Book Reviews

These are not always the most recent marketing and brand management books. They are the books we believe to be the most valuable and insightful. They reflect enduring and fundamental principles, and they should be on the bookshelf of anyone interesting in effective marketing and brand management.

The 'Managing Your Total Brand' Manual
This Manual provides a structured step-by-step process for applying total brand management to your own brand. You'll learn how to secure long-term revenue and build enduring business value.
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Creating Passionbrands
Branding is courtship. And it works like it does in life. The suitor that's too anxious to please, that bends to your whim and does what you ask will never be as captivating as the one with that inner confidence and fire. That's the principle behind Creating Passionbrands.
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BRAND sense
International marketing guru Martin Lindstrom reveals what the world's most successful branding companies do differently from their competitors - integrating touch, taste, smell, sight, and sound - with startling results.
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Talespin: Public Relations Disasters
This book details some of the world's most infamous PR disasters, the fallout from them, and the lessons to be learn. Find out how to prevent the same disasters happening to you. Download the FREE CHAPTER.
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Absolut Book
The story of the ad campaign that increased the sale of Absolut Vodka by 14,900% over 15 years. An Absolut-ly unabashed commercial salute to one brand of vodka that has helped define the shape of creative magazine advertising.
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Brand Royalty
Following on from his previous book, 'Brand Failures', bestselling author Matt Haig this time looks at 100 winning brands and the ingredients that make them so successful.
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Living The Brand
This practical and inspirational book is about how organizations can empower and enthuse their employees to create 'brand champions' that build business value…
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The Philosophy of Branding
Are you tired of the standard marketing texts? Do you feel like every brand management book is churning out the same old perspective? Take a look at 'The Philosophy of Branding', it offers an original and thought-provoking perspective on brands…
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How To Get Into Advertising. 2nd Edition
This book is a valuable source of advice for anyone considering a career in advertising, media, or marketing communications. I know from my own experience of working with students and advising them on career options that there is a need for just this kind of book…
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Scoring Points: How Tesco is winning
customer loyalty
Launched in 1995, Tesco Clubcard is one of the world's most successful retail loyalty schemes. Find out the secrets of its success directly from the people involved in the planning, launch, and ongoing management of the scheme…
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Global Brand Strategy
How to manage a brand as it stretches across multiple societies and geographies is a key issue facing many marketers today. This book provides a unique framework - the Global Brand Proposition Model - as a basis for developing and implementing a global brand strategy.
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Hey Whipple, Squeeze This
This book has been on my shelf for months, and I have no idea why I haven't reviewed it yet, because it's great. It's written by someone who really knows what they're talking about. It's entertaining and informative, and it's subtitled 'A Guide To Creating Great Ads'.
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Marketing from Advertising to Zen
A great refresher and reference book for marketing professionals, and an easy introduction to the topic for anyone who needs to learn about marketing for the first time. The book comprehensively covers the subject of marketing, in short and well-focused chapters.
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BRANDchild
This book is the result of collaboration between Millward Brown (one of the world's top 10 market research organizations) and Martin Lindstrom, a branding author, consultant and speaker who has advised Fortune 500 brands such as Mars, Pepsi, LEGO, American Express, VISA, HSBC, and Microsoft. It provides a new understanding of the power of 'tweens' (children aged 9-14) in the marketplace.
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Brands: Visions & Values
This book provides a financial perspective on the value of brands, and is written in conjunction with the UK Society of Investment Professionals (UKSIP). If you've never explored brands from this perspective, the book offers an easy-to-read introduction. Certainly a good addition to the bookshelf.
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Brand New Justice:
The Upside of Global Branding
An antidote to the criticisms of globalization and global branding. A very refreshing book for anyone who works in brand management, and a vital read if you wish to understand the power of brands to attract wealth not only for companies but also for the economies and countries in which they operate.
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Uncommon Practice:
People who deliver a great brand experience
This book is comprised of a series of interviews that get to the essence of great brand management. Learn directly from the individuals that have built brands such as Harley-Davidson, Krispy Kreme, Manchester United, and Virgin.
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A Whack on the Side of the Head
This book will knock you sideways. Subtitled 'How You Can Be More Creative' it contains a wealth of resources, tools, and techniques that will give you the opportunity to think in new ways - expanding your ability to deal with problems and opportunities alike.
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Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
In today's fast-paced and ever-changing world, many business people spend all their time just trying to 'keep up'. There seems to be no time to learn the fundamentals. This is one of those books that deserves some time, on a topic of critical importance to all of us; how to persuade and influence people. Take a look; it's a great buy.
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Selling The Invisible:
A Field Guide to Modern Marketing
An enjoyable book that is best read by dipping into the wealth of ideas and insights that are covered. There is so much food for thought that a cover-to-cover read will leave you with your head spinning.
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Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind
You may know of Al Ries and Jack Trout. They are certainly quite prolific authors, and it is always tempting to buy their 'latest' book. After all, it's important to keep up with the latest trends. But before you can understand the latest trends it's important to appreciate the fundamentals.
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Truth, Lies and Advertising:
The Art of Account Planning
This is a book for anyone who wants to understand how to produce better advertising. Reviewed as 'a great book about advertising', it is fun to read and enormously informative.
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Understanding Brands: By 10 People Who Do
We don't plan on bringing you the latest books, just the best books. 'Understanding Brands: By 10 People Who Do' is one such book. Published in the UK by APG (the Account Planning Group), it contains the thoughts of 10 leading practitioners in brand management.
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More Than a Motorcycle:
The Leadership Journey at Harley-Davidson
The story of the Harley-Davidson company from the mid-1980s to present day. An entertaining and informative read, by the key players themselves.
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