Brand Warfare: 10 Rules for Building the Killer Brand

by David F. D'Alessandro, Michele Owens

Powerful lessons on how to build and sustain your own "killer brand" Creating and sustaining a good brand is the most complex and perilous task any business will ever face, yet nothing is as misunderstood. Under the direction of marketing wizard David D’Alessandro, John Hancock transformed itself from a sleepy old life insurer into a leading financial services giant, with a sustained 20% annual rate of growth. In Brand Warfare, D'Alessandro draws on his personal experience as a brand-builder and examples from America's smartest and most foolish corporations, developing principles that you can use in any market. At the same time, he creates an entertaining picture of the marketing business with anecdotes that convey a keen sense of the absurdities of corporate life, balanced by a tremendous respect for the consumer. This tough-minded, funny, and refreshingly candid book gives you a proven roadmap for marketing success as you
*Why every business needs a good brand to compete
*Why consumers need good brands as much as good brands need them
*Why sycophancy from the agency and meddling from inside the company will sink your campaign every time
*About how to avoid being taken, and how to make the investment pay for your brand
*Why it's as important to market your brand to your employees as it is to your customers
*Why every business decision should be filtered through the prism of the brand

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Management

204 pages, Hardcover

First published March 8, 2001

Reviews

[Dmitry · Rating 2 out of 5]

(The English review is placed beneath the Russian one)

Вот не люблю я читать книги по маркетингу написанные действующими руководителями! Ну, вот что может написать такой автор? Честный отчёт об успехах и провалах или только об одних успехах? Я вот никогда не встречал, чтобы руководитель соблюдал пропорцию 50/50. Почти во всех книгах, пропорция была либо 99/1 или хотя бы 80/20, где меньшая цифра говорила бы об совершённых ошибках. Вторая причина заключается в том, что зачастую такие книги издаются в качестве PR акции, а не с целью поделиться заработанным опытом. Возможно, будучи на пенсии, такие экс-руководители и пишут честные книги, но в тот момент, когда они занимают высокие посты, в книгах редко упоминаются сделанные ошибки или любая информация, которая может бросить тень на автора или хоть как-то скомпрометировать профессиональные его навыки. Поэтому зачастую такие книги получаются беззубые и после непродолжительного времени начисто забываются. Вот то же самое у меня произошло и с этой книгой, и именно поэтому я решил перечитать её.

Изначально, я книге поставил высшую оценку, но теперь, прочитав книгу во второй раз, я думаю, что больше отметки «средне», я не могу поставить. Когда я читал эту книгу в первый раз я подпал под очарование человека, который включил эту книгу в список стоящей литературы по маркетингу. Сейчас такого флёра уже нет, и поэтому я могу дать независимую оценку.

Итак, книга полностью забывается после первого раза прочтения по той причине, что в книге-то и нет ничего ценного, с точки зрения маркетинга. Ни с точки зрения теории ни с точки зрения практики. Плюс, книга была написана почти 20 лет назад.

Всю первую половину книги автор объясняет, почему так важен брендинг. Мне кажется, такие вещи уже мало кому нужно объяснять, но предположим, это того стоило. Очень коротко скажем, что бренд позволяет выделять товар из огромного количества аналогичных. А сильный бренд действует как товар, который продаёт сам себя. Это очень общее определение, разумеется, просто я не считаю нужным расписывать тут всю теорию брендинга. Суть в том, что одна из главных задач фирмы, создание сильных брендов. Всё верно. А кто спорит?

Дальше, т.е. большая часть книги посвящена спонсорской деятельности в особенности теме спонсорство в спортивных мероприятиях и Олимпиаде в частности. Нужно отметить, что все примеры, что приводятся в этой книге, взяты из собственной практики автора, а именно компании John Hancock. С одной стороны это, безусловно, плюс, что нам в каком-то веке предложили что-то новое, помимо приевшихся примеров типа Coca-Cola, McDonald's, P&G и так далее. С другой стороны, автор, разумеется, не будет упоминать случаи провала в маркетинге. Поэтому все, что пишет автор, в каком-то смысле, стерильно, как будто читаешь самый оптимистичный отчёт компании. Правда тут нужно добавить, и это и есть та причина, почему книга является очень не запоминающаяся - в книге срезаны все острые углы, так же как говорится, в общем-то, о довольно общих вещах. В книге не содержится каких-то маркетинговых приёмов, и тем более - «секретов успеха». Тут вообще ничего нет. Автор как бы с одной стороны рассказывает, как они провели ту или иную маркетинговую кампанию, но её описание дано очень обще, как если бы автор не хотел выдать что-то важное. Такие примеры может сделать/написать любой журналист и для этого нужно сделать только одну вещь - посетить данное мероприятие. Вот примерно такой текст мы встречаем в книге. А если кто-то думает, что автор предложит детальный план «шаг за шагом», подход к проведению маркетинговых мероприятий, то такому человеку лучше вообще не открывать книгу. Вот именно эта причина и является основной, по которой совершенно ничего не запоминается. Я хочу сказать, что человек, которых прочитал достаточно много книг по маркетингу или прослушал курс лекций, мало что найдёт в этой книге нового для себя. Да, кое-что в книге всё же есть и этим является примеры из практики John Hancock. Некоторые моменты были примечательны, да. Однако в целом, книга совершенно проходная.

