Customer Reviews

Emotional Branding: The New Paradigm for Connecting Brands to People

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

According to Gobe, "an Emotional Branding approach is quite simply the crucial defining element that separates success from indifference in the marketplace....[It] brings a new layer of credibility and personality to a brand by connecting powerfully with people on a personal and holistic level....Emotional Branding is more than a process or research technology; it is based on the connections between people that transcend charts and graphs. It is a culture and way of living; a fundamental belief that people are the real force in commerce and that business and the street cannot survive separately." I begin my review with this brief excerpt because, with these remarks, Gobe creates a frame of reference for his reader before providing information and insights which differentiate his book from any other on the same general subject.

After an Introduction ("Emotional Branding: Fuel for Success in the Twenty-first Century"), Gobe presents his material within four Sections and then provides a Conclusion in which he acknowledges that branding is not for everyone while asserting that branding is about cultural relevance and emotional connection, not hype. For those who are responsible for devising, launching, and then managing a successful, emotionalized brand, he suggests three "essential" ideas: 1. "Brands have life cycles. The future of a brand is defined by its relevance at any given time and by how well it can protect the values that made it great. 2. Brands are elected every day based on their emotional relevance with the public and its commitment to quality. 3. Real brands are about meaning and truth." Here are some of the questions to which Gobe responds:

1. How can a brand engage people on the level of their senses and emotions?

2. Which brands have done so most effectively? How?

3. What is the biggest misconception in branding strategies? Why?

4. What are "The Ten Commandments of Emotional Branding"?

5. Which values are unique to Baby Boomer (born 1946-64), Gen X (born 1965-76), and Gen Y (born 1977-94) consumers? So what?

6. Which values are unique to African-American, Hispanic, Asian-American, Gay, and Lesbian consumers? So what?

7. Why are Women "The New Shoppers in Chief"?

8. Why are sensorial experiences (i.e. sight, sound, touch, taste, feel, and smell) "the uncharted territory of branding"?

9. Which branding strategies based on sensorial experiences have proven most effective? Why?

10. What are the "Key Trends for the New Millennium"? Why?

These questions correctly suggest the scope and depth of Gobe's perspectives on emotional branding. Throughout the book, he cites and discusses examples of branding initiatives which either succeeded or failed. I am also grateful for the inclusion of highly innovative graphics which illustrate "thinking out of the box" while creating an advertising campaign. (See the Introduction to Section III.) Gobe concludes his book with this observation: "To get people interested in a long-term relationship, keep your ear to the ground and always be ready for any market changes. Change is good, but predicting change is better -- the answer is within people's hearts." In this remarkable book, Gobe does indeed offer a new paradigm for connecting brands to people.

Those who share my high regard for Emotional Branding are strongly urged to check out Levitt's The Marketing Imagination, Ries and Trout's Positioning (NOT the sequel, The New Positioning), Brands: The New Wealth Creators edited by Hart and Murphy, Schmitt's Experiential Marketing, and Pine and Gilmore's The Experience Economy. For those who wish to explore the subject in even greater depth, I highly recommend Daniel Goleman's Emotional Intelligence and his more recently published Working with Emotional Intelligence.

This book is an example of an old concept in marketing, which can be found in Aaker's banding "bible" entitled "Managing Brand Equity" (1991). One of my friends working for an Ogilvy company recommended Aaker and I must say that he was right.

So why did I purchase this book? Well, given I was called in by an agency to look at the EQ side of one of their projects; I wanted to know what others had written on the topic. After reading Aaker's book I understand I fell in a trap called "brand extension". This works as follows: if you want to launch a new product, look for an existing brand which is available and which you can extend to cover your new product. In this case, the "product" probably is Marc Gobé's brand creation firm and we all know that emotional intelligence is a label that sells well since Goleman put it on the map in 1996.

The problem is that many products sold under the label "emotional intelligence" aren't much related with that, and certainly do not help to raise your EQ. For me this is the case for this book. While it contains some useful messages around making sure your product is loved, that customers like the experience of using it (it should be engaging, fulfilling the customer's desire) and that you have to build a relationship with the customer. The body of the book then shows how there is an emotional link between several marketing aspects and the customer. Unfortunately, that wasn't really "new" to me, and what's worse, there isn't much "how to" in this book. In other words, while it may help to raise the awareness of some readers that the emotional aspect is important, that's all it does: it doesn't give you the tools to deal with this. I suppose Marc Gobé prefers you'd contact his branding agency rather than sharing some of its secrets.

In short, even if Aaker's book I mentioned in the introduction of this review is over 10 years old, it remains much more useful than "modern" books like this one.

Patrick Merlevede - author of "7 Steps to Emotional Intelligence"

This is possibly the most useless marketing book I have ever read. This mistitled book should have been named: "My Random Observations on Branding Combined with Statistics and My Political Beliefs."

I kept reading and reading this book hoping that the next chapter would let me in on the secret of emotional branding. How do I start branding emotionally? After reading this book, I still don't know, and I'm not sure the author does either.

