It's fun reading in the sense that People magazine can be fun reading. If you're wondering how companies view their brands, it gives a good overview in an easily digestible style. Some of the conclusions can range from eye-rolling to simply laugh-out-loud in the sense that if all you have is a branding hammer, then everything looks like a branding nail. Similarly, some of the predictions in here were proven to be totally off, but that's the nature of predictions in general. I guess it'd be more More...

Truth to tell, there isn’t really 22 laws but just 2 laws. The first law is to maintain uniqueness, remain focus with your message by being consistent, and don’t muddle your message by trying to become “everything” to everyone. The second law is that a 100% domination of the market is impossible because not everybody has the same need and thus wouldn’t equally appeal to your brand message and purchase your product. If you get 50% + 1 market share, be happy and move on and create another brand. T More...

I am very skeptical about calling these concepts "laws" rather than "ideas that are important to consider but are far from immutable". For instance, saying that Bud Light is not a brand, and that it weakens the Bud brand...without looking at the potential loss of market share if they didn't have a dog in a competitive new race. They would probably say that Apple's iPod and iTunes were bad ideas. They don't seem to consider aspects of business *other* than branding. And the internet section is so More...

As we are starting a new business I found this book to be very valuable to insure we defined our new company in the marketplace.

I remember reading The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing as a young man. And boy! was in absolute awe, aplomb and amazement for these two writers!
Their wisdom, their wit and their wonderful research was something I never ever forgot.
It was a book worthy of my respect for a life time to come.

Fast forward to the here and now.....

I spot this book at a leading book store.
I grab the book.
After all those childhood memories, I am prepared to devour this book as I know it will bless my soul that yearns for More...

If you ever wanted to know the rules that will help keep your company and product afloat then this is the book to read. The author, Al Ries, has written these laws for anyone in business, from entrepreneur to corporate exes, to follow and learn from.

The nice thing about the format of this book is that he gives nice examples of companies that have followed this law and companies that have not, and what those consequences are for each. If you ever wanted to know which is the best method for getti More...

"The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding" was primarily written by Laura Ries - Al Ries was a co-author on the book. I rank this book a solid 3-star book because the insights / examples provided far outweigh any concerns / problems I found with the book. This book caused me to look at advertising / marketing from a different perspective in my daily life.

I liked "The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding" for the following reasons:

It flat out states the importance of marketing & branding, which is importan More...

Listened to this audiobook over 20 times. Best book on branding and positioning around. Some great stories and examples from real companies Al's worked with. Get the audiobook version. Its read by the author and he's the real deal.

The laws are the same, but examples need to be refreshed. Many of the examples are repetitive, which makes distinguishing the laws somewhat challenging--distinct examples should be used for each law. And many of the examples are dated. The second half--The 22 Immutable Laws of Internet Branding--seem even more dated than the first half, perhaps because everything moves so fast with ecommerce. Additionally, the Internet laws are less punchy than the first half. The original 22 laws are each neatl More...

Any body who just wants to understand how brands work, and entrepreneurs who want to build their brands, should read this book. A good insight into the business of brands.

A great primer on the basics of branding. If you're new to marketing, or if marketing isn't your vocation, then this is a must read.

I was surprisingly interested in this little book. I read a dated version, but the principles of focusing on a singular idea when branding seemed so simple even though no one really followed it. The American impulse is to expand but the authors recommend a separate brand over expanding into uncharted territory. here are the gems:
own a word
be specific with that word choice
a brand is most golden when it's the first to do something
logos are best designed horizontally
competition (choice) increases d More...

A must-read book on branding for the knowledge worker, manager, executive, or entrepreneur.

I'd already read a lot of what was in this book from some of the other marketing books I've read recently. But if you're looking for a book to give you the basics, this would be a good book. The version I read included "The 11 Immutable Laws of Internet Branding" - I learned more there, although some of it is outdated. That's to be expected, given how quickly the Internet changes. Good book overall, though - lots of examples, easy to read, etc.

Fascinating read about branding. Great real world examples and laws that are not necessarily obvious. Not sure you could call all of these laws immutable.

Wish there was an update since some of the internet examples are suspect - re: Yahoo being the number 1 search engine. Would love to know if they still hold to the Law of Divergence now that the Blackberry and iPhone have been so successful.

Branding part is timeless, it gives sound advice that seems applicable 12 years after written.

Regarding the Internet branding part, the authors not only do an analysis, but also try to do some projections about how the internet will behave in "the future". Trying to predict how something as dynamic as the internet will behave is just too bold, didn´t enjoy this part too much. Felt pretty stale.

excellent book on branding. This is my first book on branding. I have ordered positioning by the same other. This 22 immutable... book will teach you what the heck is branding and major mistakes to avoid. If you are looking for how to brand your business, this is it. I recommend this book.

A good intro to branding for a neophyte like myself. Some of the internet branding laws are hilariously out of date though. For example, on the topic of the convergence of devices (i.e. a phone/ipod) the author says, "It will never happen. Technologies don't converge. They diverge. Yet the hype marches on." But otherwise a good primer.

A quick, concise, and useful take on turning the nominal into the phenomenal. Sure, I can't do much with "be the 1st in a new category" so they lost a couple of points there. However, to be fair, this is a high level approach that dips down frequently to give some nitty-gritty take-aways.

If you have no background in branding, the ideas in here are very cool. Branding is inherently a "soft" science, but the ideas in here are short, sweet, and pretty solid.

It certainly made me open my mind to the big and complicated world of branding.

Fine work, but the Internet section is dated. Facing the success of some of the "never going to work" examples (Amazon selling more than books for a start) undermines this section.

Very similar to the Trout 22 laws and Touts most current.

It was ok. Some of the stuff they say is questionable, and of course a lot has changed since the writing of this book. Most importantly I just feel like there has to be a better book to read about branding by now.

Reading it for the second time and I had to realise that even after more than 5 years it still makes me think "God they are so right!". It is so easy to follow through and the examples given are spot on. I strongly recommend it :)

Book on branding with different examples and different applications for different products and services. Don't have to be a marketing person to get and understand. Good rules to apply.

Great book for anyone who works in marketing, in product or executive management, or for anyone who is curious about why products are named and marketed the way they are.

Another great resource for branding. These laws are so basic yet so many "great" companies fail to follow them. This is a great read even if you aren't interested in business.

Good book with 22 simple ways to build your brand. I think it is maybe not so close to the real practice things, but gives you an idea of the people's thinkign.

Good ideas but I was turned off by the dogma of defining hard and fast "immutable laws" for something so open ended as branding. Still worth reading though.

great book. One of the "5 must read books" on my marketing shelve