Building a "value-added" brand in today's competitive global marketplace must be done by creating an effective, integrated strategy involving advertising, marketing, publicity, and research. Here is a list of my Top 5 picks of branding books that you don't want your marketing library to be without.
1. Emotional Branding: The New Paradigm for Connecting Brands to People
A great book that shows marketers of any product or service how to engage today's increasingly cynical consumers on deeper emotional levels. The case histories presented by the author's clients analyze demographic and behavioral shifts in populations and retail distribution channels, then show how all five senses can be used as powerful marketing tools to respond to those trends.
2. The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding
The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding is the definitive text on branding. It provides you with pairing anecdotes about some of the best brands in the world, like Rolex, Volvo, Starbucks and Heineken. This book tackles one of the most challenging marketing problems today which is branding on the Web. By reading this book you will learn not only how to build a brand, but how to keep it alive.3. Unleashing the IdeaVirus
Unleashing the Idea Virus recognizes the importance of new ideas, change, and innovation within product or services. It also acknowledges the efficiency of creating a word-of-mouth atmosphere, as opposed to the more direct approach of marketing at people through excessive and expensive advertising. This book presents great case studies that will get your branding blood flowing.4. Experiential Marketing
This book is about moving beyond traditional "features-and-benefits" marketing. Inside you will find a revolutionary approach to marketing for the branding and formation age. It’s about showing how managers can create holistic experiences for their customers through brands that provide sensory, affective, and creative associations as well as lifestyle marketing and social identity campaigns.5. Building Strong Brands
Building Strong Brands will show you how to deal with the fragmentation of markets by building brand identity, creating brand personality, and managing a brand system. It will show you how to break out of the box by considering emotional and self-expressive benefits and by introducing the brand-as-person, brand-as-organization, and brand-as-symbol perspectives.