You can skip the first third of the book. It is nothing but statistics and opinions on every demographic group except one, white males. Evidently Mr. Gobe' does not think this group is important enough to warrant your effort. During this multi-chapter diatribe that opens the book he blames the white male establishment for seemingly every atrocity in the world (yes, this book is supposedly a book on emotional branding). This is ironic because Mr. Gobe' is of course, a white male. However, he is obviously an enlightened white male because he has the power observe all these atrocities. In any event, skip the first third of the book.

In the second third of the book Mr. Gobe' let's us in on earth-shattering observations related to emotional branding. For example, we receive marketing gems like colors and shapes might affect our emotions. How they do is left up to our imagination. Needless to say, skip the second third of the book.

The final third of the book identifies companies that have found the holy grail of emotional branding. Then Mr. Gobe' segues into a shameless sales pitch for his company's services. My recommendation is that you skip the final third of this book. If you happen to trudge through it try an interesting experiment. Go to the website addresses Mr. Gobe' sets up on the pedestal of emotional branding and see how many are still blazing the branding trail.

The only part of the book to read is the introduction. This is a shame because it gives you hope that the book might have some useful information. Alas, it does not.

This is a great book. If you feel that people largely buy products and services for emotional reasons, and you want to learn more about branding strategies that address consumer emotions, this is for you. I would recommend you first read Lisa Fortini-Campbell's exceptional little book, "Hitting the Sweet Spot", then Chapters 3 and 10 (on "Brand Design" and "Advertising Strategy", by Bobby Calder, Steven Reagan and and Brian Sternthal respectively) in the new book by Dawn Iacobucci, "Kellog on Marketing" and then finish with "Emotional Branding". The Gobe book pulls everything together, yet maintains an unwavering, retriever-like focus on leveraging buyer emotions. Some of the new books like Hill and Rifkin's "Radical Marketing" stress the importance of buyer empathy and passion for the brand, but I have yet to read a book as good as "Emotional Branding" which tells the reader HOW TO DO all of these things.

This book has a lot of added value. It not only puts abosulutely everything we know about branding into a totally fresh, groundbreaking perspective that works in the new economy, but it is full of useful information, revelatory research, detailed processes for brand development and fascinating case studies. It is not just another book talking about branding, it shows the reader precisely HOW to reach consumers on an emotional level that will inspire long term loyalty - a rarity in today's market!

As VP of Marketing at a Fortune 500 company, I have read all the hot branding book titles over the past few years as well as the arch-classics, and this is one of the very best of them all - if not the best! I found myself avidly taking notes, and also spurred on to many exciting ideas for my business.

I look forward to Gobe's next book!

For anyone involved in branding this book gives very practical advice. A common complaint about business books is that they are all OK in theory but contain little in the way of explanations of how to do it - this book however offers not only theory and some good case study. Overall very impressive and a must read for anyone involved in sales, advertising or marketing functions. As someone has already said these guys really know their stuff and it works!! Another book I highly recommended is 60-Minute Brand Strategist by Idris Mootee. This book is LOADED with solid, meaty real world branding insights and techniques that can are being kept as trade secrets. You will probably find this book a real eye opener. If you're looking for a more balanced marketing book, suggest going for David Aaker's books, some Kotler's books.

This book has all the appeal of an IKEA coffee table: it looks great on the outside, but when you get down to it, it's nothing but cheap filler.

The concepts are tired (this is mere repackaging of 1987 material by a designer/design firm who is trying to drum up business). The writing is self-aggrandizing. This book could have been written in less than a three-page memo.

If you still speak with an arrogant dot.com era vernacular; if you enjoy using mantras like "recontextualizing the brand"; or if you enjoy hearing yourself breath, then you will thoroughly enjoy this book.

In the end, this book says a lot without saying anything at all. Buy something by Aaker (though he is a bit dated) instead.

You'd think that a book about emotional branding with a forward by Sergio Zyman would have something interesting to say. Unfortunately, this book make a number of good points but it's not all that interesting. Many of the points should be fairly intuitive and obvious for marketing people who have a clue. Some points made are interesting refreshers, like the importance and potential impact of invoking multiple senses in the consumption and purchase experience. Unfortunately many of the chapters are not newsworthy and can be summarized by their lame titles, such as "Women: The New "Shoppers in Chief" and "Gay and Lesbian Consumers: Sincerity is the Best Policy!"

The book mostly gives examples of brands that have done X or Y really well without leaving the average reader or business person with any concept about how the point is relevant in a gernalizeable sense.

Final gripe is that the book reads a little bit like an advertisement for the author's firm.

Gobe's book provides a concise yet comprehensive review of the most current trends in marketing and branding. His thesis that emotions, rather than tangible product attriubutes, comprise the most important aspects of a brand is convincing and well documented. The book is also remarkably well laid out -- very "user-friendly." Definitely a contribution to today's marketing, I enjoyed it and hope he publishes more in the future.

Emotional Branding is a must, it is complete, well written and full of inspiring examples

The decalogue alone is worth the purchase

1) from consumers to people
2) from product to experience
3) from honesty to trust
4) from quality to preference
5) from notoriety to aspiration
6) from identity to personality
7) from function to feel
8) from ubiquity to presence
9) from communication to dialogue
10)from service to relationship

If brand managers understand truly and fully Gobe's ten commandments they will add value to the most valuable asset
they have, the brand