Bill Reviews: The Brand Gap: How to Bridge the Distance between Business Strategy and Design by Marty Neumeier
Consider yourself an idea person? Then you will like what this book has to say to you.
Consider yourself a creative person? Then you will like what this book has to show you.
Marty Neumeier demonstrates that he is both a sound strategist and talented designer with this fresh, compelling, and practical look at the often over-engineered world of brands and branding.
Neumeier keeps things refreshingly simple in The Brand Gap without sacrificing content, something both a brand novice and brand expert will appreciate. The short, 194-page book makes for a meaty yet breezy read. Back-of-the-book bonus features that will surely delight include the Take-Home Lessons, 220-item Glossary, Recommended Reading List, and a link to a free downloadable Adobe PDF presentation based on the book.
The book is well designed and well written, nothing less than what you might expect from an author whose career began more than 30 years ago as a designer and copywriter. The premium softcover binding presents a tasty package, and the text is regularly interrupted by strong graphics. Images fit nicely with the subject matter, bringing major points to life. The type size and weight make the text easy to read and allows for quick scanning. There are also good dark/light contrasts throughout.
I had just a few nits. Text-laden pages sans graphics scream for more breathing room (white space) at the margins where words feel uncomfortably cramped. Additionally, headlines and callouts are often so subtle they fail to command the attention that the weight of the ideas/concepts themselves require. Admittedly, these are relatively small criticisms regarding style, and I've been told more than once that it's best to just let art "flow over you."
Regarding substance, The Brand Gap takes great care to logically yet magically lay down the essential building blocks of branding. Neumeier first feels obliged, however, to clear a path for his ideas by dispelling common misperceptions, such as: 1) a brand is a logo, 2) a brand is a corporate identity, and 3) a brand is a product. According to Neumeier, a brand is none of these. Rather, a brand is "a person's gut feeling about a product, service, or company." Further, Neumeier insists that a brand isn't what YOU (producers) say it is but what THEY (consumers) say it is.
Only through such a consumer-centric orientation do certain products, services, or companies even achieve charismatic brand status. These charismatic brands are iconic and speak an emotional rather than rational brand language to their consumers. Of course, you know the brands about which Neumeier writes: Apple, Virgin, Coke, Nike, and Disney.
Charismatic brand status is not confined, however, to only the biggest, best, boldest, or brightest. No, any brand, regardless of size (and marketing spend), can become charismatic. It just takes spanning the brand gap, that gulf between strategy and design, the difference between left-brain and right-brain thinking, between logic and magic. In Neumeier's words, charismatic brands have "a clear competitive stance, a sense of rectitude, and a dedication to aesthetics."
Consumer-centric branding also means that a brand's currency is one of trust. The greater the trust, the more valuable the brand is to consumers and the less likely they will defect the brand. Under such conditions it's no wonder that a brand's value can far exceed what its balance sheet might list under net assets.
Neumeier recommends five steps to span the brand gap, build charismatic brands, and create value. First, a brand must differentiate itself in the marketplace from all others. "Differentiate or die," as Jack Trout so aptly put it and the author reminds us. "Become remarkable" like a Seth Godin's purple cow.
One of my favorite parts of this section of the book is Neumeier's time line depicting the "evolution of marketing" from Features to Benefits to Experiences to Identification. This leads into a wonderfully rich discussion of tribalism (think Harley Davidson, Starbuck's, Apple, etc.) over globalism.
The second recommendation is to collaborate, or expressed in mathematical terms, 1+1=11. Neumeier posits that brands are not built in isolation, rather "it takes a village." And he offers up a myriad of organizational structures all designed to foster/optimize collaboration. For the most part, Neumeier comes across as solutions-neutral except for his fascination with the Hollywood Studio model, which unbundled formally vertically integrated companies.
Third, a brand must innovate. For me, this section is perhaps the most inspiring, although others might find it the most challenging. Innovation, you see, real innovation, "requires creativity, and creativity gives many business people a twitch. Anything new, by definition is untried, and therefore unsafe."
According to the author, "Innovation lies at the heart of both better design and better business." And I especially like Neumeier's bold attitude toward innovation, "When everyone zigs, zag." A great challenge indeed and the core concept behind his follow-up book entitled Zag: The #1 Strategy of High-Performance Brands.
Fourth, a brand must validate. Neumeier supports the old business adage, "What gets measured, gets done." Or said slightly differently, "you can't manage what you don't measure." I found it refreshing to hear a creative type openly embrace research, recognizing its role in gathering important consumer insights and developing sound strategic platforms. Neumeier's observations on how and when to best employ qualitative and quantitative research techniques are simple but spot on.
The last of the five recommendations for spanning the brand gap, building charismatic brands, and creating value is to cultivate. This is perhaps the most obvious but potentially the most critical area of branding. Because, once a brand has been birthed, nurtured, and developed into something special, it needs proper care. It needs protection. It needs brand guardians, ambassadors, champions to make sure it doesn't just survive but also thrives through all market conditions. That takes alignment, training, discipline, and vigilance. Ah, but the benefits are incalculable.
Many other areas of this book deserve mention. While not all of the ideas in Neumeier's The Brand Gap are new ones, it is in their presentation that they take on greater meaning and significance. He adroitly spans the gap, straddles the hemispheres of the brain, and balances logic and magic.
So do as the author suggests and pick up a copy, throw it in your bag, and read it on your next plane ride. I'm fairly certain that you'll enjoy what it has to say and to show.
Bill's review was first featured in ECPA's E-LINK.
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