behavior. The format makes it easier to digest and more practical than other books on "behavioural economics" we've read. For example, Steve shows how premium products can help sell cheaper ones. When buying wine in a restaurant you might avoid the eye-wateringly expensive one, but also the cheapo one, settling one in the middle.

 

Happy reading!

Comments

[Bruno Romano]

Hello David

Thanks for sending through your marketing updates. They're always a damn good read, with lots of interesting stuff.

But in case you hadn't come across another site, below is a link about Iconic Brands: The Illusion of Love & Why Size Really Does Matter. All this is written by Martin Weigel, whose site is called 'Canalside'.

http://mweigel.typepad.com/canalside-view/2011/07/iconic-brands-the-illusion-of-love-and-why-size-matters.html#tp

Happy reading!

All the best

Bruno

[Ken Griffey Jr Shoes]

Must live their own "target" and "dream" to draw on his own life a few colors!