Brand Aid

By Brad VanAuken

Brand Aid, first editionPublished by AMACOM in 2003

Brand Aid

First published by AMACOM in 2003, Brand Aid has sold nearly twenty thousand copies in the USA, making it a best-selling business book.

The book has been translated into Japanese, Korean and Russian.

Other versions of the book have been published under the titles The Brand Management Checklist in the UK and Branding in India.

The book is used to teach brand management and marketing at many business schools throughout the world.

Brad VanAuken’sBranding Books

Brand Aid, second editionTo be published by AMACOM December 2014

Brand Aid, second edition“If you want your company to become the next Nike, Disney or Absolut, this is the one book you want to read. And then read again!” —Bookviews Brand AidSecond EditionA Quick Reference Guide to Solving Your Branding Problems and Strengthening Your Market Position Brad VanAuken Branding is more than a great logo. A brand is the essence of an organization—its DNA—impacting its continual success. It is absolutely essential to get it right. Brand managers, marketers, and executives have long turned to this trusted guide to troubleshoot their branding problems. Written by an acknowledged expert with 30 years of experience building world-class brands, Brand Aid covers topics ranging from research and positioning to brand equity management and architecture strategy.  Bringing together illuminating case studies, best practices, and the latest research, this edition offers invaluable advice on every aspect of brand management including: the 6 most powerful sources of brand differentiation • 5 elements that trigger brand insistence • turning brand strategy into advertising • online branding • private label brands • creating “category of one” brands • social responsibility, sustainability, and storytelling in branding • 60 nontraditional brand marketing techniques • key metrics • and more. A treasure trove of techniques, templates, and rules of thumb, Brand Aid is the ideal resource for anyone responsible for building their organization’s brand.  

New Content in Brand Aid, Second Edition

Completely new chapter on online brand building The six most powerful sources of brand differentiation Brand archetypes Brand storytelling Creating category-of-one brands Private label brands Branding commodities Brands and aesthetics Understanding human motivations Marketing to upscale consumers Big data analytics Ethics in marketing Brands and sustainability Many new case studies

Praise forBrand Aid, first edition

‘Brand Aid is an asset for the beginner and veteran brand builder alike. No matter what size your organization or how great your brand expertise, this book can provide a point of reference and new insights.’Elizabeth A. Hunter, Senior Brand Specialist, Bank of America ‘Finally, a road map for the often treacherous journey of building and maintaining great brands. This is an indispensable tool for all marketers. Brand Aid is the essential toolkit for today’s (and tomorrow’s) brand marketers.’Jim Harman, Manager, Corporate Advertising, General Electric ‘A comprehensive guide unlike any other on the market today. Apply what you learn to your brand building activities and watch the value of your brand and bottom line increase.’Amy Kelm, Worldwide Consumer Brand Development Manager, Hewlett-Packard ‘Brad VanAuken has delivered one of the best brand education and reference tools I have come across. This book will always be within arms’ length from my working area for assistance in brand savvy throughout every workday.’Carole L. Sustak, Manager, Marketing Strategy & Branding, AAA National

Praise forBrand Aid, first edition

‘Many books have been written about branding in the past 15 years. Many are short and focus on only a few aspects of the complex process of building and nurturing a brand. With Brand Aid, Brad VanAuken has pulled it all together in one of the most comprehensive books ever written on the subject. If you work in marketing, read it. If not, make sure your marketing team has.’Ron Dix, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Sales, Bush Brothers & Company (Bush’s Baked Beans) ‘The checklists are an incredibly effective way for any marketer to evaluate and grade their brand’s current marketing performance. Brand Aid should really be named Brands for Dummies. I’m definitely going to keep this one around and I only wish I had found it years ago.’Dan Hucko, Vice President, Corporate Communications and Investor Relations, Harris Interactive Inc. ‘Brad VanAuken’s practical, step-by-step guide to brand management and marketing resonates with experience and insight. Excellent refresher for the most seasoned marketer and a great introduction for those new to the field. I’m keeping my copy on my desk and giving one to everyone in our advertising agency.’Sharon Napier, President & CEO, Partners + Napier ‘This book surprised me. It’s found a newly practical and authoritative way to describe how to do branding. In this, it is quite unlike any other 100 plus books on brand that I have read.’Chris Macrea, Chief Brand Officer, valuetrue.com and author of World Class Brands and Brand Chartering Handbook 

