Brand America: The Mother of All Brands (Great Brand Stories series) [Paperback]

Simon Anholt (Author), Jeremy Hildreth (Author)

Book Description

Series: Great Brand Stories series | Publication Date: April 1, 2005

Offering a different, but significant, perspective on how America shapes the world, this book describes the ways in which America has become the largest and most powerful brand in the global marketplace. The three most profitable business sectors—entertainment, merchant banking, and information technology—are discussed along with the positive branding attributes that America has in abundance, including sporting prowess, technological achievement, wealth, and definitive youth lifestyle.

Each title in this series features an in-depth, biographical look at one of today's top brands, such as Guinness, Adidas, and Starbucks. The brands included have all established themselves not only as financial successes but also as cultural icons. The storytelling style and eye-catching design of the books make learning about these innovative brands stimulating and enjoyable.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Anholt and Hildreth are to be congratulated. [They] offer stimulating suggestions for how to repair our broken image." -- Philip Kotler, professor of marketing, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University

"Dynamite little book... perhaps the first truly fresh analysis of the United States and US power in half a century." -- Ojars Kalnins, director of the Latvian Institute and former ambassador to the United States

From the Inside Flap

"Enjoyable, informative and insightful from the first page to the last. This dynamite little book delivers what is perhaps the first truly fresh analysis of the United States and US power in half a century. Can one understand what's happened to America's image without reading Brand America? I frankly doubt it." -- Ojars Kalnins, director of the Latvian Institute and former ambassador to the United States.

"Anholt and Hildreth are to be congratulated for raising the issue of why Brand America is suffering a strong decline around the world. They trace American history, the values of Brand America and the growth of anti-Americanism, and offer stimulating suggestions for how to repair our broken image." -- Philip Kotler, professor of marketing, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University.

Praise for Brand America from The Observer:

Anholt and Hildreth advocate branding as an inherently peaceful and humanistic approach to international relations, because it is based on competition, consumer choice and consumer power. As such it is closely linked to principles of individual freedom and power, far more likely to lead to world peace than statecraft based on territory, economic power, ideologies, politics or religion. They show, too, that brand analysis, because it embraces both emotional and intellectual arguments, has a particular power to put America under a searching spotlight.

Brand America will not only convince you of the serious intent behind [country branding] but will also make you realize that America is indeed the mother of all brands. John Simmons

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Cyan Communications (April 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1904879020
• ISBN-13: 978-1904879022
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,465,818 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Brand America, October 15, 2007

By 

thepaxdomini "The Book Review" (Tulsa, OK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brand America: The Mother of All Brands (Great Brand Stories series) (Paperback)

The themes of Brand America are related to the question President Bush asked after 9/11: Why do they hate us? Since its inception, America has marketed itself and its culture as a brand. Looked at that way, America is the world's most powerful brand. Yet in recent years, as America's popularity has plummeted all over the globe, it is evident that this power has declined.

Brand America traces how America's brand became powerful, how it declined, and how it might strengthen again. Much of the suggestions are common sense, and are just good marketing. For example, good companies market a good product rather than dressing up a campaign for a crappy product no one wants. The U.S. has done the latter in recent years as the government has been unresponsive to any outside input, that is, the market.

Few people are aware of it, but the Smith-Mundt Act, passed in the 1940s, prohibits the government from exposing its citizens to its international propaganda. While this act has had hits value, it keeps the citizenry in the dark about what our government is doing abroad. Now, anyone can view this information on the internet, but the fact remains that no matter who is at fault, the American public has been relatively uninformed about and uninvolved in international diplomacy.

The authors do not take the "to know us is to love us" position that some mass communication scholars have, as they appear unimpressed by programs like Charlotte Beers' Shared Values Initiative.

There are many more concepts in this book on how America as a brand can and should handle itself, many of which are thought- and conversation-provoking. This book certainly would be a beneficial read to anyone the slightest bit interested in America's place in the world.

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