A great portrayal of what it takes to build a brand.
342324
I love this book.  I read it several years ago and recommend it quite often as I did just today.  When I read the most recent review, which was not so complementary, I had to write one.  Having been in the industry for all of my life (over 30 years), working for Tropicana building that brand in the c-store industry and then going to work in merchandising for the World's largest convenience store chain.  I get it.  Today I help entrepreneurs build their brands.  This is without a doubt a fabulous story of how a brand has been built and sustained throughout the years.  And, if you're in the industry and building a brand, read it.  And, if you're thinking of building a brand, read it.  And, especially if you're one of those people that doesn't want to drink Gatorade because of all the sugar or because you don't think it works, read it.  Or you believe that all the major athletes drink something else behind the scenes, that they only drink Gatorade because they sponsor it, read it!  I've had the pleasure of visiting their sports science center.  Again, a great portrayal of what it takes to build a brand.
157050
Read this book - it is a fast read with less than 100 pages and packed with great learning and inspiration on how to build successful brands!  As a 25+ year veteran Marketing Director from Procter & Gamble, I learned a lot through the stories of these lesser known but highly successful brands.

Denise Lee Yohn shares strategies and actions for creating a cherished brand in retail and restaurant in her latest book Extraordinary Experiences.  It builds on her first book What Great Brands Do which is a practical guide to providing an exceptional brand experience through seven brand-building principles.  Extraordinary Experiences reinforces the principles to make them tangible and relevant to companies of all sizes by featuring case studies from a wide variety of successful brands like Popeyes Chicken, H-E-B, Buffalo Wild Wings, Costco, PIRCH, Jason's Deli, and sweetgreen.
3604915
Being born in the 90's, I grew up when Nike was king. The book concentrates on the early years of the company and it is eye opening to see the amount of struggles the company faced early on. There were many instances were the company looked like they would go under and it is quite miraculous that they even survived. Phil Knight writes with honesty telling the story of a young entrepreneur who wanted to do something more than work 9-5. The book is an easy read and I found it hard to put down. Pull up a chair and listen to Uncle Phil tell his story of how he created something that he was passionate about.
4315088
Eric Sheinkop has done it again.  Return of the Hustle is a glimpse into the still evolving world of how brands are using music to define themselves to their market.  Music creates an emotional tie to the brand who incorporates the right music into their brand marketing and communication.  Music licensing can also make the difference in a musician's career, providing adequate resources to allow the artists to create their art.  Return of the Hustle discusses how this emotional partnership can serve both the artist and the brand well.  Sheinkop is in a unique position to tell this story.  The co-creator of Music Dealers, a global music licensing agency that partners creative brands with talented musical artists from around the world.  He and his staff have been instrumental in helping develop some of the most memorable brand marketing campaigns ever, including  the"Celebrate with a Bite" commercial Music Dealers worked on for McDonalds and DDB.

If you have ever been touched emotionally by a commercial or wondered how that really cool song got included, you will definitely enjoy the stories Shenkop shares in Return of the Hustle.
1194869
Quick read and a truly unique approach to becoming a purposeful brand.
2874677
It Starts With An Idea by Jan McClerry
Not having any background with computer coding and software development did not hamper my enthusiasm for getting a peek inside a California start-up company. As a manager, I most enjoyed reading about the financial challenges of starting a company, working with technical staff and considerations around out-sourcing, especially with India.
I applaud the vision, dedication and sacrifice of the entrepreneurs in this real life story.  I have known Jan for over 50 years and admire her tenacity. If you haven't read her book Class of 67, you missed reading about how hard she worked to excel in the academic world and how she moved from a background in math and physics to the software world.
The story didn't attempt to hide the warts that come with any commercial endeavor and was honest about both the successes and failures.  Thank you for an interesting read.
Craig R. Nichols  West Jordan, Utah
1097892
This book will give the reader a more realistic appreciation for the work it takes to start and run a business.  It gets a person asking the hard questions concerning time, money, and commitment.
2533836
Maybe like you I read a lot of business/marketing books.  Within a few pages, I knew this book would be read to completion.  Holiday spends time laying the groundwork of what makes a product successful, he really spends time here.  Very few products have a long-term success because they did not spend the time really thinking about what they were creating.  He wants you to think carefully through your creation and really ask what problem does this solve.

Ryan asks you the difficult questions, and he forces you to think through how you can get it right the first time.  Products that go through multiple iterations after immediate production lose their luster, and disappoint those who received the first a couple of versions.  He wants you to construct a product that it in it for the long haul.  This type of creation forces you to be insightful and for you to do your homework, he demonstrates there is no work around this.  You can't outsource this function.  If you fail to really think through this step you will produce less than stellar products.

Once you have created the perennial seller it's time to market your creation.  He breaks down multiple methods of getting the word out, they include traditional and through social media.  He emphasizes that this is part of the creation of the perennial seller.  He goes through why you want to spend your time here.  I love how he continually plays the long game after all the perennial sellers are in reality the cash cows that we all desire when creating a product.

