Customer Reviews

Brand Harmony: Achieving Dynamic Results by Orchestrating Your Customer's Total Experience

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If you've ever thought that maybe branding was something more than a cool logo, a catchy slogan, or a big advertising campaign, this book is definitely for you. In "Brand Harmony," Steve Yastrow shows how all the experiences customers have with a company color their impression of its brand--a fact which is just as true for a mom-and-pop flower shop as it is for McDonald's and Coca-Cola. In fact, this book is probably more relevant to smaller companies that don't have enormous ad budgets, because it demonstrates how advertising is really only a small part of how brand impressions are formed--not even the most important part. If this book doesn't get you thinking about the importance of branding and how you can do a better job of creating positive impressions in your customers' minds, you weren't paying attention. "Brand Harmony" isn't just the management fad of the week--it's a business philosophy that will impact every area of your business (if you do it right). Kudos to Steve, and hats off to all the business owners and managers who "get it."

...for marketers of all kinds. As a small business owner in the Bay Area, my associates, and friends have been struggling to "get the word out" in a cost-efficient way, about our businesses. Mr. Yastrow's work has been just what the doctor ordered. He covers everything from marketing brainstorming sessions to direct mail campaigns, but mostly he helps tie it all together with cohesive visions of our organizations' core missions. I'm hoping that, in exchange for writing this review, Mr. Yastrow will keep me on his mailing list.

In Brand Harmony, Steve Yastrow has created an important and enduring work that should be required reading for CEOs of companies large and small.

Concise and well-written, Yastrow presents the case that, in essence, marketing is too important to be left only to the marketing department...that in fact, every touchpoint between companies and consumers is what forms the brand experience. Therefore, each of those touchpoints, well beyond advertising and promotion -- the often-endless introductory phone menu to your call centers, the can't-help-you attitude of your ticket agents, the sanitary conditions of your fast food bathrooms, and the like -- all need to be strategized and managed to create consistent, harmonious brand experience.

Brand Harmony is an eye-opening primer for creating organizations which understand that everyone has a role to play in building effective brand experiences, and powerful brands.

This book outlines in very simple steps how your organization can attain "Brand Harmony." It appears to be a simple concept, but his book will walk you through this detailed process. This book also shows the importance of everyone in the organization to the branding process. It's way more than just marketing materials - you have to start internally!

I think this was the most clear and insightful book on marketing and branding I have read. Steve really applies a strategy that focuses on your company internally as well as externally. What I like most is that you can see how his strategy will help your company reach their bottom line goals- BRAVO!

If Seth Godin is the most intuitive marketer today and Jesper Kunde the most analytical, Steve Yastrow is indeed the 'best option' for everyone involved with developing a Brand -and that is in fact Marketing-.

He understands Brands as a rich reality, the whole aggregate of the customer's interactions with a company's activity. Beyond advertising and even physical product, everything counts when it comes to build a great brand.

But the true merits of the book rely on it's pedagogic value:

- He shows a whole working dynamic which includes analysis, planning, execution and even a way of being so exciting that few books resist the comparison.

- You will understand where he wants to reach because his explaining method is easy to follow. It's the simplicity of the one who masters a subject.

Great buy!

In spite of the fact that I've been involved in advertising, sales & marketing for the past 12 years, I learned so much from this well written book. Steve Yastrow solves the frustrations companies (large & small) feel with every dollar they spend on marketing wondering if it will work and if it's sending the right message. Unlike most marketing books, Yastrow reminds readers about the importance of internal marketing and the stories he shares as examples are eye opening.

I really thought I knew what marketing was, but Yastrow put a new spin on things for me and had me think in ways that are going to impact my business for years to come. It's unfortunate that it will be tough to put a dollar figure to what I learned and will now incorporate into my small business, but if I had to guess, I'd say reading his $20 book will put tens of thousands of dollars into my pocket in the coming years (I can only imagine what the numbers could be for a large corporation!).

Brand Harmony shows clearly how marketing is for everyone-- not just the marketing department and certainly not just for large corporations. Author Steve Yastrow kept with his theme by writing a book that is accessible to all audiences, from the CEO to the service technicians. The book is filled with examples and practical advice of how to practice brand harmony in your own business. Anyone in business should read this book. In fact, I distributed copies of it to my colleagues throughout my small organization and would recommend others do the same.

I'm thinking about burning this one. If it wasn't for the burning sensation in my eyes from reading the same dull, "Be the Brand, Raw, Raw, look at me being the brand!" I would toss this one into the lake but fear it would pollute our water supply. Can you imagine all the brainless Executives running around spewing tag lines from this book? The, "I get it, I want it, I can't get it anywhere else" line made me vomit. You don't get it Steve. You just don't get it, but you CAN get a serious case of hemroids from reading this book.