Customer Reviews

Accidental Branding: How Ordinary People Build Extraordinary Brands

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Once, I was reading Accidental Branding on the subway and two twenty-ish European women sitting by me paused to check out the book. "It's an interesting title," said the brunette.

The next day I was at UPS and a 30-something mother entered with her three-year-old. She asked to see the book, as it turned out she had Thanksgiving dinner with the author.

Later, I went to The Art of Shaving. This wasn't so accidental, as the company is prominently featured in the book as one of seven "accidental brands," which means it fits three criteria, according to author David Vinjamuri:

1. It was created by someone not trained in marketing.
2. The creator must experience the problem the brand solved (eg the co-founder of Art of Shaving experienced nasty razor burn).
3. The individual must control the brand for at least 10 years.

I was so captivated by the story of Shaving founders Myriam Zaoui and Eric Malka and so troubled over my own inability to get a decent shave that, as I was finishing the book, I took the subway to the nearest Art of Shaving store on East 62nd Street, the original store they opened. As the book hadn't been released yet, the store manager Angelo wasn't aware of it, but he was excited to glance at the chapter featuring his store. Fifteen minutes later, I learned enough from Angelo to attempt to try a new way of shaving at home, spending more than I ever have in my life on skin care products in the process.

Now, that has much more to do with the brand than the book, but it also gets to what makes the book so compelling. Vinjamuri tells seven stories of accidental brands: J. Peterman, craigslist, Clif Bar, The Art of Shaving, Columbia Sportswear, Baby Einstein, and Burt's Bees. Perhaps more than any individual brand's story, I'll remember the storytelling. Each story's told with affection, and the tone shifts ever so slightly for each one, from the wilderness of Peterman to the trailblazing Clif Bar to the high class shaving to the bucolic Burt's Bees.

And then again, I'm just falling for a trap. The brand's founders are the stars of nearly every page of the book, and their personalities, as captured by Vinjamuri, shoot of this magnetism.

This is not a how-to book. Yes, there is some advice up front to tie it all together, six characteristics of accidental brands and their creators. While that's necessary in a business book and the book would feel lacking without it, one can understand why he puts it up front and keeps the afterward brief. You get your formal education out of the way, and then you get to really learn from experience - the experience of the accidental branders.

Entrepreneurs will find the most inspiration here, as will most in the marketing field. The storytelling merits an even wider audience.

You won't need this to complete your MBA or successfully run a marketing department, but you may well find some added inspiration to keep doing what you're doing, or perhaps pursue a passion of yours with more zeal than you've had before.

All the companies David Vinjamuri profiles in Accidental Branding are strongly associated with an individual. These individuals have seen their brands develop over time and have a personal journey with the brand that is intertwined with their lives.

What David tries to show is that all these brands have developed a (sometimes small) group of dedicated followers who stuck with the brand even through rough times. Since the brand/business is so personal to the owners he profiled, there is an innate sense of quality and pride that leaks out and the brand authenticity is built in.

The companies that he profiles are all brands that you've heard of like Columbia Sportswear and Baby Einstein as well as lesser known but popular brands like Clif Bar and the Art of Shaving. My favorite chapters of the book were his discussions with Craig Newmark of Craigslist, Roxanne Quimby of Burt's Bees (he also talked to Burt), and my fellow Kentuckian - John Peterman of J. Peterman.

The book is not a typical business book. It consists of several good stories that are enjoyable even if people don't care about branding. David doesn't preach mantra in the stories. He just lays them out well and lets you learn what is obvious to you. He does begin and end the book with some of his own gleanings from his visits. Another great thing about the book is that you don't have to read sequentially (I didn't), but just take the stories and ingest them one at a time.

If you're beginning to build a brand or stepping back to take a new look at a current brand, this would be a good book to start reading.

I love business, I love stories about entrepreneurs, and I love this book.

I want to know, "Who are the founders of a business? How did they start? How did they build their first product, sell to their first customer and hire their first employee? How did they build something of enduring value out of ideas, determination, ability and luck?" Accidental Branding tells how.

The talented David Vinjamuri tells these vivid stories based on thorough research, including personal journeys to the entrepreneurs' homes and headquarters. The characters spring to life, with all their passions, successes, foibles and failures on full display.