Praise forBrand Aid, first edition

‘It is refreshing to read a book that is pithy, down-to-earth yet immensely insightful in demystifying the complexities of building and managing a brand anywhere in the world. Brand Aid will always be in a prime position on my bookshelf alongside books by Kotler, Ogilvy, Dru, Morgan, Ries & Trout, Temporal and Aitchison.’Graeme Murray, Planning Director, Bates Thailand ‘Brand Aid will be the definitive work on the subject for years to come. All that’s needed now is for business men and women with creativity and depth to read it, and to work with it. When that happens, Brad VanAuken will have done the marketplace a great service.’Peter Holloran, President, Cognitive Marketing Inc. ‘Thank you for your insight. Your book is concise and is an excellent teaching tool for the first-time and experienced brand manager.’Ernie Avellana, Vice President of Marketing, Control Diabetes Services, a subsidiary of Eli Lilly & Company ‘Brand Aid is the most comprehensive of all the materials that I've read on brand management. This book should become required reading for all business leaders responsible for driving the growth of their organizations.’Thomas J. Miller, Product Marketing, Director, Newport Corporation, Inc.

Praise forBrand Aid, first edition

‘I've referred to the draft copy you sent in December so much that it's getting dog-eared.’Tom Welle, Advertising Director, Potomac Electric Power Company ‘It's great to have a strong brand customers love and are happy to pay a premium for, but when a brand gets overextended, underadvertised, overpriced or develops other problems, few entrepreneurs know what to do. In Brand Aid (Amacom, $24), author and marketing consultant Brad VanAuken goes a long way toward remedying these problems.’By Mark Henricks, Entrepreneur Magazine, September 2003 ‘I found the book "Brand Aid" highly informative and I believe VanAuken has set a new standard in the study of branding. Whether it's the Case Studies, "Did You Know?" items or checklists throughout the book, he is able to provide PRACTICAL advice that can be used to develop or enhance brands. This book could very well become the "Bible" for branding now and in the future. I would give it 5-plus stars.’Amazon.com Review ‘VanAuken’s points pack a heavyweight’s punch; he backs them up with case study summaries of the successes and failures of real brands. Chapters are packed with “Have you thought about…?” questions and checklists.’Jim Pawlak, Biz Books, August 10, 2003 

Praise forBrand Aid, first edition

‘Quite possibly the best book I have seen on the topic of creating and maintaining a "brand" is Brad VanAuken’s Brand Aid ($24.94, Amacom). It will prove to be a powerful resource to anyone wrestling with the challenge of the entire process of building a high-impact brand and trouble-shooting the issues that come with it. If you want your company to become the next Nike, Disney or Absolut, this is the one book you want to read. And then read again!’Bookviews by Alan Caruba, August 2003 ‘VanAuken has distilled his enormous practical knowledge about the theory and practice of brand management into this smart…volume. The book is packed with information and good ideas – so many, in fact, that it is virtually an encyclopedia of brand management does and don’ts’Publishers Weekly, June 16, 2003 ‘Of all the books I’ve read on marketing and branding, this one is the shining star! I’ll also go out on a limb and assert that it’s one of the best books I’ve seen published by AMACOM.’Roger E. Herman, Midwest Book Review ‘This is an EXCELLENT practical book in a field awash with theory and useless generalizations.’Anne Holland, www.MarketingSherpa.com 