I love this isn't a bulleted list that will become outdated next week.  This will be a book you will go back to again and again.  Think through products or even artists that have had the longevity that everyone desires.  Why does Iron Maiden outsell Madonna, how did the InstantPot create a passionate fan base, why do some products have a life that others do not enjoy.  Read this book, and you can unlock some of those principals.
3646557
Ms. Herbert paints what I believe is a realistic picture of what any screenwriter will find himself/herself up against in the world of motion pictures. Having a great story is one thing, getting it sold (or even read) by someone is hard work.
Ms. Herbert's book covers the script development and review process more than most books. She doesn't delve quite so much into story development, act structure etc. that you would expect to find in standard screenwriting books. This gives her book a refreshing edge because it looks at the industry rather than the art of script writing.
Having said that, however, the writer does come across as a little too negative. By the end of the first couple of chapters, it's quite obvious that Hollywood is a tough place to break into and it will be hard work to do so, but she keeps beating it into the reader so that, by the time, you've reach the halfway mark you want to say "HEY! I'VE GOT IT. OKAY!". I'm also a little unsure about some of her suggested methods for getting a script into the hands of a producer or director (dressing up as a pizza delivery person and delivering it) or her seemingly strong belief that you can't break into the movie industry unless you live in California (preferably in LA).
Nontheless, there are some good parts of the book that make it worth reading (hence the 4 stars). Ms. Herbert does have a unique insiders perspective (she was a scripts reviewer and teaches screenwriting) so it's worth paying attention.
3857110
I feel it was very informative and really authentic went it came to marketing to a customer for what they wanted. I also really enjoyed the story of Ryan's heavy obstacles in creating the formula in the beginning of the book.
1000027
Great step by step process on how to define your brand and how to ensure that you have covered the bases.
223851
I'm a product designer and currently manufacturing my own design overseas. Their story is right on target. Could not agree more also on the learning experiences they had to go through in the development and marketing phases.
3166661
As a business owner, I found this book extremely thought-provoking in helping assess my product portfolio to develop a strong, lasting impression of my brand to customers.  The book is academic in tone, but it weaves in throughout its chapters the many tactics used by companies to build their brands across a variety of industries and markets. It also includes studies in consumer psychology, making it a more balanced read for me (academic and practical). The examples are interesting and creative, with key takeaways at the end of each chapter to reinforce the lessons and themes. The concepts, like many in marketing, are intuitive yet elusive and hard to articulate  but this book does a great job presenting all of them clearly, with the right balance of core branding themes and implementable tactics to solve actual branding problems.

It's overall a worthwhile read, and I highly recommend it to any business owner or even anyone interested in branding. Essential if you're serious about your brand!
180183
The Launch Book does a great job of examining the multiple facets that go into creating something of value - whether that thing is a business, a vision or a life choice.  While avoiding being a cookbook for success, sharing successes and failures provides a real-life balance and insight into what it takes to actually accomplish something of meaning.  Highly Recommend.
2134235
After many year of promoting our business. I had an occasion to read BrandsFormation. Now I understand how important it is to place yourself first in the minds of your customers. You may have the greatest product or service but if the customer thinks of someone else first, YOU LOOSE. I now see how important it is to brand our company. Who we are and what we do not just the products we represent. I remember the branding examples like LSMFT. Tobacco ads haven't been around since the 70's but I remembered that because of the Phillip Morris branding of Lucky Strike cigarettes. This should be a must read book for anyone who want to be a true merchant. If you get a chance to attend a Chuck Mefford seminar, don't miss it.
2561640
Story branding is trending these days, and for good reason. People respond to stories on an emotional level. Emotions create memories. When you tell a good story, people remember you. It's good for business.

Greg Koorhan's book covers all the basics of this essential marketing concept. He includes examples of the types of story structures and themes you could use, helps you self-identify your personality type, so you can consider your own life and business to find the elements that work best for this style of marketing. He includes prompts for exercises that will help you find your story. If you're familiar with Donald Miller's Story Brand concept, I'm happy to say that Koorhan doesn't just copy the same stuff, though there's enough overlap to make it clear he's familiar with other thought leaders in this arena.

One of the elements that Koorhan adds (or at least emphasizes differently) that I really appreciated is his chapters on "spin" and how lying to get customers isn't an effective strategy. Sometimes this gets lost in the encouragement to "tell a story" about your brand, about your company or your product. But Koorhan points out that if your story is going to ring true and win loyal fans, it has to be based in something real. So important!

While I wish that he used a few more stories in the book to model the sort of storytelling he's talking about, I'm reassured to see that he practices what he preaches on his websites. (In fact, it was looking at his business websites that prompted me to give this book a try after reading one of his emails.) The story of a man who uses photography and film to tell stories, to create a shared experience that changes the audience, was one that I could buy into. If you hesitate to drop a few bucks on this book, I'd say go check out gregkoorhan.com/about and I think you'll find it even more compelling than the Amazon description, or even the introduction of the book. If you like what you see on the website, then get the book to learn the what, how and why behind the strong online presence he's got.

I found this book to be a good introduction to this marketing concept, easy to read and covering everything I needed to get a solid start on developing my story brand. A bonus that it's a quick read and comes with downloadable worksheets as a companion to the exercises. (The worksheets are going in my long-term toolbox. As an entrepreneur with many websites and brands to create and manage, those will come in handy!)

NOTE: If you're wondering why I'm giving the book 4 stars instead of 5 stars, it's because I have a really high bar for 5 stars. The book either has to have everything excellent (content and presentation) or the content has to be so incredibly stellar or personally moving that it totally outweighs any technical shortcomings in the presentation. I'd give the content 8 out of 10 and the presentation 6 out of 10. So that's 14 out of 20, which I suppose if I were a math person would be just shy of 4 stars... but I'm not a math person, so there.
1176933
Mike Loomis writes a short but powerful book that explains why it is important to brand yourself, build your brand that you can sell yourself to others. This is a quick read and one that has exercises that you can do to help build your brand. Dwight Johnson