The dramatic conflict of these stories starts with the premise: these entrepreneurs began with no money, no connections and no training, but somehow developed a crystal clear image of their company's mission and an overflowing passion for quality.

It reminds me of the wise career advice: if you have passion without skill, you're a fan; if you have passion and skill but no customers, you have a hobby; if you have passion, skill and customers, you have a career. These entrepreneurs created the careers they dreamed of.

The only problem with the book is it's too short. I can't wait for the sequel.

I'm a partner in a medium-sized business and have little marketing background. By reading this book, I hoped to better understand branding and also hoped to generate some practical ideas to help my company grow. Vinjamuri's book is a home run. In a clear, self-effacing style, he cuts through the marketing-speak and makes a strong case for the essential elements of successful branding. The book helped me to realize that a relatively small, ignored, part of my business has the makings of an "Accidental Brand". And even better, the book bolstered my confidence that I can make it grow significantly despite my lack of formal training.

I liked the book a lot. I'm starting a business and I found the stories educational, inspiring, as well as entertaining. The author goes through a number of entrepreneurs and their experiences from the beginning. He talks about how the idea came about, the struggles, lucky breaks, etc. If you're starting a business, I would read this book.

This book is absolutely inspiring for anyone looking to launch a business, not for the money but because you recognize a need. Turns out, when you have passion behind it, you will probably make a lot of money anyway. This book is about entrepreneurs who stayed true to themselves and to the product they wanted to create. Its refreshing when everything else you come across makes it seem like you have to sell your soul to be successful in business. I highly recommend this book to anyone with a small business and big dreams.

I found this book to be just the motivation I needed to move forward with my business. It took less than two hours to read the entire book. I was able to relate the stories to my own life and business. I found the book fascinating and exciting! Great for any new business owner.

In Accidental Branding, David profiles the leaders of several companies whose brands took off seemingly out of nowhere and succeeded in different, but amazing ways. The people he profiles include Gary Erickson of Clif Bar, Julie Clark of Baby Einstein, Roxanne Quimby of Burt's Bees, John Peterman who created the J. Peterman brand and Craig Newmark who founded Craigslist. David qualifies an Accidental Brand as one that passes three tests:

1. An individual who is not trained in marketing must create the brand.
2. This individual must experience the problem that the brand solves.
3. The individual must control the brand for at least 10 years.

The great news for all of us is we can create a great brand regardless of whether we came from a wealthy family or attended an Ivy League university. Some of the people profiled did not even go to college.

To take an idea and make something great requires determination and focused intention. The people profiled in Accidental Branding offer great examples of how anyone can, by following sound principles, create something great. I highly recommend you add Accidental Branding to your reading list.

I'm hesitant to call this book business journalism (though it is, and a first-rate example of the genre at that),for fear that this designation may turn off potential readers looking for analysis by a branding expert, or a how-to guide to building brands from the ground up.
Read the book, however, and you will find that it covers all three bases in brilliant style. Vinjamuri writes like a pro, and his individual chapters on start-from-scratch brand pioneers read like New Yorker profiles. At base, he's a storyteller, but in the tales he tells there are profound lessons about the importance of listening to customers, of getting the relationship right, and of creating resonant brands that thrive at the heart of committed and loyal communities.
Don't expect dry and reasoned dissections of the brands Vinjamuri covers. That's not what this book is about. But you will learn by example, because the not-so-ordinary people he profiles are true experts, and because they have learned by trial-and-error and come through as winners.

First of all, this is a very nice read... very easy and understandable from page one. Flows very easily, maybe because you get to connect with the stories of brands being built with no BS attached.

David does a great job showing that brands interact with people and not consumers, thus, those corporate formulas that I and so many people learn don't always apply.

The only real warning about this book is that you shouldn't buy it expecting a truly explanatory text. It focuses on the stories of the entrepreneurs and how they influenced the brands they launched, not trying to show in detail every challenge the company faced. The point is to show it is possible to build brands with a human feel; brands that have soul and actually solve real problems and tackle real issues (and that you're in trouble if you're not doing it with your brands).

He is successful doing that.