Customer Reviews

B2B Brand Management

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It is good to have, finally, professional efforts to grasp the notion of B2B branding. I find that the Kotler-Pfoertsch book is worth buying, reading and studying. B2B practitioners will find new and useful concepts, but i would recommend a few ideas for the following editions:
1. The book needs to organize the myriad of terms and definitions that are spread all around the chapters. I counted more than 50 different terms for branding management just placed somewhere and highlighted in bold case. It is a bit disconcerting.
2. B2B examples need to be real hard core industrial ones. Most of the examples come from "retail-close-enough" marketing efforts that are much easier to work since they are closer to the final consumer (Samsung, Fedex, Intel, Michelin, Phillips, Domino's Pizza, UPS, Citibank, UBS, DHL, Caterpillar, Bosch, Mercedes, Marriott, etc). However, Tata steel is an excellent case, as well as some German ones. I wonder about replacing some examples with a few that are far back in the industrial chain: Codelco (cupper), Gerdau (Steel), Alcan (alumminum), etc.
3. I have often wondered why branding theory, in particular branding positioning, tries to run in parallel with the company's overall positioning. It is as if having "a life on its own", which in industrial markets is a dangerous thing to propose.

Claudio Saavedra, MBA., PhD
Professor of Industrial Marketing
Santiago - Chile
[...]

Given the lack of good content on B2B marketing, not to mention B2B branding, and Mr Kotler's reputation, I was expecting much from this book. It was a disappointment. As said by a previous reviewer, the book doesn't really concentrate on the B2B field, using many well known examples of consumer brands. This wouldn't be a problem if these cases were used to present a contrast to the real B2B ones, helping to clarify the specificities of B2B branding, but I couldn't find anything like this in the book. The application of branding concepts (mostly derived from D. Aaker's work) to the B2B arena remains superficial. And many typos and inconsistencies show a less than rigorous edition work.

Philip Kotler, one of the fathers of modern marketing, and Waldemar Pfoertsch do not push the branding envelope in this book, but it is nevertheless a useful text on B2B branding - and in fact on branding in general. They illustrate their points with numerous, interesting and relevant real-world examples, as well as with a surfeit of diagrams and charts, and they go into great detail about the nuances of brand building, maintenance and architecture. Unfortunately, the book's real strengths make the noticeable typos especially jarring. getAbstract recommends this work to students and to early-career marketers who want to understand why and how businesses need to build better brands.

It was easier to buy this product online than in school, so I did. It's a pretty cut and dry textbook with lots of case studies so if that helps you study then its good. It does talk a lot about business to business branding, but many of the concepts covered are also basic advertising stuff. It just delves a little deeper.

A valuable read for B2B marketers looking to create the same valuable brand loyalty enjoyed by consumer brands.

Who can really criticize a guru like Philip Kotler? He is the father of marketing and he never says things without a deep professional knowledge. But his academicisms sometimes seem more booring than effective...

Philip Kotler, one of the titans of modern marketing and Waldemar Pfoertsch, a Professor for International Business at the Pforzheim University in Germany have collaborated on a new book that is destined to become a classic. B2B Brand Management covers a lot of territory and has some great case histories.

The authors don't pull any punches in taking on the B2B branding issue claiming "most B2B companies share a modest growth rate throughout their whole lifetime." Their indictment about why these companies do not achieve "acceleration" (successful growth) rests squarely on management not embracing brand management leadership. The authors praise companies like Microsoft and Intel "for having the guts" to buy into the idea (branding)". They lament, "Unfortunately, this (brand leadership from top management ) doesn't happen often enough in B2B companies." Ouch! Tough Love. If you work in the B2B space, you should read it. So should your CEO.

It's just like a bible of branding.This book includes all the strategies for brand management that a business man or student should know. Latest information and analysis helps a lot when making branding decision.