I don't like reading books on marketing written by current executives! Well, what can such an author write? An honest account of successes and failures, or only successes? The second reason is that such books are often published as a PR effort rather than to share their hard-earned experience. When retired, such ex-executives may write honest books. But when they are in high positions, the books rarely mention mistakes made or any information that might cast a shadow on the author or compromise his professional skills in any way. That is why such books are often toothless and after a short time are completely forgotten. The same thing happened to me with this book, which is why I decided to reread it.

Initially, I gave the book the highest rating, but now, after reading the book for the second time, I think I can't give it more than an average mark. The first time I read this book, I fell under the spell of the man who included this book in his list of worthwhile marketing literature. Now I don't have that glamour anymore so I can give an independent review.

So, the book is completely forgotten after the first reading for the reason that there is nothing of value in the book in terms of marketing (neither from the point of view of theory nor from the point of view of practice). Plus, the book was written almost 20 years ago.

In the first half of the book, the author explains why branding is so important. It seems to me that few people need to explain such things anymore, but let's assume it was worth it. Very briefly, let us say that a brand allows a product to stand out from a huge number of similar ones. And a strong brand acts as a product that sells itself. It is a very general definition, of course, but I don't think it's necessary to describe the whole theory of branding here. The bottom line is that one of the main goals of a firm is to create strong brands. That's right. Who's arguing?

Next, most of the book is devoted to sponsorship activities, particularly the topic of sponsorship in sporting events and the Olympics in particular. It should be noted that all the examples that are given in this book are taken from the author's own practice, namely the John Hancock Company. On the one hand, it is undoubtedly a plus that we were offered something new in some century, apart from the usual examples like Coca-Cola, McDonald's, P&G and so on. On the other hand, the author, of course, will not mention cases of marketing failure. So everything the author writes is, in a sense, sterile, as if you were reading the most optimistic company report. It is true to add here, and this is the reason why the book is very unmemorable - the book cuts all the sharp corners, just as it talks about quite general things. The book does not contain any marketing tips, much less any secrets to success. There is nothing here at all. It is as if the author, on the one hand, tells how they conducted this or that marketing campaign, but its description is given very generally as if the author did not want to give anything important away. Any journalist can do/write such examples, and the only thing that needs to be done is to attend the event in question. It is approximately the kind of text we find in the book. And if someone thinks that the author will offer a detailed plan "step by step" approach to conducting marketing events, then such a person should not open the book at all. It is the main reason why nothing is remembered at all. I want to say that a person who has read quite a few books on marketing or listened to a course of lectures will not find much in this book that is new to him or her. Yes, there is something in the book and that is the John Hancock case studies. Some moments were noteworthy, yes. Overall, however, the book is utterly passé.

[Martin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did some work with John Hancock Insurance when I was with Microsoft. One of the Hancock executives sent me this book, which was written by their CEO. It's got a few good points about branding, but only a few. Much of the book is about sponsoring the NFL and Olympics. This portion of the book is relevant to about 250 people.

The writer did have some flattering things to say about Microsoft executives in the closing chapter. He must have been talking about my friend Jay Sampson, who was Hancock's account rep from Microsoft at the time the book was written.

[Danica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good info on the importance of filtering every business decision through your brand. Better for bigger companies than my one-woman show.

[Brittany R · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book that highlights the importance of having a strong brand. However, as it seems with many marketing texts, the author discusses his successes at length. Some of them are relevant to making his point; others allow him to build up his ego.

My recommendation: A good book to skim. I didn't highlight as I read; however, I'd recommend doing so. It will help dig through the fluff later on.

[T · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a good book to read. Would recommend it to any marketer. Easy and digestible writing style.

The main point is that brand is paramount. In the end it determines the future of the company. You can build or destroy goodwill over time, even with the most innocuous things. So as someone running a product line, you must be extremely careful with every decision - from how many customer service people you hire to how you handle a scandal. There is a fair bit in here on marketing and promotion as well.

[Victor Giustini · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some good insights to building a strong brand, however most of it regards big corporate organizations. What made me diike the book was also that the author was at the time of the writing still CEO of a company and thus he praises his brand a lot and talks much about their accomplishments. Somehow an annoying PR stunt.

[Jennifer Wells · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though this book was published in 2002 and you can tell that it is somewhat dated (Amazon is a book company in this story haha), all the business wisdom still remains true. I read this book as a recommendation from work about establishing your brand and really enjoyed it. The author is clear, interesting, and provides solid examples throughout different situations. I recommend it to others in business!

[janae · Rating 3 out of 5]

forced to suffer though this for class... this dude is so pretentious it's fucking hilarious like the words "actually it's a slice of olestra so generic and sanitised that it cannot hope to command the attention of jaded consumers" are forever stuck with me

[Karen Briscoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Numerous stories bring the principles alive.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

how branding makes you stronger. Look at the names of places you know by 1 word: ebay, burger king, footlocker, etc.
They did this through marketing and branding their products.

[Fai Poon]

feel like the author have no respect to people. Most of stuff are kind of dry

[Richard Mulholland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good business book from the rare perspective of a marketer cum ceo.