Book reviews
' Brand leadershi p ' by David A. Aaker and Erich Joachimsthaler (The Free Press, N ew York; 2000; ISBN 0-684-83924-5; 351 pp; hardback, $30.00)
If this new b o o k by D avid A . Aaker and Erich Joachimsthaler were a brand in itself, its slogan would b e ' synergy, clarity, and leverage' . The p hrase o c curs more than once in 'Brand leadership ' and encapsulates the authors ' radically lucid views on the gamut of issues related to brand identity as driver of strategy. D avid Aaker in particular has made his mark in the branding universe with p revious b o oks 'Managing brand eq uity' and 'Building strong b rands ' . His al ready considerable stature will be further enhanced by 'Brand leadership ' , a deep and c omplex work that demands and repays close reading. From the outset a clear distinctio n is drawn b etween brand image and brand eq uity, with the latter b eing advan c e d as a strategic asset u p o n whic h t o base an ap p ropriate c o n c eptual model, given that ' th e goal of brand l eadership is t o build brand e quities rather than simply manage b rand images ' . The autho r s ' notion of b rand leadership is explore d through s e c tions on 'Brand Identity ' ; 'Brand Architec ture : Achieving Clarity, Synergy and Leverage ' ; 'Building B rands : B eyond Ad vertisi ng ' ; and ' O rganizing for B rand Leadership ' . One of the riches of this book lies in the p rofusion o f excellent mo dels that are presented to illustrate these c o n c epts and als o to p rovid e guidelines for brand building implementation. I n Chapter 2, titled ' B rand identity The c ornerstone of brand strategy ' , the concept of brand essence is introduced. An exceptionally comprehensive and action able model, the 'Brand I dentity Planning
Model ' , a c c o mp anies the textual defini tions . The authors declare that ' the brand essence should have several characteristics. It should resonate with customers and drive the value p rop ositi o n . I t sho uld b e own able, p roviding differentiatio n from com p etitors that will p ersist through time . And it should be comp elling enough to energize and inspire the employees and p artners of the o rganizati on ' . In the 'Brand Identity Planning Model ' , the brand identity system which the brand essence is at the heart of is preceded by a strategic brand analysis com prising three strands : customer analysis , c omp etitor analysis , and s elf analysis . Al though there is nothing p articularly origi nal in such a three-part strategic analysis , the value of the model resides in the way in which the initial analysis is then fed into the p ro p o s e d brand identity elab orati o n a n d implementation system. A separate yet related model - ' C reating Effective Brand Identity Systems ' - is then presented in order to clarify the issues raised and to help avoid the common mistakes made in devel oping a brand identity system. In a b o o k crammed with good and use ful models, even the most c e reb ral of brand managers will find themselves chal lenged to assimilate everything that is pre sented. H owever, two mo dels merit p articular attention in that they effectively c o ndense many of the maj or themes in ' B rand Leadership ' . They are the ' B rand Relatio nship Sp ectrum' and the ' B rand Architecture ' models, resp e ctively. The former defines the options available in the brand relationship s p e c trum as ranging
The Journal of Brand Management, Vol. 7 No. 2000,
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Henry Stewart Publications,
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Book reviews
from 'Branded House' to ' Subbrands ' , 'Endorsed Brands ' , and 'House of Brands ' , while the latter places brand architecture at the centre of a web featuring 'Product Market Context Roles ' , 'Portfolio Roles' (in which brands are sub divided into strategic brands/linchpin brands/silver bul lets/ cash cow brands) , 'Portfolio Graphics ' , and 'Brand Portfolio Structure ' . T h e ob j ectives of the 'Brand Architecture ' model are to enable the creation of p owerful brands , the optimal allo cation of brand building resources, the leveraging of brand assets, and the generation of platforms for future growth options . An exc ellent case study on Polo Ralph Lauren illustrates these brand architec ture concepts in ac tion: 'Ralph Lauren has spanned channels , segments and p roduct categories with brands that are distinct but linked through related names (such as Ralph and Lauren) , subbrands (Polo Sport and Ralph Lauren Collection) , and endorsed brands (Polo by Ralph Lauren) . This strategy has allowe d new entries to draw on the established eq uities of Ralph Lauren and Polo while rep re senting distinct brands with their own personality. The new brands and sub brands not only draw from the existing equities but also add life and energy to them' . Other case studies scattered throughout the b o o k include L . L. Bean, GE Appli ance Vertical Brand Architecture, Mar riott, Adidas and Nike, and Haagen D azs . A whole chapter is devoted to Adidas and Nike, pinpointing the lessons in building brands that can be drawn from the fluctu ating fortunes of those two rival s . While reiterating their belief that 'brand building is not j ust advertising, and so the manage ment of a brand should not be delegated to an ad agency ' , the authors co nclude from their case study of Adidas and Nike that , inter alia , brands must connect with customers on an emotional level b eyond delivering functional benefits , and that subbrands should b e used to tell a story
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and manage perceptions . A different dimension of brand-building is examined through the case study of Haa gen Dazs , in which the fo cus shifts to ex periential marketing. Instead of leading with a major advertising effort, Grand Met (the owners of Haagen Dazs) instead intro duced their new product by opening dedi cated ice cream parlours in suitably affiuent lo cations and thereby provided their cus tomers with a tangible brand exp erienc e : 'The cafe-like stores created a n atmosphere of exclusivity, quality, cleanliness, and natu ralness . With their high exposure and traf fic, the stores anchored an aggressive sampling program; passersby encountered Haagen Dazs in a setting that encouraged a positive, even memorable experience ' . The Haagen Dazs story tends to support the au thors' contention that brand-building is too imp ortant and strategic an issue to be left in the hands of an advertising agency. Returning to Aaker's favoured theme of brand equity, the authors make a reasoned and familiar plea fo r a long term view to be taken of the brand-building task, with a holistic rather than single issue focus : 'The key to effective measurement is to have in dicators that tap all dimensions of brand equity: brand awareness , perceived quality, customer loyalty, and associations that in clude brand personality as well as organiza tional and attribute associations . Relying on short term financial indicators alone is a re cipe fo r brand erosion rather than brand building' . No doubt most readers of this j ournal would concur with that view. Where some dissent might arise, however, is when Aaker and Joachimsthaler turn their attention to customer analysis and specifically to the p ro c ess of generating deep customer insight, understanding the customer's relatio nship with the brand. How many qualitative researchers wo uld endorse the authors' assertion that ' focus group research may help you avo id gross mistakes, but it is usually too superficial to
B oo k reviews
discover the b asis for a real brand-customer relationship? ' O verall, 'Brand leadership ' p rovides ex ceptionally impressive and authoritative guidan c e in c o nfronting the p o tentially p aralysing c o mp lexity of c o ntemp o rary b rand identity and b rand architecture is sues. The case studies are well chosen, p ar ticularly those that fo cus on less familiar
brands , whilst the numerous models intro duce coherence and clarity into the brand building task. I t is hard to disagree with Tom Peters ' c o mment that this is ' i t ' o n branding.
Keith Dinnie, B o ok Review Editor
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