Praise forBrand Aid, first edition

You will not want to be without this book in your library.’Laura Schneider, About Marketing (http://marketing.about.com) ‘Trying to encapsulate this truly vast wealth of knowledge, Brad VanAuken has written what promises to be the synoptic work on the subject. Brand Aid is a dense treatise that tries to make the very complicated issue of branding accessible. VanAuken's brand advice is both sound and timely.’Brands: Case Closed by Jonathan Jackson, Critical Eye, www.channelseven.com 12/15/03 ‘This is an in-depth guide to the whole subject of branding. As such, it is ideal for those who are looking to learn about branding for the first time or for the more experienced practitioner who is looking to improve knowledge in one particular area. It can help to solve branding problems through its exhaustive but easily understandable analysis of the subject. This is a very useful book for understanding branding and as such will be of interest to anyone involved in marketing generally.’Martin Payne www.poolonline.com/books/books68.html Number 25: Winter 2004 ‘This is a terrific, pithily-written book that stands head and shoulders above most other branding books currently on the market. Its fluid style and concise treatment of the major issues in creating winning brands makes most other such texts look pedestrian by comparison.’Keith Dinnie, Book Review Editor, Journal of Brand Management, August 2003, Vol 10, Number 6

Praise forBrand Aid, first edition

‘Comprehensive instruction on managing and growing your brand in the usual online and offline channels. Well organized for quick comprehension; includes checklists to see if your brand is ready to go global, well positioned for an ad campaign, has an identity to work with, and a helpful “troubleshooting” chapter. Good place to start if you are still trying to wrap your brain around brand management.’ Reader review, www.brandchannel.com, November 2003 ‘Just bought BRAND AID. THIS BOOK IS PHENOMENAL!!!! THANK YOU.’Alexander S. Bosika, marketing manager, Phantom Fiber ‘My desk has been home to a bumper crop of worthwhile new books on brands and branding. A standout in the group is Brand Aid by Brad VanAuken, which offers an almost encyclopedic look at every step in the brand process (designing, building, leveraging, managing). The advice is straightforward, voluminous and informed by experience. VanAuken also includes lengthy checklists at the end of each chapter that help readers assess their own situations and also serve as a good platform for brainstorming. Highly recommended.’Joseph Rydholm, editor, Quirk’s Marketing Research Review, May 2004 ‘Brad VanAuken knows his stuff - and he knows how to share it with the rest of us in a clear and concise manner that will leave you feeling: "Now I get it!" With a tremendous understanding of how to take complex marketing systems and put them into an easy to understand, universal language, VanAuken brings the reader up to speed quickly and comfortably with simple terms and concrete examples. This book will serve well as not only a quick reference, but also as a step by step tool to creating a branding identity that will stand the test of time.’John Copeland, program manager, National Arts Marketing Project

Praise forBrand Aid, first edition

‘I run a very small business that designs and manufactures products for a crowded micro market. We were looking for a book or resource that would help gather our thoughts into a concise executable plan. Wow does it feel like this book came through for us. Of all the business, marketing, branding, positioning books I have read, this has to top them all.’Andrew B Lautenschlager, Bay Area, CA ‘A really comprehensive branding manual, with an almost textbook feel to it. Every branding concept is thoroughly explained. Not necessarily a book to read cover to cover in a few days, but definitely an invaluable reference guide to keep close and handy by anybody involved in marketing and branding products, services and companies. Excellent.’Mario Sanchez Carrion, marketing, branding and small business blogger, www.shoestringbranding.com ‘Our company does web design, graphic design, corporate communication. I like this book that is not only an easy reference guide, but also a comprehensive approach to branding. The book can stand alone as a Brand teach-in, and require no prior knowledge about branding. The book is also relatively complete and can be used as text book or self-learning Branding book. This book is good.’T. Santoso, Surabaya, Jatim Indonesia  ‘I am a big fan of your efforts over the years.  I am a veteran global brand builder for Nestle, RJR Nabisco, Bristol Meyers Squibb and a host of private clients.  I have also taught Brand Planning & Management for years and since 2004 have used your text as the course required or recommended text.  I favor your book over the Kevin Keller text that does not do in 800 pages even half what your text does in fraction of the pages.’Marco Protano, Professor, Strategy & Marketing, Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey 

Brand Aid, second edition

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