Zag: The Number One Strategy of High-Performance Brands (Paperback)

by Marty Neumeier (Author)
Key Phrases: scissors companies, new market space, radical differentiation, Personal Media Devices, United States, Charles Schwab

Editorial Reviews

Review
“Each of [Neumeier’s] books is excellent, but ZAG is revolutionary.”
—JACK COVERT AND TODD SATTERSTEN, FROM THE 100 BEST BUSINESS BOOKS OF ALL TIME

“You already know that this book has the best title of any marketing book in a generation. What you don’t know is the details of the Intrusiveness Death Spiral and what to do about it. This little book ought to help. A lot.”
—SETH GODIN, AUTHOR OF SMALL IS THE NEW BIG

“Here’s a practical field guide on how to create and grow a world-class brand, so no more excuses—read it now and start zagging.”
—KIP KNIGHT, MARKETING VICE PRESIDENT, EBAY

“The revolution needs passion, imagination, and a dangerous handbook. Here
it is, born in the trenches yet written with enough verve and imagination to get you out of them—fast.”
—BRIAN COLLINS, EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR, OGILVY

“A big idea surrounded by 17 practical steps and presented in a delightful style.  The presentation alone is worth the price of the book.”
—DAVID A. AAKER, VICE CHAIRMAN, PROPHET, AUTHOR OF BRAND PORTFOLIO STRATEGY

“Awesome book—even better than THE BRAND GAP. It arrived at my desk like a familiar but new friend.”
—ROD SWANSON, DIRECTOR OF BRAND INTEGRATION, ELECTRONIC ARTS

“There are two strategy choices: Do what everyone else is doing, only better, cheaper, or faster. Or do something different and truly distinctive. Marty Neumeier offers essential insights into how to do the latter.”
—PROF. RON SANCHEZ, COPENHAGEN BUSINESS SCHOOL, CO-AUTHOR OF THE NEW STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

"ZAG is the new GPS for marketers. Clear, crisp directions for building strong brands and keeping them fresh and relevant. Read it before your competition does and stay one zag ahead.”
—GARY ELLIOTT, VP BRAND MARKETING, HEWLETT-PACKARD

“Never has one author jammed so many good ideas into so few pages as Marty Neumeier has.”
—AL RIES, AUTHOR OF THE ORIGIN OF BRANDS

"It is part manifesto, part practical handbook, and you can read it between LaGuardia and Logan.”
—BUSINESSWEEK



Product Description
"When everybody zigs, zag," says Marty Neumeier in this fresh view of brand strategy. ZAG follows the ultra-clear "whiteboard overview" style of the author’s first book, THE BRAND GAP, but drills deeper into the question of how brands can harness the power of differentiation. The author argues that in an extremely cluttered marketplace, traditional differentiation is no longer enough—today companies need “radical differentiation” to create lasting value for their shareholders and customers. In an entertaining 3-hour read you’ll learn:

- why me-too brands are doomed to fail
- how to "read" customer feedback on new products and messages
- the 17 steps for designing “difference” into your brand
- how to turn your brand’s “onliness” into a “trueline” to drive synergy
- the secrets of naming products, services, and companies
- the four deadly dangers faced by brand portfolios
- how to “stretch” your brand without breaking it
- how to succeed at all three stages of the competition cycle

From the back cover:
In an age of me-too products and instant communications, keeping up with the competition is no longer a winning strategy. Today you have to out-position, out-maneuver, and out-design the competition. The new rule? When everybody zigs, zag. In his first book, THE BRAND GAP, Neumeier showed companies how to bridge the distance between business strategy and design. In ZAG, he illustrates the number-one strategy of high-performance brands—radical differentiation.

ZAG is an AIGA Design Press book, published under Peachpit's New Riders imprint in partnership with AIGA. For a quick peek inside ZAG, go to www.zagbook.com.


