New Brand World: Amazon.ca: Scott Bedbury: Books

Product Description

From Publishers Weekly

Bedbury, who headed advertising and marketing divisions for Nike and Starbucks during their phenomenal growth, coaches on establishing a memorable brand in this appealing, well-organized guide. Observing consumers overwhelmed by countless choices, he argues that now's the time to build a brand that evokes trust from its customers. "Unless your brand stands for something, it stands for nothing," he declares, as he explains methods for companies big and small to articulate their essence and ethos (their "genetic code" in Bedbury's catchy parlance) to core customers, potential customers and employees. The inside stories on Nike and Starbucks constitute the bulk, but Bedbury elaborates his belief that "the brand is the sum total of everything a company does" with lively anecdotes from the experiences of Harley-Davidson, Microsoft and others. To Bedbury, brands have not only a genetic code but also karma. As strongly as he emphasizes the need to develop growth strategies that spring organically from a brand's core, he also believes that successful brands respect or meet customers' emotional needs. The histories of his companies have provided Bedbury with much material about a company's relationship to its community, and he's especially cogent on stewardship of a brand once it's established and growing, highlighting questions of leadership and responsibility to the world beyond the office. He calls for advertising and marketing that will inspire rather than merely inform (… la "Just Do It"). In the course of explaining his eight principles, Bedbury reminds aspiring industry leaders to pay attention to simplicity, relevance and innovation while counseling them to focus patiently on the long run. (On sale Mar. 4)Forecast: Bedbury's connection to Nike and Starbucks will generate interest in his firsthand knowledge of those success stories on his author tour. His unpretentious, experience-based guidelines should gain good word-of-mouth in the business world. While his approach will be too New Age for some, detractors can't argue with his success.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Senior vice president at Starbucks in the mid-1990s, Bedbury should know all about branding. Here are his secrets.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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23 Reviews

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4.4 out of 5 stars (23 customer reviews)

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4.0 out of 5 stars Halifax Chamber of Commerce Book Club, Mar 18 2005

By

Kenneth Young "Slooow Foot" (Greenville, WI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: New Brand World (Hardcover)

What's It About
The book takes the importance of branding to a new depth as it raises awareness of how a matured brand and its genetic makeup create an ever lasting experience between a business and it customers. It places much emphasis on the author's experience in the world of big business, so we caution readers that it has no mention of small business. It is a set of principles that can help improve a company's brand beyond a logo and letterhead. The author explains how a brand lends itself to everything from the day to day operations of a business right down to the smallest detail. A brand cannot be defined by any one thing. Whether a brand is built unwittingly or purposely, it can be subject to criticism, dilution, or it may achieve greatness. This book gives many examples of the principles he presents, giving a lasting experience and emphasizing the gravity of each principle.

Overall
The author is at the top of his vocation. He shares an insider's view of a decade spent developing both the "just do it" brand with Nike and helping Starbucks become an internationally known coffee experience. It was disappointing in the lack of examples of building brands in SME's and largely represents only one viewpoint. The members felt that it was a worth while read and they recommend it to others with the warning that this does not place any emphasis on SME. It gives valuable principles and important examples for building a brand that can evolve over time with a business's beliefs and values. The book was creative, sustaining, and it maintained the interest of our readers.

Style
The book was very well written and the principles flowed in an intuitive manner. It is not a handbook or guide to building and implementing a brand, but an overview of the principles involved in developing and nurturing a brand that delivers the essence of a company. The book clarified what a brand is for those members with limited knowledge in the area and included many stories on household names and their pursuit to stay on top.

Applicability to the Workplace
Even though this book focused on larger corporations, the information is valuable for organizations of all sizes and everyone felt that they will remember the book for years to come. The book explained the thought process behind building a great brand and stressed the importance of having a brand no matter the size. Everyone and everything has a brand, figuring out what the brand is and how it is to be executed successfully is another story. The book helps to raise and answer some of these questions, and its principles provide a foundation for building and maintaining a solid brand.

Rating
The opinion of the book and its rating did not vary much. Everyone gave it a credible value and the team felt it was one of the top books on branding. The club gave an overall rating of 7.9.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Packed With Knowledge!, Jun 3 2004

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Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: New Brand World (Hardcover)

This pretty good book about brands and brand management is not as neat and orderly as the subtitle suggests - the so-called "8 principles" are rather vague meandering digressions. But the digressions are immensely entertaining and even educational. Learning how Nike and Starbucks handle marketing is quite worthwhile. Of course, the author oversimplifies, over-promises and over-promotes himself. But what do you expect of a marketing maven? The book's big virtue is that it repeatedly reinforces the fact that brand building boils down to having the common sense to think first about what you are trying to accomplish, and then set about doing it without getting distracted. How simple to say, how hard to do. If you want to try, we say this is just the book for you to read over your morning cup of coffee from guess who.

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5.0 out of 5 stars This may be the best book on branding ever written, Nov 26 2003

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Bing Right "22152" (Minneapolis, MN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: New Brand World (Hardcover)

I have read dozens and dozens of books on branding. They are largely worthless drivel. I have taught marketing, pr and advertising for 20 years in addition to owning and running an agency for eleven years. This is the best book on branding I have ever read by far. A New Brand World is well written, insightful and filled with brilliant examples of how it is actually done by a master.

If you care about branding you must read this book. I gave a copy to every employee in my agency.

I'd give it six stars but they won't let me.

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3.0 out of 5 stars BRANDING, FOR EXECUTIVES. READ IT FOR THE CASE STUDIES.
It is difficult to review a book that one has enjoyed reading and then say that it was not up to the mark (in terms, of course, of only my expectations. Read more

Published on Oct 14 2003 by Shashank Tripathi