BRANDING BOOK REVIEW: 22 IMMUTABLE LAWS OF BRANDIN
BRANDING BOOK REVIEW: 22 IMMUTABLE LAWS OF BRANDIN
Wednesday, 12 April 2006 07:40
Al Ries is no stranger to anybody with their ears on the ground in the marketing world. He is world famous for coming up with the theory of “positioning” when he, along with fellow advertising practitioner Jack Trout authored “Positioning: The Battle for your Mind”. The book went on to completely reposition how marketing is viewed and managed. Al Ries has not teamed up with his daughter, Laura to pen “The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding”, a book I would willingly give my vote for “the most comprehensive book on branding”. A little about the authors will suffice at this point. Al needs no introduction but it is worth mentioning here that Laura is not just the man’s daughter but is a marketing guru in her own right, being the president of Ries and Ries, an Atlanta, Georgia, consulting firm.
To borrow some of the publisher’s words, the book is “Smart and accessible. The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding is the definitive text on branding, pairing anecdotes about some of the best brands in the world, like Rolex, Volvo and Heineken, with the signature savvy of marketing gurus Al an Laura Ries… this book proclaims that the only way to stand out in today’s marketplace is to build your product or service into a brand – and provides the step-by-step instructions you need to do so.” “The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding” is written in the vintage Ries no-nonsense, I-know-my-stuff style. One is left with no choice but to agree with the authors since they make so much sense. The authors are not apologetic about breaking with tradition and predicting trends most of us are yet to even think about. They of course do this at the risk of having to swallow their words in a few years time. So far, Al Ries has not been on record swallowing any of his words.
In my long life of combing through branding related books, I am yet to come across authors as passionate about branding as this particular pair. They go as far as saying that they foresee a day (soon) when we shall no longer have Marketing departments in companies but instead shall have Branding Departments. The Ries and Ries pair argue that the entire organization should be a branding department. They also argue that the profession of selling is in its deathbed. People no longer sell things, things are bought. They use the example of a supermarket where all you have are check out counters with no salespeople. The brands are presold to the point where the customers come into the supermarket to simply pick up their merchandise rather than to be sold to by a salesperson. To borrow a passage the book, “selling, as a profession and function, is slowly sinking like the Titanic… branding is simply a more a more efficient way to sell things… That old expression ‘Nothing happens until somebody sells something’ is being replaced by today’s slogan ‘Nothing happens until somebody brands something’. I could go on and on postulating on branding issues while incessantly quoting from this gem of a book but let me now share some of the laws I found particularly interesting. These also happen to be the most obvious while ironically managing to be the most flouted of the 22 laws.
The tenth immutable law of branding is “the law of extensions”. This is probably my favourite law and probably number one in “the most flouted branding laws” list. The law states that “the easiest way to destroy a brand is to put its name on everything”. The authors observe that more than 90 percent of new products introduced in the U.S. grocery and drug trade are line extensions. This is actually the main reasons stores (what we East Africans call shops) are choked with brands. I would say the same for our regional market. A visit to any supermarket shall bear me witness. Ries and Ries argue that despite the many line extensions, brands have not really increased market share but have instead tilted the balance of power to retailers who now demand more trade promotions, slotting fees and return privileges. Retailers know that manufacturers are desperate to push their plethora of brands and take full advantage of this fact. This law puts paid to the thinking by so many organizations that since you have a strong brand, they have an automatic license to line extend endlessly.
I’m not superstitious but by some coincidence number two on my list is actually law number 13, the law of the company. The law simply states that “brands are brands. Companies are companies. There is a difference”. It almost sounds rude or obvious but it’s amazing how many organizations don’t know the difference. According to the authors, nothing causes as much confusion in the branding process as the proper use of a company name. The crucial questions any company should address to be compliant to this rule is whether the company name should dominate the brand name or vice versa and whether the names should be given equal weight”? Al and Laura believe that brand names should almost always take precedence over the company name since, as they put it “customers buy brands, they don’t buy companies”. There they go with another rude sounding statement! They give the example of the Honda Acura. Here’s an example of where both company name and brand name are combined in the hope of creating one brand name – the “Honda Acura”. Does anybody really say they drive a “Honda Acura”? Not at all! They say they drive an “Acura”. The Honda becomes redundant and the brand name that prevails is Acura. Numerous other examples are given to firmly push the point that the brand name must always dominate the company name.
Let’s look at one more law as my space is running out and I don’t see madam editor allowing me any more space to preach branding in the guise of doing a book review. Law 22 is what the authors term the law of singularity. The law states that “The most important aspect of a brand is its single mindedness”. Now, this is a tricky law and one not many find it easy to follow or even believe. The easiest way I found to explain this law is in the authors’ own words. “What is a brand? A singular idea or concept that you own inside the mind of the prospect. It’s as simple and as difficult as that”. A successful brand must represent one and only one idea.
If you must buy only one book on branding, this is it. I reserve the right to change my mind though.
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First published in SOKONI magazine
