Brand Leadership
Book

Brand Leadership

Building Assets in the Information Society

David A. Aaker and Erich Joachimsthaler
Free Press, 2000
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Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Applicable

Recommendation

David A. Aaker and Erich Joachimsthaler flex their marketing muscles in this exhaustive treatise on global brand creation. But although the authors clearly know an enormous amount about building the perfect branding campaign, their book suffers from a patina of academia that makes it read like a textbook. The book has a multitude of marketing insights to offer and it cites plenty of real-life business examples, so getAbstract thinks you’ll gain much by sticking with it if you are in marketing or public relations. But the next time the authors expound on their methods for making products memorable, accessible and likeable, we hope they spare a tender thought for their own worthy book.

Summary

Managing Your Brand for Leadership

You can raise your brand management to the level of brand leadership. The current trend in this direction stems from the increasingly complex nature of global marketing, competitive pressures, channel dynamics and business environments with multiple brands, aggressive brand extensions, and sub-brand structures.

With brand leadership, companies move from tactical to strategic management. The brand strategy must be influenced by the business strategy and must reflect the same strategic vision and corporate culture. The brand shouldn’t promise what the strategy can’t or won’t deliver.

The classic brand management model is tactical and reactive, but the brand leadership model has a strategic, visionary perspective. Brand management focuses on short-term financial gain, while brand leadership focuses on brand equity measures. The former is a limited focus, while the latter is quite broad.

Classic brand management includes simple brand structures and single products and markets, while brand leadership uses complex brand architecture across multiple products and markets. Classic brand management generally works in a single country...

About the Authors

David A. Aaker is vice chairman of Prophet Brand Strategy and professor emeritus of marketing at The Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of the best-selling books,Managing Brand Equity and Building Strong Brands. Erich Joachimsthaler is CEO of The Brand Leadership Company, a strategy- consulting and management-education firm.

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