A Clear Eye for Branding (Paperback)

by Tom Asacker (Author)
Key Phrases: brand choice, great brands, Henry Ford

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
A Clear Eye for Branding uses a conversational mode to help you understand how customers bring their own meaning to your brand and how the brand must constantly meet the customers' expectations in order to stay in its prime. You will see branding in new, clear ways with a renewed energy to put everyone in your organization from top to bottom, on the same path to supporting the brand.

From the Publisher
One of our readers recently told us how much she enjoyed the content and accessibility of this book, but also the convenient format "which slips right into my purse." We believe this is a book you will want to keep with you and share with your colleagues. It will put everyone on the same page when it comes to branding and help refocus your thinking about branding when you find it going off track.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Paramount Market Publishing, Inc. (April 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 097252908X
• ISBN-13: 978-0972529082
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #305,846 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unorthodox but Insightful and Refreshing, June 21, 2005

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

Those who have read one or both of Asacker's previous books, The Four Sides of Sandbox Wisdom: Building Relationships in an Age of Chaos, Complexity and Change and Sandbox Wisdom: Revolutionize Your Brand with the Genius of Childhood, already know that he is an eloquent advocate of cutting to the proverbial bone when formulating and then developing an idea. In this volume, Asacker creates a hypothetical situation in which he engages in a sustained dialogue with an Executive about a major business topic, branding. Presumably, the Executive represents countless "real" people with whom Asacker has had discussions over the years. This is a rhetorical device, not a gimmick, and it works remarkably well. In this volume, he really does focus his "clear eye" (and uncluttered mind) on what he considers to be significant but durable misconceptions about branding.

In response to observations and questions posed by the Executive, Asacker makes a number of specific assertions with which some readers may disagree. Here is a representative selection.

Branding is today's most powerful business concept because "it will force you to understand the behaviors, desires, and expectations of your audience. You'll perceive your business -- and its place in the world -- in a whole new way. And you'll be driven to do something to both improve it and to improve people's lives."

"A strong brand evokes one or more of the following behavioral attributes: you'll pay a premium for it when compared to alternative solutions; you'll go out of your way to get it; or you'll continuously repurchase it. You won't accept a substitute, within reason, of course."

"It doesn't matter what people think about you or your brand. What matters is how you make them feel about themselves and their decisions in your brand's presence."

"Focus on what's being internalized by the decisionmaker. The social and psychological factors. Because marketing is not about helping salespeople sell, and it's not about helping customers to buy. It's about helping customers feel and achieve. It's about supporting and guiding. Spend your time helping your customers make meaningful connections around their passions."

"There's an old Zen maxim, `You can't control the waves, but you can learn to surf!' We're living in a new world now -- one that revolves around the rapidly changing expectations of the customer. There's no stability. None. You must move with people, like a life preserver in a shifting sea. You must catch their wave. Get out there and interact with your audience. Find new and compelling ways to become meaningful to them. Try something new and see if it takes hold. You can't build a great brand by avoiding risks."

Obviously, these brief quotations are taken out of context. However, they indicate some of the reasons why Asacker is convinced that branding is "the most powerful business concept," not merely an important marketing concept. He argues persuasively that branding requires effective execution of both marketing and innovation which, in The Practice of Management, Peter Drucker suggests are the two basic functions of any organization. Asacker concludes with the observation that "brand-rearing" resembles raising a child. Citing the African proverb that it takes a village to raise a child, Asacker sees (with a clear eye) the brand's "village" as being "a complex web of relationships among" an organization's people, customers, and other stakeholders. For brands to thrive in today's business world, they must be guided and nourished, to be sure, but also allowed to find their own way. Some brands will. Many won't.

Perhaps you will not agree with all of Asacker's ideas (I don't) but I think you will agree that each has been carefully developed and then clearly presented. If he has helped you to clarify your own thoughts about branding, then he will have achieved his primary objective.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Staying Passionate, September 12, 2005

By	Bruce Harris - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If my name were Roger Ebert, I'd be thumbs up. At first glance, Tom Asacker's A CLEAR EYE FOR BRANDING fooled me. I thought it would be a quick and easy read. Something I could knock out in an afternoon. However, this was not the case. There is too much meat here to get through quickly. It is an easy read, but packed with a great deal of useful, thought provoking information. Asacker's writing style is unassuming and easy to follow. The reader gets the feeling of having completed a pleasant conversation with the author. At one time I had a sign in my office, which read, "Make it happen and make it fun." Tom Asacker has done both.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Clear Guide for a Marketing Novice, August 21, 2005

By	Elaine Mansfield "Exercise training and nutri... (Ithaca, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am a marketing novice and the very thought of self-promotion made me feel faint—until I read A Clear Eye for Branding by Tom Asacker This short, accessible book taught me that it is possible to promote my expertise in women’s health without compromising my principles. I learned that good marketing has little to do with my negative image of a pushy self-serving used-car salesman. Instead, effective promotion serves the customer’s or client’s needs and passions and helps them find success. Carefully articulating the particularities of my “brand” benefits me by bringing focus, excitement, and relevancy to my marketing efforts; it benefits potential clients because effectively communicating my skills helps them decide if my expertise will help them realize their goals. I thank Tom Asacker for providing me with a positive and approachable marketing model. After reading A Clear Eye for Branding, I am on the way to moving my small business out into the world.