Harvard Business Review on Brand Management (Harvard Business Review Paperback Series)

Here are some of the articles in this eBook: "Building Brands Without Mass Media" by Erich Joachimsthaler and David A. Aaker, "Brands vs. Private Labels: Fighting to Win" by John A. Quelch and David Harding, "How Do You Grow a Premium Brand?" by Regina Fazio Maruca, "Should You Take Your Brand to Where the Action Is?" by David A. Aaker, "Extend Profits, Not Product Lines" by John A. Quelch and David Kenny, "The Logic of Product-Line Extensions" Perspectives from the Editors, "Can This Brand Be Saved," by Regina Fazio Maruca, "Your Brand's Best Strategy" by Vijay Vishwanath and Jonathan Mark


Insightful Perspectives   March 20, 2002
Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas)
18 out of 21 found this review helpful

In this volume, one of a series of anthologies of articles previously published in the Harvard Business Review, we are provided with a variety of different perspectives on a single business subject. Here are the titles and their authors:

"Building Better Brands without Mass Media" (Joachimsthaler and Aaker)

"How Do You Grow a Premium Brand?" (Maruca)

"Should You Take Your Brand to Where the Action Is?" (Aaker)

"Extend Profits, Not Product Lines (Quelch and Kenny)

"The Logic of Product-Line Extensions" (Perspectives from the Editors)

"Can This Brand Be Saved?" (Maruca)

"Your Brand's Best Strategy" (Vishwanath and Mark)

Even if you do not recognize at least a few of the authors' last names, The Harvard Business Review's brand is of sufficient credibility to encourage you to purchase and read this book. I am especially impressed by the inclusion of "Executive Summaries" of key points in each of the articles. No brief commentary such as this can do full justice to the rigor and substance of the articles provided. It remains for each reader to examine the list to identify those subjects which are of greatest interest to her or him. My own opinion is that all of the articles are first-rate. For me, as previously indicated, one of this volume's greatest benefits is derived from sharing a variety of perspectives provided by several different authorities on the same general subject.


Great for perspectives but not a full picture of branding   April 17, 2003
Shashank Tripathi (Gadabout)
9 out of 10 found this review helpful

This is a great collection of thoughtful "perspectives" on brand related issues, some very thoughtful (e.g., the one on extending premium brands with Transition health clubs as the lynchpin) and others somewhat perplexingly dichotomous (e.g., a chapter on the perils of line extensions which is immediately succeeded by another on the logic of line extensions leaving the reader with no cogent framework for how to decide between the two).

The "book" is structured as a collection of essays, each of which takes up a case study with an actual company and then presents the views of several big-tyke experts about branding issues that the company was faced with. This makes it a fascinating read as a case study guide. An attempt to weave these scattered insights into a summary recommendation at the end of each essay, or at least some mention of what the client in question actually ended up doing, would have been even more useful. Sans such synoptic editing, this book ends up being little more than thought piece for the branding experts on some issues that pertain to corporate identity (and the marketing bottomline) but this is by no means a holistic branding reference as one of the other reviewers seemed to indicate.

All the same, I would still give it is a 4 star for its readability, for the breadth and the reality of the cases picked for discussion, and for the sharpness/relevance of the insights that went into discussing them. Should be a no-brainer of a buy if you are interested in the identity/advertising/marketing strategy industry in any way, especially as a real-world companion to any of Aaker's works.


It's worth to buy it, read it, and think about it.   May 20, 2002
Prior Jun-Ming Yang (Taipei County, Taiwan Taiwan)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful

This collections would absolutely give either the managers in business war or students in acdemic area some fresh insights of "Brand". Most people misunderstand the true meaning of a brand, so they make wrong decisions when facing consumers' wants. You can get new ideas about your business positioning, your strategy, or media policy. Students also should read it, because it will help you to clarify your concept about what "brand" mean. I recommend it to you.


brands   April 9, 2000
Buddy Del Rosario (city of angels)
13 out of 21 found this review helpful

this is an excellent book. ive looked for other brand management books but most cover not all aspects of the brand management. it was quite beneficial because as a consultant, we were entering regions where advertising costs were tremendous..the chapter on building brands without media shows other subtle but quite effective ways around the traditional brand building ideas. hopefully, the next book will talk about building brands on the internet.