The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding: How to Build a Product or Service Into a World-Class Brand [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

Laura Ries (Author), Al Ries (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1998

The only way to stand out in today's -- and tomorrow's -- cluttered marketplace is to build your product or service into a brand. Think Nike, Starbuck's, Xerox, and Kleenex, and you're thinking brands in the biggest and most lucrative sense. In The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding, marketing guru Al Ries, together with Laura Ries, has put together the authoritative work on brands and branding -- organized in a short, pithy book that can be read and digested in as brief a time as an airplane ride.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

As it becomes increasingly associated with impressive corporate gains realized in recent years by companies ranging from FedEx and Rolex to Starbucks and Volvo, "branding" has developed into one of the marketing world's hottest concepts. And for good reason, contend well-known strategist Al Ries and his daughter Laura Ries in The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding: How to Build a Product or Service into a World-Class Brand.

"Marketing is building a brand in the mind of the prospect," they write. "If you can build a powerful brand you will have a powerful marketing program. If you can't, then all the advertising, fancy packaging, sales promotion and public relations in the world won't help you achieve your objective." A no-holds-barred look at a diverse collection of successful--and not-so-successful--branding efforts undertaken by these and other high-profile firms, their book distills the most critical principles involved into a series of clear rules with straightforward titles such as The Law of Expansion, The Law of Contraction, The Law of Consistency, and The Law of Mortality. While some of their suggestions may at first seem counterintuitive, together they compose a logical blueprint for success in today's ever-more-competitive environment. --Howard Rothman

Review

"Al Ries demonstrates that marketers need two skills: building a brand and keeping it alive. Through stellar company profiles and keen insights, this book will show them how, whether they're entrepreneurs or seasoned veterans." -- Philip Kotler, Professor of International Marketing, J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University

"Al Ries's laws of marketing turned my software company into a worldwide brand and the dominant player in a whole new software category. Anyone looking to market their company successfully has to read The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding." -- Patrick M. Sullivan, CEO, SalesLogix

"I could only wish that I'd had access to this book at the start of my career, the insights it provides are indispensable to anyone seeking to build their business into a recognized brand." -- Philip J. Romano, CEO, Romano Enterprises

"This book is like a synthesizer. Using an impressive list of the world's best-known brands, it fine tunes the art of branding to its optimum levels, enabling you to make the right marketing decisions with utmost confidence." -- Scott Kay, CEO, Scott Kay Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers; 1st edition (October 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0887309372
• ISBN-13: 978-0887309373
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (113 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #135,085 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #31 in Books > Business & Investing > Marketing & Sales > Marketing > Industrial
  • #51 in Books > Business & Investing > Marketing & Sales > Marketing > Product Management

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

103 of 111 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Then 1 Immutable Law of Al Ries, July 5, 2000

By 

Steve Finnie - See all my reviews

This review is from: The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding: How to Build a Product or Service Into a World-Class Brand (Hardcover)

Focus. Don't do a line extension to save your life.

OK, this book is great and should be read by anyone involved in marketing (I mean come on, who doesn't have the 3 hours it takes to read this book). Unfortunately one serious drawback is that he uses plenty of examples to support his claims. Huh? Why is that a negative? Here's why: because it gets the reader to think of plenty of counter-examples that contradict his points. As another reviewer suggested the claim of "immutable" laws of marketing is a bit bold, but what the book does provide is food for thought in a highly readable context.

You gotta give the guy credit though. He takes a stand. And there's a lot to be said for taking a viewpoint and standing by it in today's middle of the road world.

If you don't feel up to reading "Focus," "Positioning," or some of the other texts by Al Ries, this one provides a lot of the insights in bite size pieces.

Despite the knocks against it listed above there are a few points worth acknowledging: 1. Al Ries is a legend in marketing. 2. It's a good, fun read with many useful examples worth keeping in mind when developing marketing strategies. 3. By reading it for yourself you can develop examples to refute a lot fo the laws and move along the path towards critically evaluating branding strategies.

