What Great Brands Do: The Seven Brand Building Principles That Separate the Best from the Rest

Yohn, a branding consultant and speaker, with an all-star client list that includes Sony, Frito-Lay, and Burger King, knows exactly what it takes to raise a brand to the top and keep it there. Here she shares techniques that can elevate a brand to icon status. She explores how a great company can avoid obsolescence by using its brand as a management tool to fuel, align, and guide its people and initiatives. The eponymous seven brand-building principles are each given a chapter: start with a brand-building corporate culture; ignore trends; don’t chase customers; commit and stay committed; and avoid selling products. Yohn’s exercises, tools, and action steps will help elevate the conversation and undoubtedly enhance any company’s focus on branding. In addition to case studies that feature Google, Trader Joe’s, IBM, and Shake Shack, Yohn provides her most valuable recommendations in her “Brand as Business” chapter, which ties together the seven principles and shows how to integrate them to produce growth and brand strength. Yohn’s book is helpful reading for executives and managers at all levels, and it will guide the next generation of great brands. (Jan.)