Brand Psychology: Consumer Perceptions, Corporate Reputations

by Jonathan Gabay

Why do we trust some brands more than others? How important is integrity for a brand's survival? How can brand confidence be rebuilt during a crisis? Using both new and classic insights from social psychology, cognitive psychology and neuroscience, Brand Psychology reveals the hidden processes behind why certain brands command our loyalty, trust and - most importantly - disposable income. Reputation management authority Jonathan Gabay takes readers on a tour of the corporate, political, and personal brands whose understanding of consumer psychology has either built or broken them.

Suitable for marketing, branding and PR professionals, reputation management specialists and students, Brand Psychology takes examples from e-cigarette legislation, the iPhone 5S's fingerprint ID technology, Barclays' branded bikes and the London 2012 Olympics, Miley Cyrus and the UK National Health Service's big data to reveal how to build a meaningful brand that resonates with the public.

Genres: Business

440 pages, Paperback

First published March 28, 2015

Reviews

[Aleksander Prifti · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an absolute read for those who work in marketing. It delves into the psychological principles that shape how consumers interact with and perceive brands. Drawing on insights from cognitive and social psychology as well as neuroscience, Gabay unpacks why certain brands inspire loyalty and trust while others fail to resonate. Through a mix of case studies—such as the iPhone’s fingerprint technology and the branding behind the London 2012 Olympics—he explores how brands can build trust, recover from crises, and effectively engage with an increasingly skeptical audience. While dense, the book offers practical advice for marketers, branding professionals, and reputation managers, providing valuable tools for understanding and influencing consumer behavior in today’s complex market.

[Darren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a massive, detailed book that seeks to lift the lid on the world of brand psychology, explaining why customers can be immensely loyal and trusting of certain brands, especially when seeded by positive vibes through corporate social responsibility and ethical transparency programmes.
Make no mistake, this is not a quick read. Twenty-two detailed chapters cover this incredibly interesting world, as viewed from both customer and brand perspective. The science behind our behaviour is examined in minute detail, challenging along the way some preconceptions and common understandings. All of this knowledge is backed up by case studies and advice from neuropsychologists, economists and industry participants.
If there is one criticism it is just that the book can be too overwhelming. You have to put it down, take a break and continue at a later stage. The poor old brain just can’t cope with this flood of information within a long-march sequential read, so the book being broken down into so many chapters is a good thing. A very detailed index at the end also helps the reader, so you can deep-dive into the book to find a piece of specific information as you wish. It appears that the book doesn’t include citations and further reading suggestions as would benefit a reference book suitable for academic research (although this was a pre-release review book but there was no suggestion that such a chapter was “to follow”.)
The book’s internal design and navigational elements left a fair bit to be desired. It seemed to be a bit of an unorthodox mix that did not really help the reader. With a book of this size and complexity, each and every aid should be seized upon with gusto.
Yet considering the material covered, the author has done a great job and produced a highly informative, interesting, enjoyable and addictive book.
Brand Psychology, written by Jonathan Gabay and published by Kogan Page. ISBN 9780749471736, 440 pages. YYYY

[Yen · Rating 1 out of 5]

this book needs to be restructured and probably shortened into a blog post of key ideas.