What does it really take to succeed in business today? In A New Brand World, Scott Bedbury, who helped make Nike and Starbucks two of the most successful brands of recent years, explains this often mysterious process by setting out the principles that helped these companies become leaders in their respective industries. With illuminating anecdotes from his own in-the-trenches experiences and dozens of case studies of other winning—and failed—branding efforts (including Harley-Davidson, Guinness, The Gap, and Disney), Bedbury offers practical, battle-tested advice for keeping any business at the top of its game.
A New Brand World
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"I don't think there is anyone in the world who knows more about brands than Scott Bedbury—there is certainly no one who can tell his story and make his points with such insight and wit. A New Brand World gives you the inside story of Nike, Starbucks and other top brands with sharp commentary and analysis. This is a highly entertaining read, but one with many valuable lessons about how to build and manage strong brands. Inspiring and informative, it will make you a better marketer. It got the left side of my brain buzzing, the left side humming, and my brand mojo working! —Kevin Lane Miller, E.B. Osborn Professor of Marketing, Amos Tuck School of Business
"This is an 'anthology' of great branding stories that is as entertaining as it is informative." —Business Book Review
"[Bedbury is] perhaps the greatest brand maven of our time." —Tom Peters
"This is an 'anthology' of great branding stories that is as entertaining as it is informative." —Business Book Review
"[Bedbury is] perhaps the greatest brand maven of our time." —Tom Peters
About the Author
Scott Bedbury was Senior Vice President of Marketing at Starbucks from 1995 to 1998. Prior to that he spent seven years as head of advertising for Nike, where he launched the "Bo Knows" and "Just Do It" campaigns. He is currently an independent brand consultant and a speaker for the Leigh Bureau.
Stephen Fenichell is the author of Plastic: The Making of A Synthetic Century and Other People's Money. His articles have appeared in New York, Men's Journal, GQ, Lear's, Spy, Connoisseur, Condé-Nast Traveler, and Wired.
Stephen Fenichell is the author of Plastic: The Making of A Synthetic Century and Other People's Money. His articles have appeared in New York, Men's Journal, GQ, Lear's, Spy, Connoisseur, Condé-Nast Traveler, and Wired.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
It is difficult to review a book that one has enjoyed reading and then say that it was not up to the mark (in terms, of course, of only my expectations.)
No doubt that Scott Bedbury's work is a fast paced read, his writing is lucid and quite frequently quotably light-hearted. There is a lot of material here for people in larger corporations or even general marketing folks. And where Bedbury truly shines is in the case studies he presents in the 8 chapters.
But if, like me, you set off on this book looking for some newfangled insights into the world of branding, then this is not the book for you. The title claims to proffer "8 principles". Let's face it, at the end of the day, principles are not that hard to create and this becomes quite painfully clear when you reach the end of this book and wonder if you have learnt anything new.
But I am being unfairly critical. From his style, it seems an approachable business book was precisely what Bedbury's intended?
As a comprehensive introduction to the field of branding, I'd still recommend "Strategic Brand Asset Management" by Keller. For a discussion of some innovative yet reasonable forms of brand creation, especially on a shoestring, I'd usually point to a PR related book, or perhaps the rapier wit "60-minutes Brand Strategist."
But as a gentle introduction for executives in to the nebulous world of branding, or as a non-technical business book for business folk in general who place less emphasis on a structured analytical framework and are more interested in a soft springboard into the field, then "Emotional Branding" and this book from Bedbury are pretty near the top of my list of recommendations.
Very accessible and insightful stuff, if you aren't expecting a summary of last decade's JCR.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By DougA
Format:Paperback
This is an intelligent, well-written book from a guy who has obviously had a great deal of experience marketing high-profile companies (Nike, Starbucks).
Bedbury lays out pretty much everything you need to know about branding in 190 pages. It's obvious he's a good writer and he's got great examples to back up his assertions in the book.
He is hard on Microsoft but, in my opinion, not hard enough. The reviewer who panned this book based on his treatment of Microsoft is short-sighted. This book is about much more than that. Microsoft is a very small part of the book and they are used appropriately as an example of what NOT to do in marketing.
My biggest problem with the book is Bedbury's assertion that companies are becoming more vertical. It simply isn't true. Companies are not vertically-integrating; they're outsourcing many of the tasks associated with building their products. Witness the Apple iPod. No Apple employee has ever assembled an iPod or built the circuit board. It's simply too expensive. If Apple was vertically-integrated and built the iPod, they would probably cost around $5,000.
My second biggest problem with the book is the final chapter "Brand Future." Bedbury comes out of "left" field and uses almost the entire final chapter as a kind of platform for some liberal agenda. I won't spoil it for those of you who subscribe to those ideals (I'm an independent); but, suffice it to say, the chapter felt out of place. Bedbury talks intelligently about branding for 190 pages, and then the book turns into a political white paper for the final 20 pages.
