Customer Reviews

The New Strategic Brand Management: Creating and Sustaining Brand Equity Long Term (New Strategic Brand Management: Creating & Sustaining Brand Equity)

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2 star:		(1)
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This is an authoritative, well-researched textbook on global branding. Surprisingly, it reads lighter than its considerable bulk because author Jean-Noel Kapferer uses vivid examples of real companies and products to make his points. His branding war stories make the material easier to digest, but only to a point. This remains a textbook, with more than 50 tables in 497 pages, so don't expect to zip through it. However, it is an extremely useful single source about modern brand theory. If you are a casual marketer, as opposed to a serious student of branding, reap this book's rewards by referring to specific chapters to solve problems. You will find thorough answers and illuminating examples from companies worldwide. Kapferer keeps branding in perspective and recognizes that brands are built on successful businesses. We find this book genuinely valuable and strongly recommend it to anyone in marketing and corporate strategy development.

This is a very complete, rigorous, and useful book that covers virtually all of the key elements of brand strategy. With over 500 pages of clearly written and well organized content, this is a terrific resource that gives brand strategists the frameworks and tools to attack brand issues with both hard analytics and soft image-based solutions.

A strength to Kapferer's approach is his balanced use of principles, models, tangible examples, and "how to" suggestions. He also provides real world context with recognition of challenging economic conditions and the dramatic changes to the technolgy landscape. The section on brand identity and brand positioning is particularly important given the necessity of creating powerful brand differentiation without diluting customer relevance and value.

There is so much good material here...I suggest that readers not read this book casually like a lot of the single-topic, quick-read business best sellers. Instead this is a rich reference source that invites you to really think about each of the topic-based chapters and to return for fresh insights again and again. I do.

Excellent book, I have already applied various principles from it. Should be the checklist for Brand Management in any company. Highly recommended.

I still consider it the most competent and explicative book on brand management available on the globe since the early 90s when I bought a German version of presumably its first edition.

Dr. Christof Binder, Partner, blueDOM GmbH International Licensing Management, Switzerland

I do not agree with the previous positive reviews.

First issue I have is with the language. The text is very wordy and convoluted. I do not find it clear and straightforward at all and, in my opinion, it does not make for a pleasant read. I think the problem might be due to the fact that the author is writing in English, not in his native language.

While there is (some) content, I found several questionable points, like statements that appear contradictory, explanations that do not make sense and factual inaccuracies.

If you are looking for a practical reference on how to manage and build a brand, how to systematically approach a real business situation, I would not recommend this book.

I am the Principal of Cohesion Inc, a marketing & business consulting organization, and also a part-time course director in the marketing faculty of the Schulich School of Business, York University in Toronto, Canada.

I believe that this text is a valuable addition to marketing and branding literature, especially given the insights it provides with respect to branding challenges in the European context.