Edited by Geoffrey P. Lantos Brand Aid (1st ed.)

Citation

Alpan, B. (2005), "Edited by Geoffrey P. Lantos Brand Aid (1st ed.)", Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 14 No. 3, pp. 211-211. https://doi.org/10.1108/10610420510601085

In this book, VanAuken provides his readers with a quick reference guide to the world of marketing and brand management. He starts with a sound description of brand management and builds the context up to creating a “brand centric” organization. Brand Aid is not a book based on concepts and theories. It takes a practical approach to outlining the major brand management concepts and supports these concepts with real‐world examples, “Did you know?” facts, and even tool kits for managers involved in managing a brand.

Brand Aid is organized in eight parts, more in a reference book format, with different parts not necessarily building up on each other (although a new student of brand management would definitely benefit from the book more if s/he follows the book's sequential order). Each part has sub‐chapters that explore the different areas of the parent concept.

Part 1 is “Introduction to brand management”. Here, VanAuken familiarizes his readers with the basic terminology of brand management before he proceeds to Part 2, which is “Designing the brand”. This is where the fun starts as the author begins to explore concepts like target customer definition, market segmentation, competitive understanding, brand design, and positioning. He enhances these concepts with quick tips, techniques and also self‐assessment checklists to involve his readers with the material and get them thinking about their own brands.

Part 3, “Building the brand”, is by far the richest and most rewarding section of the book. It goes into more elaborate brand challenges such as brand loyalty, brand advertising, non‐traditional brand marketing, brand building on the Internet, integrated brand marketing, and, last but not the least, developing a “brand building” organization. I found Part 3 to be the most inspiring and mind‐opening section for managers with substantial brand management experience. VanAuken's expertise on internet marketing shines in this section, as he takes you through the nuts and bolts of building and enhancing your brand on‐line, an area with unseized potential for many brand managers. The segmentation of internet users (adventurer, expert, investigator, and wanderer) and strategies to reach different types of users provide handy tools when managers are trying to identify ways to break through the clutter on the internet and get their message across to their target consumers. This whole section is filled with dos and don'ts of internet marketing, which is an effective and practical approach to teach the basics of on‐line brand management. Part 3 is not only confined to “internet branding” in terms of providing refreshing ideas to empower your brand. The integrated marketing techniques and the non‐traditional ways of marketing are sure to stir up your thinking. VanAuken also emphasizes the importance of a brand‐centric organization in this chapter. He discusses this vital, but usually overlooked issue, and provides his readers with key tools to develop a brand‐building organization.

Part 4, “Leveraging the brand” is a light read after the wealth of information you absorb in Part 3. “Global branding”, presented as a chapter in Part 4, was the low point for me in this book as I believe that it is such a rich and complex subject that the eight pages VanAuken spared for the subject matter did not do it justice. I would have liked to have seen more success and failure stories in this chapter as there is nothing more mind‐opening than real life examples when it comes to understanding the dynamics of global branding and the challenges that come with it.

Part 5, “Brand metrics” deserves much attention. VanAuken lays out the basic research methodologies and what a brand manager needs to know about his/her brand to make the right strategic investment choices. “You can't manage what you can't measure” (p. 227) sums up the key lesson. VanAuken stresses the importance of measuring ROI on brand investments like any other investment. He also warns his readers about the possible measurement flaws that might exist in brand evaluation techniques already used by managers. As VanAuken puts it, “A brand is an asset, and one of the important assets in creating long term value for the organization. Build the brand, sustain it, and leverage it.” (p. 240)

Part 6, “Other brand management considerations” deals with two issues: how organization size and age affect brand management issues and also the legal matters that concern practicing brand managers and brand organizations. I found the chapter on “Legal issues” especially helpful for those who want to brush up on the key definitions and distinctions of trade mark, tradedress, copyright, trade secret and also false/deceptive advertising.

Part 7, “A management summary” pulls together the key lessons from each chapter in a problem‐analysis format. Part 8, “Appendix” provides brand students with additional to enable them go beyond what Brand Aid offers.

I found Brand Aid especially useful for managers and students who have recently entered the world of branding and marketing. The book covers a wide variety of subjects and therefore does not necessarily elaborate on each subject as much as a senior manager may want to see. In my opinion, Part 3, which almost constitutes one‐third of the book, was by far the most relevant and useful part for experienced brand managers. If you are a beginner in the world of branding, you will find Brand Aid an enjoyable and helpful read to get you started. For a seasoned brand manager, Brand Aid will prove itself to be a source of fresh ideas and new ways of thinking.