Don't let that distract you from buying the book, however. This is what business books are supposed to be: erudite, thought-provoking and entertaining. Having read hundreds of business books (I teach Business and Marketing), I can tell you that those three traits are in short supply.
Bedbury lays out pretty much everything you need to know about branding in 190 pages. It's obvious he's a good writer and he's got great examples to back up his assertions in the book.
He is hard on Microsoft but, in my opinion, not hard enough. The reviewer who panned this book based on his treatment of Microsoft is short-sighted. This book is about much more than that. Microsoft is a very small part of the book and they are used appropriately as an example of what NOT to do in marketing.
My biggest problem with the book is Bedbury's assertion that companies are becoming more vertical. It simply isn't true. Companies are not vertically-integrating; they're outsourcing many of the tasks associated with building their products. Witness the Apple iPod. No Apple employee has ever assembled an iPod or built the circuit board. It's simply too expensive. If Apple was vertically-integrated and built the iPod, they would probably cost around $5,000.
My second biggest problem with the book is the final chapter "Brand Future." Bedbury comes out of "left" field and uses almost the entire final chapter as a kind of platform for some liberal agenda. I won't spoil it for those of you who subscribe to those ideals (I'm an independent); but, suffice it to say, the chapter felt out of place. Bedbury talks intelligently about branding for 190 pages, and then the book turns into a political white paper for the final 20 pages.
Don't let that distract you from buying the book, however. This is what business books are supposed to be: erudite, thought-provoking and entertaining. Having read hundreds of business books (I teach Business and Marketing), I can tell you that those three traits are in short supply.
15 of 19 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
This book was interesting and had some good information in it, but I wouldn't recommend it unless you want to read a book on Starbucks and Nike. I found myself dreading another story about how wonderful Starbucks or Nike are, and how great a manager the author was. It really starts to get old.
The principles are good, but you can read about most of them in any college marketing textbook.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brand gold for everyone from startups to nonprofits
It's a fantastic business book, but Bedbury doesn't just understand business--he understands people. He understands life. Read more
Published 3 months ago by N. Davis
5.0 out of 5 stars
Insightful and ethnographic
You can feel what it's like to be there as the Nike and Starbucks brands
(in their best form) are being "knitted together in the womb" so to speak with
Scott's excellent... Read more
(in their best form) are being "knitted together in the womb" so to speak with
Scott's excellent... Read more
Published 7 months ago by B. Weeks
5.0 out of 5 stars
Practical and Inspiring
Bedbury has effectively communicated key branding principles in a practical way. Moreover, his stories from Nike and Starbucks bring the concepts and the importance of a brand to... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Mark J Dresdner
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic Book On Branding
This is an excellent book that examines what it takes to be successful as a brand today. It has a number of specific examples of brands and what they are doing to stand out in... Read more
Published 23 months ago by KayleneT
2.0 out of 5 stars
20th century techniques for use in the 21st century
And, of course, attempting to use techniques honed and crafted in the 20th century, where the internet was, at best, a very late arrival, for 21st century use doesnt really... Read more
Published on April 9, 2011 by Tony Hughes
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting, but I'm not sure it's for a wide audience
After reading this book I have a lot of respect for the author, the man has great experience. It was interesting reading about the early Nike and Starbucks experiences but I'm not... Read more
Published on April 3, 2010 by Robert Kirk
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is a book everyone should read
I have been recommending this book to everyone since it came out so it's probably high time I wrote a review of it. Read more
Published on September 10, 2009 by Ric Merrifield
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very Entertaining Indeed!
As someone who's new to the Branding craze I bought this book and I was very pleased with the purchase. This is a very easy read and quite entertaining - I enjoyed it immensely. Read more
Published on March 7, 2007 by Marli Ritter
5.0 out of 5 stars
In Branding, Everything Matters
A quick, but impactful read worth its weight in coffee beans and sneakers, Author Bedbury manages to take branding principles and techniques that work in the ether of mega-branders... Read more
Published on October 8, 2005 by Michael G. DiFrisco
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bedbury's experience at Nike & Starbucks proves valuable
The many things we should do for our brands (and the ones we have to avoid at all costs) are clearly presented in Bedbury's eight brand principles. Read more
Published on August 1, 2004 by Phillip Klien
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 5
books:
1
book
cites this book:
- Plastic: The Making of a Synthetic Century by Stephen Fenichell in Front Matter
- The Weightless World: Strategies for Managing the Digital Economy by Diane Coyle on page 11
- On the Road by Jack Kerouac on page 49
- Only the Paranoid Survive by Andrew S. Grove on page 26
- Easy Rider by Peter Fonda on page 90
- Branding For Dummies by Bill Chiaravalle in Back Matter
