Customer Reviews

The Brand Mindset: Five Essential Strategies for Building Brand Advantage Throughout Your Company

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Brand Mindset is an excellant book! Duane shares his insight and branding expertise in a very easy manner. Many business, and marketing books are "lecture focused", the written version of listen and dictation. Duane's Brand Mindset is written in a conversational manner. You feel included in a discussion, not just black & white text. The case studies used, help put the principles of each chapter into real life context. This book certainly belongs in the library of anyone interested in marketing, branding, or building a strong business. A very important book.

If your organization does not have a living Brand Strategy Doctrine--you are dead--period. The Brand Mindset is the best business book on the market today that provides a clear, easy to follow path to focusing your organization's efforts towards a single point of difference. Duane Knapp provides essential insight into the mechanics of building a succesful brand, in order to differentiate your product and service in the market, grow sales and increase shareholder value. A must read for executives of all levels.

Most of the time, when someone asks about "brand" they are really talking about marketing or advertising. In fact, most organizations believe that advertising and "brand" are the same things. Unfortunately, this couldn't be further from the truth because advertising is simply one of the many possible messages that a brand could send as opposed to the heart and soul of an organization which is its "brand." The Brand Mindset makes it easy for a small business owner or a corporate executive to understand and develop an effective strategy for their brand. In addition, the book has dozens of easy to understand diagrams and charts which bring the critical concepts to life.

This book clearly, concisely, and thoroughly explains why a genuine brand is a "way of life" understood and lived by everyone in an organization--not just a superficial marketing or advertising ploy. One must "think like a Brand", make a BrandPromise, communicate, live, and leverage the Brand. A strategic planning mindset is emphasized. Numerous detailed examples and graphics are provided to illustrate key concepts underlying the thought process involved in a BrandStrategy Doctrine. This book is a blueprint for understanding and applying the concept of branding to an organization. Each chapter ends with a one-page action guide. The final two chapters cover topics not found in any other book on branding: branding on the Internet, with evaluation criteria for one's website, and specific tools to aid brand developers in staying connected with customers and stakeholders. These tools include quizzes, questionnaires, and checklists. No stone is left unturned to stress the importance of the brand in achieving excellent customer service, as each employee represents the brand. For example, how to answer the phone and how to most effectively communicate nonverbally are discussed, in order to "live the BrandPromise". This goes well beyond what I would have expected from a book on this subject. If you wish to buy only one book on branding from what is available, buy this one. It is comprehensive yet easy and fun to read, and makes not just the planning, but the execution and continual evaluation of a BrandStrategy seem quite "doable". After reading The Brand MindSet, I believed that any company could follow in the footsteps of other successfully branded companies.

I have been working on branding since last spring, and expect to complete the process next spring...it's quite an undertaking!!! I work for the American Water Resources Association and am in charge of the entire image-building process. I attended an ASAE Brand Science clinic conducted by Duane Knapp, which was excellent. I also have his book and two others: Brand Leadership by Aaker, and 22 Immutable Laws of Branding, by Al and Laura Reis. All 3 books have helped me greatly, but Knapp's book is by far the most helpful.

Although I am owner and operator of a quaint establishment in a small suburban town, I wanted the community and the world to know about the image I was creating for my product. The Brand Mindset was the vehicle I used to transport my thinking and my product to developing the brand recognition I wanted. It was very informative and clearly instructive. Chapter four, "The Brand Promise" was particularly beneficial. The format , compared to other brand strategy books was superior in conveying the steps to establishing product recognition. An absolute for the serious entrepreneur.

I purchased The BrandMindset to use as a reference for a marketing project I was working on for my MBA program. However, I wish that I had this book when I was working as a marketing communications manager. The BrandMindset clearly illustrates why brand strategy must be incorporated into every business function. The book demonstrates why in today's competitive environment, a company's brand is crucial in providing product distinction. A brand's promise must be delivered in all aspects of the business, not just promoted in advertisements or logos. As a student, I especially liked the real-world examples and brand-profiles included in each chapter. They helped to present a clear picture of how this process is applied and proof of its success.

The treasure lies in the last chapter in which the author has provided several tools and sample documents for a company to use when mapping out their own BrandStrategy. Everyone from the executive to the receptionist should read this book, and I would strongly recommend it as a current resource to anyone studying marketing or management.

Duane Knapp provides an excellent discussion of the "mindset" and emotion behind building a brand that fulfills its promise to the customer. I have successfully used The Brand Mindset along with Aaker's Brand Leadership in my MBA course in High Technology Marketing and Brand Management. It is full of great concepts and examples and definitely worth reading.

The book has nothing that branding professionals have not heard 1000 times before. The online "chapter" lists to-dos with bullet points. From an average online marketer this task would take appr. 5 minutes. Though, the book has some good branding examples.

The BrandMindset is an excellent tool for any company competing in the global marketplace of today. Branding is not simply part of a long term business plan, but a fundamental philosophy that must penetrate every aspect of an organization for it to succeed in the eyes of the consumer. The BrandMindset takes you step by step to give any organization the roadmap and tools necessary to achieve ultimate branding success.