The Brand Gap: Expanded Edition

Location: Home » vampire: masquerade » All Amazon Upgrade » The Brand Gap: Expanded Edition

Similar Items:

•	Zag: The Number One Strategy of High-Performance Brands
•	Designing Brand Identity: A Complete Guide to Creating, Building, and Maintaining Strong Brands
•	BrandSimple: How the Best Brands Keep it Simple and Succeed
•	The Dictionary of Brand
•	The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding

Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
THE BRAND GAP is the first book to present a unified theory of brand. The second edition features a 220-term brand glossary and a premium softcover binding. Whereas most books on branding are weighted toward either a strategic or creative approach, this book shows how both ways of thinking can unite to produce a “charismatic brand”?a brand that customers feel is essential to their lives. In an entertaining two-hour read you’ll learn:

• a new definition of brand
• the five essential disciplines of brand-building
• how branding is changing the dynamics of competition
• the three most powerful questions to ask about any brand
• why collaboration is the key to brand-building
• how design determines a customer’s experience
• how to test brand concepts quickly and cheaply
• the importance of managing brands from the inside

The Brand Gap is an AIGA Design Press book published under Peachpit's New Riders imprint in partnership with AIGA.

FROM THE BACK COVER

Not since McLuhan’s THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE has a book compressed so many ideas into so few pages. Using the visual language of the boardroom, Neumeier presents the first unified theory of branding?a set of five disciplines to help companies bridge the gap between brand strategy and customer experience. Those with a grasp of branding will be inspired by the new perspectives they find here, and those who would like to understand it better will suddenly “get it.” This deceptively simple book offers everyone in the company access to “the most powerful business tool since the spreadsheet.”

“The surprise book of the year!” ?John Moore, Fast Company

“The first book on brand that seems fresh and relevant.” ?Ric Grefe, executive director of AIGA, the professional association for design

“A pleasure to read.”?David A. Aaker, author of BRAND PORTFOLIO STRATEGY and BUILDING STRONG BRANDS

“Cuts to the heart of what brand is all about.” ?Susan Rockrise, worldwide brand director, Intel

“Read this book before your competitors do!” ?Tom Kelley, general manager, IDEO

FROM THE INSIDE FLAPS

“A pleasure to read. THE BRAND GAP consistently provides deep, practical insights in a light, visual way. Discover the power of imagery and the role of research in building a heavy-duty brand?without the heavy-duty reading.” ?David Aaker, author of BRAND LEADERSHIP and BUILDING STRONG BRANDS

“Finally, a book that cuts to the heart of what brand is all about?connecting the rational and the emotional, the theoretical and the practical, the logical and the magical to create a sustainable competitive advantage.” ?Susan Rockrise, Worldwide Brand Director, Intel

In THE BRAND GAP, Neumeier reminds us that the ultimate moment of truth for all brands is the customer experience. Customer perceptions trump our own perceptions.” ?Kurt Kuehn, senior VP of worldwide marketing and sales, UPS

“This is not just another book on brand. This is the ONLY book you’ll need to read in business, engineering, and design school.” ?Clement Mok, design entrepreneur

“A well-managed brand is the lifeblood of any successful company?and Neumeier shows us exactly how to do it. Read this book before your competitors do!” ?Tom Kelley, general manager of IDEO, co-author of THE ART OF INNOVATION

“THE BRAND GAP couldn’t be more timely. Just when we’re at our most skeptical about corporate motives, along comes a book that shows how to evaluate and develop a brand in a straightforward and honest manner.” ?David Stuart, co-founder of The Partners, co-author of A SMILE IN THE MIND

“Must-reading for anyone who wants to understand how their business strategy will succeed or fail when put to the ultimate test: ?Do customers perceive a difference that’s desirable?’” ?Steve Harrington, director of strategy and operations, Hewlett-Packard

“The book slices like a hot knife through all the turgid, pseudo-academic nonsense that surrounds branding. It’s now on the course list for my graduate students, and new members of my team at Ogilvy get a copy with their training materials.” ?Brian Collins, executive creative director, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide

Customer Reviews: Read 15 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

How to Become a "Brand Gap Guru" August 21, 2005
22 out of 24 found this review helpful

This is an expanded edition of a book first published in 2003. In it, Neumeier develops in greater depth several basic ideas about how to bridge a gap between business strategy and design. My own experience suggests that on occasion, there may be a conflict or misalignment rather than a "gap." Or the business strategy is inappropriate. Or the design concepts are wrong-headed. Or the execution fails. Whatever, Neumeier correctly notes that "A lot of people talk about it. Yet very few people understand it. Even fewer know how to manage it. Still, everyone wants it. What is it? Branding. of course -- arguably the most powerful business tool since the spreadsheet." What Neumeier offers is a "30,000-foot view of brand: what it is (and isn't), why it works (and doesn't), and most importantly, how to bridge the gap between logic and magic to build a sustainable competitive advantage." Of course, that assumes that both logic and magic are present and combined...or at least within close proximity of each other.

