UK users

One of the founding partners in St Luke's, now a successful brand strategy consultant in the UK, John Grant's third book is an articulate and well-argued investigation of current directions in brand management. One of the cornerstones to the book is the belief that traditional marketing tools such as USP or "brand essence" are out-dated. Central to brand success in the 21st century is the idea of lifestyle change. Many of the hottest brands today offer a distinct and quantifiable alteration to the users' day-to-day life. Starbucks has established itself as a home away from home, the comfort zone in the high street. iPod has changed the way we listen to music. Zara delivers the latest designer fashions faster even than the designers themselves and at a fraction of the price. eBay has given us access to a vast world of new and used consumer products from the everyday goods to hard-to-find collectors items. These are brands which consumers come to "love" because they add something completely new to our daily culture. 

By contrast, Grant argues, older brands such as Levi's or Coca-Cola still rely on the traditional values of non-interactive brand image. In truth of course that's also largely because they aren't new any more. Levi's and Coke both changed consumer culture plenty in their day, even as recently as a decade ago. Now, however, they constitute the establishment, not the challenger. Starbucks, Zara and iPod could well to face exactly the same challenges in another 10 years, if not before. They can be saved, says Grant, by adopting the new thinking. Nike, for example, largely another image brand, won back its audience with events (such as Nike London local sports tournaments) and personalised products (Nike ID). 

The core of the book is supplied by a periodic table of 32 "brand elements", which currently provide the engine either for new brands, or which have helped add extra oomph to existing products. These are collected into 8 main groups ("new traditions", "herd instincts", "luxury", "proactive" etc) of four separate sub-elements, each of which is illustrated with up to 10 different examples. So for example, the New Traditions category is broken down into sub-elements of "habits" (illustrated by Nando's, Haagen-Dazs and Ikea), "spectacle" (Sephora and Selfridges, as well as Cirque de Soleil and Disneyland), "leadership" (Chanel, Apple, Virgin) and "organisation" (Pret a Manger, Honda etc). Some of the examples may seem to stretch the point to snapping in order to make a fit, but the concept is clever and effective. 

Overall, this is an intriguing and thought-provoking book, which at the very least will have you re-examining the "brand molecules" of your own favourite brands.

Added 4th May 2006