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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Peachpit Press; 1 edition (September 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321426770
• ISBN-13: 978-0321426772
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #8,531 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How to "zag" when everyone else "zigs", June 28, 2007

By	Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

In a previous book, The Brand Gap, Marty Neumeier explains how companies can bridge the gap between business strategy and customer experience, noting that brand-building isn't a series of isolated activities; rather, it is a complete system in which five disciplines - differentiation, collaboration, innovation, validation, and cultivation - "combine to produce a sustainable competitive advantage. " His intent in Zag "is to zoom in on differentiation to reveal the system within the system."

Initially, he observes that the human mind deals with clutter the best way it can: by blocking it out. As a result, "the newest barriers to competition are the mental walls that customers erect to keep out clutter. For the first time in history, the most powerful barriers to competition are not controlled by companies, but by customers. Those little boxes they build in their minds determine the boundaries of brands." (Thomas H. Davenport and John C. Beck also have much of value to say about these boundaries and barriers in The Attention Economy: Understanding the New Currency of Business.) In his latest book, Neumeier explains how to overcome these barriers with radical innovation - "the engine for a high performance brand" - that requires mastery of four disciplines:

1. Finding your zag
2. Designing your zag
3. Building your zag
4. Renewing your zag

Everything begins with identifying the zag. That is, offering something that combines the qualities of both good and different. "When focus is paired with differentiation, supported by a trend, and surrounded by compelling communications, you have the basic ingredients of a zag."

OK, but how to do that? Neumeier provides a design process that consists of 17 checkpoints, each formulated as a question. He explains how to answer each of them correctly (i.e. an answer most appropriate to the given organization) by proceeding through a sequence of 17 checkpoints, each of which evokes a question to be answered correctly (i.e. appropriate to the given organization), with the first two previously posed as a trilogy in The Brand Gap: "Who are you?" and "What do you do?" Responding to them may prove far more difficult than it may first seem and a correct (i.e. appropriate) answer to each is essential to achieving radical innovation. The third question posed previously, "Why should I care?" creates an even greater challenge. Fortunately, a correct (i.e. appropriate) answer to that question will be revealed by carefully proceeding through the remaining 15 checkpoints.

It is truly remarkable how much substance and how many thought-provoking questions Neumeier provides within a narrative of less than 200 pages. With both rigor and eloquence, he explains how radical innovation can break through ever-increasing clutter in a competitive marketplace, whatever and wherever it may be. Special note should also be made of the book's production values. All of his core concepts, checklists, key points, observations, and recommendations are presented within a visually appealing context. The last time I checked, there are about 34,000 business books on the general subject of brands. Neumeier has written two of the most valuable among them. Bravo!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Buy it (unless you can answer the question), March 9, 2007

By	Jeff Scurry (Chicago, Illinois) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

How do you know if you should read this book? Simple, finish this sentence:

Our brand is the only ____________that ______________.

If you completed that sentence with something only your brand can do then you don't need to bother. If not, stop reading and order now.

Although everyone says they are (probably) uniquely qualified to do whatever it is they do, few can actually plug the holes in the sentence. Zag will teach you how.

Zag teaches that the only way to differentiate yourself is to zag when everybody zigs. Go where no one else has gone before. Don't make it different - make it radically different! Don't worry, there is a 17-point checklist to walk you through it.

Like the Brand Gap, Neumeier has dropped the heft and delivered "easy-to-read, easy-to-use and easy-to-remember principles." No words or pages are wasted in Zag.

I give it my highest rating.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read For All Marketing Professionals, June 4, 2007

By	Evan Blittner (New York, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Positioning a brand to genuinely differ itself from the competition is one thing. This book goes beyond most branding books by providing a handbook that clearly identifies strategies to create a distinctive consumer experience (ZAG). Neumeier uses real world examples to demonstrate how brands ZAG using organically grown strategies and execution that is placed into their entire culture.

The book provides detailed explanations as well as charts for key themes such as Good and Different, Defining a brand, Market place clutter, Designing your ZAG, True lines that translate into real world Taglines, engagement, and how to create mutual loyalty programs that engage and challenge consumers rather than buy loyalty with discounts.