As others have already indicated, Neumeier provides a primer ("the least amount of information necessary") rather than a textbook. His coverage is not definitive, nor intended to be. He has a crisp writing style, complemented by "the shorthand of the conference room" (i.e. illustrations, diagrams, and summaries). Some describe his book an "easy read" but I do not. When reading short and snappy books such as this one, I have learned that certain insights resemble depth charges or time capsules: they have a delayed but eventually significant impact. For example, Neumeier explains why "Three Little Questions" can bring a high-level marketing meeting to a screeching halt:

1. Who are you?
2. What do you do?
3. Why does it matter?

I also want to express my admiration of the book's design features. They create an appropriate visual context within which Neumeier examines each of five "Disciplines": differentiation, collaboration, innovation, validation, and cultivation. Expect no head-snapping revelations. For many of those who read this book, its greatest value will will be derived from reiteration of certain core concepts which Neumeier reviews with uncommon clarity and concision. Check out the "Take-Home Lessons" (pages 149-157) which include

"A brand is a person's gut feeling about a product, service, or company. It's not what you say it is. It's what THEY say it is."

"Differentiation has evolved from a focus on `what it is,' to `what it does,' to 'how you'll feel,' to `who you are.' While features, benefits, and price are still important to people, experiences and personal identity are even more important."

"How do you know when an idea is innovative? When it scares the hell out of you."

Readers having relatively less experience with the branding process will especially appreciate the provision of an expanded (220-word) "Brand Glossary." Neumeier also includes a "Recommended Reading" section in which he briefly comments on each source. When reading business books, I much prefer annotated bibliographies such as Neumeier's to mere lists. For whatever reasons, many provide neither.

5 out of 5 stars

Branding for the rest of us January 24, 2006
13 out of 15 found this review helpful

I am not a CEO, owner, entrepreneur, SVP of marketing, nor do I work in a company struggling to turn a fourth-tier brand into a world beater. Those are the native audiences for this wonderful, finish-it-in-a-plane-ride book. I'm a writer and consultant trying to explain branding to fundraisers, and what I intensely like about Marty Neumeier's brief "whiteboard overview" (his phrase) of branding is that it answers ALL my questions about branding and brand strategy quickly, simply, with nicely selected examples. It starts with what branding is NOT (not your logo, not your visual ID, not your products). Then it defines what it truly is, "A brand is a person's gut feeling about a product, service, or company." That's in the first couple of pages. But of course there's so much more. I love a good, insight-rich how-to book the way others love a good mystery. The Brand Gap is among the best.

2 out of 5 stars

For begginers September 29, 2005
9 out of 21 found this review helpful

A good book if you are beggining in Marketing, but nothing new for experienced marketeers. Is easy to read, with the same old broadly used to explain almost everything examples (IPOD and others).

5 out of 5 stars

Marty Neumeir's The Brand Gap - Should Be Required Reading October 1, 2005
8 out of 10 found this review helpful

I met Marty more than 20 years ago in Santa Barbara before he moved to San Francisco to make history helping Apple Computer and most other big internet names you know develop their brands. I was very young and had a one truck carpet cleaning company. I was lucky enough to persuade Marty and his team to take me on as a client. The best money I ever spent. He made my little company look and feel bigger than the giant franchise companies.

I am ordering my second addition copy of The Brand gap because I wore out my original copy. I wore it out re-reading it and showing it to business owner friends. We now own the largest horse industry advertising directory on the internet and this book is keeping us on track as we protect and expand our company brand.
Yes this is a book that can be read through on a flight from Los Angeles to Dallas. But you will re-read it when you have more time because there is so much more there than can be learned in a one time read. Then you will ask your employees to read it because a brand is not a logo, it's an idea that belongs to your customers. The presentation of the information is brilliant and gives insight into the mind of man that is the definition of cutting edge advertising design.
Robert Pruitt InfoHorse.com

4 out of 5 stars

Simple, Straightforward, Sensational August 23, 2007
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

Marty Neumeier has written two "whiteboard" style books both dealing with branding and innovation - this is the first one. By whiteboard style, Neumeier's book is light on written content, moderate on visual content and layout, and heavy on basic, important, sharp ideas.

The book covers 5 principles to help bridge the gap between strategic thinking and creative 'magic' and uses a variety of visual and written metaphors, examples, and logical knowledge to do so. If you are looking for a text-heavy, super explanatory, in-depth type of book, then this isn't the one for you. If you're looking to focus your mindset when it comes to innovative branding, this is a great, go-to book to get through in a short amount of time.

The two main things I liked about this book were the fact it actually followed a lot of its own principles in terms of how it was designed/set up etc. and it also packed a lot of universality into these generic yet focused, sensical tips.

Case in point...here is what you'll get out of the book if you are:

A Student/Novice in the Field: Students will love this book to help them review a lot of what's happening in marketing right now, and the 5 guiding principles can help them innovate at their future workplaces. The expanded edition of this book includes a 200 word glossary of advertising terms that'll also help students and novices talk the talk.

Agencies: will delight at the tests Neumeier asks you to go through when developing a brand, particularly graphically in the "icon/avatar" section. The real-life examples of successful businesses identify the longevity of the brands and how it is obtained, giving hints to marketing/advertising agencies how to get that same magic formula.

Businesses: whether small or large, this is a great book to have. If you have an internal promotions/marketing department, this book should be distributed to the head of your branding staff to help them focus your company's direction in the market. If you are the owner of a small business without an internal marketing department, this book can help introduce you to the fundamental principles of branding that you can then discuss with an external agency.

Overall a great quick read that kept me hooked, never bored, and always thinking. The summative list of the main topics discussed throughout the book at the end was extremely helpful, although the glossary was kind of out of place as half the words in the glossary aren't used in the text. Probably helpful for beginners in the ad industry though.

Powered by Associate-O-Matic

T-shirts, Posters

Pentagram T-shirts, bags, etc...

Gothic Posters