Brand Simple: How the Best Brands Keep it Simple and Succeed

Citation

Dupree, J. (2008), "Brand Simple: How the Best Brands Keep it Simple and Succeed", Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 17 No. 1, pp. 59-60. https://doi.org/10.1108/10610420810856549

Allen Adamson presents a series of “case studies” on how successful companies have managed their brands, and where the not‐so‐successful companies went wrong. Drawing on decades of personal experience working with a variety of clients in various industries, he begins with a primer on what branding is all about, its development, and how recent changes in the marketplace have impacted the practice of branding (Part 1, Chapters 1‐3). Then, Adamson lays out five simple branding steps (Part II, Chapters 4‐8, and he closes with his “top ten BrandSimple list” (Chapter 9) and a concluding summary of the book (Chapter 10). To maximize your “take‐aways” from the book, I recommend you read the introduction, the transitional section header for Part II, and then Chapters 9 and 10, as these preview and provide a “simple” summary of his fundamental arguments.

Clearly written and abundantly illustrated with personal and industry‐based cases of companies facing the challenges of discovering and managing their brand, BrandSimple, is a basic book on the concept and execution of branding. The author succeeded at simplifying all the technical talk about branding. Also, Adamson's writing style reveals his experience as a practitioner who teaches. He keeps his reader tied to the real world with examples while providing clear conceptual explanations of the theory behind the practice. The reader is shown how branding is done correctly and the “why” behind the “how” and “what.” Interspersed through the first seven chapters are “exercises” where Adamson walks the reader through the application of the concept he has just explained.

An easy enjoyable read, BrandSimple would be an excellent book for someone new to marketing or looking for relatively current concrete examples of branding practice. As with all books of this type, it suffers slightly from the tendency to make the author and his firm, Landor, appear exceptionally smart at their task and very well connected. “I spoke with...” is the most common phrase used in the book, but it is usually followed by a name of stature. The clients Adamson or his firm have worked with are a veritable “who's who” of business. As a result, he has a large‐firm focus, which limits the value to the small business person. His exercises do provide bridges to the SME owner/CEO, but the small business owner will need to translate the actions of firms with larger marketing budgets into his/her own reality.

In Part 1, Adamson answers the opening question (Chapter 1) “What is a brand?” through the use of the BAV Chart (BrandAsset Valuator) he used during his time at Young &Rubicam. This tool assesses the strength and stature of a brand in terms of four pillars of a successful brand: differentiation‐relevance and esteem‐knowledge. The BAV provides both a future prediction and a prescription for action as well as extending the firm's vision of the brand. As part of this assessment, you must check the alignment of your company strategy with the delivery of the brand idea. Your brand “signals,” the messages you give the market place need to reinforce the brand message.

Chapters 2 and 3 review the history of successes and failures at branding and how the marketplace, has changed. The author's fundamental argument is that, due to the overwhelming number of choices consumers have and the cacophony of messages bombarding consumers it is critical that firms use tighter, clearer, and simpler branding messages. Consumers have changed; they have greater individual focus, live at a faster pace, are more sophisticated and knowledgeable, and are relatively dispassionate about their product choices.

A synopsis of “How Brands Succeed” introduces the second section, in which Adamson introduces his five simple steps to branding success, beginning with establishing your brand idea (Chapter 4). One of the longer chapters, it is pivotal to the process. Establishing your framework by being clear on the origin of the brand idea and the appropriate use of research to confirm its value is foundational to building and maintaining a successful brand. But, one also needs to interact with the customer on a personal level and not rely on even the best of market research. Of most value here are the two exercises and the list of examples Adamson provides. He walks the reader through both establishing one's own product's framework and getting very clear about the competition. He makes his point by exegeting example after example of how successful firms stabled their framework.

Once your brand idea is established, Adamson argues you need to understand its essence, the core idea, the brand in its simplest terms (Chapter 5). If this is not understood before moving into the marketing message, it is possible to kill the brand by promising something the brand cannot, was never designed to, deliver on. Whether it is Ebay's Town Market, GE “Brings Good Things to Life,” or the Cleveland Clinics “Complete Confidence,” the essential promise of the brand must be clear, simple, and deliverable. From this chapter, Adamson shows the reader how to determine the appropriate “brand driver;” what key words, what visuals, what “signals” provide the focus. He concludes with a list of the benefits of a strong brand driver and an admonishment to not forget the financial benefit to the customer.

The third step shifts to an internal focus (Chapter 6), from what the reader should be doing to how to engage your employees in developing and supporting the brand through their actions and words. Here, Adamson makes one of his most important points in BrandSimple: “If the people who represent the brand don't understand what drives them, they won't be able to create branding signals that resonate … (p. 133).” How many times has all the marketing effort, product development effort made by a company been completely destroyed by the ineffectual interaction between an employee and a customer? After an articulate argument as to the value of employee engagement aptly illustrated Adamson shifts gears and offers tips rather than an exercise on how to do this.

Chapters 7 and 8 apply previous material as the reader considers naming and signaling the brand. From the analysis of the brand, now we need to create the name and the message. Adamson provides an analysis of what makes a good brand, providing a half‐dozen well‐known examples of effective choices; Baby Einstein, CureSearch, Timeberland, etc. But, since we sometimes learn more from failure than success, he does an extended analysis of the branding problems inherent in Compaq's choice of brand as it tried to expand and grow product lines. Initially an effective choice, it did not lend itself to later expansion of services and product lines, leading to confusion both for the customer and employee as to just who or what Compaq was. Developing the brand message, signals, is largely illustrated by the actions of various firms: Apple, FedEx, Gatorade, etc.

Adamson drives home the message of the importance of “brand signals” in the second longest chapter of the book. As he spent the most pages laying the foundation in Step One – Establishing the Brand – he now invests in numerous examples of the concluding step – the brand message. This chapter lacks the focus and analysis of previous ones. The reader is almost buried in example after example of doing, without sufficient analysis, reflection, or an exercise on applying the lessons outlined. Again, Adamson's extensive contacts in marketing provide a rich set of examples, but the reader is largely left to draw his/her own conclusions. The value of and impact of the correct signals is noted again and again, but a coherent review or analysis of this mix of examples is missing.

While Chapters 9 and 10 and the key terms appendix are formally in Part II, they really constitute a third section, the conclusion where the plot is summarized, the characters' motivations are revealed, and all is clarified. In simple, clear terms, Adamson wraps up his ideas. I highly recommend the reader begin here after reading the introduction before mining the content of the individual chapters.