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Close...but NO cigar!, April 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding: How to Build a Product or Service Into a World-Class Brand (Hardcover)

Overall, this is a good read. But, don't fall into the robotic trap of believing EVERYTHING you read! Take what is good from this book (and there is some) and digest it with all your marketing AND common sense wisdom. The author claims that "symbols" are really NOT that important!... This sort of reckless disinformation only furthers the authors 'hidden agenda?' I have been a top international brand manager for numerous household names the past 35 years and I can tell you without a doubt that "SYMBOLS SELL." Now, don't get me wrong, I am not implying that the symbol is everything, but, A BAD, UNPROFESSIONAL AND CHEAPLY ACQUIRED LOGO DESIGN CAN SEVERELY AND SOMETIMES IRREVERSIBLY KILL YOUR BEST MARKETING EFFORTS OVER A PERIOD OF TIME. I have fallen victim to this problem more than once. Don't let it happen to you too!! We are a visual species; our unique and wonderful genetic disposition as humans endows us with the great gift of an advanced visual cortex within our brains. We see, we react, we think. But, by the time we get around to thinking, our subconscious mind has already assimilated a mountain of data about what we just took in. We innately gravitate towards that which is appealing to us visually; whether it be someone of the opposite sex or our favorite product (or LOGO) which captures our fancy in a magical way. Examples of logos like these are too numerous to mention here. Just look around your own little universe and "see" what it is that you yourself have become attached to over the years and think..."why?" The bottom line is this: Don't cut corners when it comes time to position your product or service in the global marketplace. A world class logo done right should be one of the FIRST things considered BEFORE launching your new product, business or service. You wouldn't set off to run a marathon with shoes from Wal-Mart. - Would you?? Shame on you, Al and Laura Ries for your gross error of judgement regarding the REAL WORLD facts.

44 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent read on a key issue in business today, August 22, 2002

By 

Dan E. Ross "Dan Ross" (Frisco, Tx USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding: How to Build a Product or Service Into a World-Class Brand (Hardcover)

The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding was primarily written by Laura Ries - Al Ries was a co-author on the book - in case anyone didn't know. Such information is available at their website. I rank this book a solid 5 star book because the insights / examples provided far outweigh any concerns / problems I found with the book. This book caused me to look at advertising / marketing from a different perspective in my daily life which is what I use to evaluate if something is a 5 star book

I loved The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding for the following reasons:

1. It flat out states the importance of marketing & branding, which is important to separate in the readers' mind before beginning. As they state "Marketing is building a brand in the mind of the prospect. If you can build a powerful brand you will have a powerful marketing program. If you can't, then all the advertising, fancy packaging, sales promotion and public relations in the world won't help you achieve your objective."

2. The Ries' call it like they see it. Excellent examples of marketing / advertising stupidity / effectiveness are provided.

3. They talk about the plethora of products that are produced each year.

4. They discuss how businesses must get inside a consumer's mind (AKA positioning) to win the war. Volvo = safety, BMW = Ultimate Driving Machine, Mercedes = prestige, Toyota = Reliability, Ford = ?, Chevy = ?. The Ries' clearly spell out an excellent reason as to why the U.S. automanufacturers are getting killed.

5. The book illustrates, as did the 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, how companies dilute their brands through line extensions (I personally believe this due to my personal experience / buying patterns and observations of others.)

6. They point out the increasing importance of PR (public relations) compared to advertising. This is the subject of a new book by the father / daughter. Basically PR launches a product and advertising gives it life support is their main assertion.

I disliked The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding for the following reasons:

1. Overlap from prior books is definitely occurring. I have noticed this with Jack Trout's recent books too. I would estimate that 15% - 20%, at a minimum, of Trout's recent books and this book have been stated in one form or another in their prior works.

2. Some of the examples provide clearly refute other examples provided. On page 100 they state "the Mustang and former CEO of Chrysler Corporation (two powerful brand names.) In prior examples the authors clearly state that the brand is the maker of the company. Volvo = safety, BMW = driving machine, etc (you will find such features in all their vehicles -maybe not in Volvos convertible.) What does Chrysler stand for again? Minivans? I haven't exactly noticed it in their advertising......for a long time...

Conclusion: Buy the book. It is well worth the time and money. Most of my reviews are in business / economics and I encourage people to read them, whether here on Amazon or at my personal website. If you are interested in another good marketing book I highly recommend Differentiate or Die by Jack Trout or Seth Godin's book on permission marketing / launching an ideavirus. If you are interested in other subjects I would encourage you to read The Worldly Philosophers by Robert Heilbroner if you are interested in economic history - the book is international in scope and deals with the lives and times of the most famous economists in history. If you are interested in economic development / evolution of U.S. property history I would encourage you to read Hernando DeSoto's Mystery of Capital but note his lack of focus on corruption in certain countries. A great general business book is by the management guru Peter Drucker entitled "The Essential Drucker."