How to use brands to gain and sustain competitive advantage
Companies today face a dilemma in marketing. The tried-and-true formulas to create sales
and market share behind brands are becoming irrelevant and losing traction with consumers.
In this book, Gerzema and LeBar offer credible evidence-drawn from a detailed analysis of
a decade's worth of brand and financial data using Y&R's Brand Asset Valuator (BAV),
the largest database of brands in the world-that business is riding on yet another bubble
that is ready to burst-a brand bubble. While most managers still see metrics like trust
and awareness as the backbone of how brands are built, Gerzema asserts they're dead
wrong-these metrics do not add to increased asset value. In fact, by following them, they
actually hasten the declining value of their brands.
Using a five-stage model, The Brand Bubble reveals how today's successful brands-and
tomorrow's-have an insatiable appetite for creativity and change. These brands offer
consumers a palpable sense of movement and direction thanks to a powerful "energized
differentiation." Gerzema reveals how brands with energized differentiation achieve
better financial performance than traditional brands have. Plus, Gerzema helps readers
develop energized differentiation in their own brands, creating consumer-centric and
sustainable organizations.
John Gerzema (New York, NY) is Chief Strategy Officer for Young &
Rubicam Brands. He joined Y&R from Fallon Worldwide, where he created that firm's
global expansion strategy. A member of The Council of Foreign Relations, he is the
recipient of more than a half-dozen industry awards and has appeared frequently on/in
CNBC, Newsweek, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and various industry
publications. Ed Lebar (New York, NY) is the CEO of BrandAsset(r) Consulting Group for
Young & Rubicam Brands. He oversees the implementation of BrandAsset(r) Valuator,
consulting across all lines of business, global accounts, and joint ventures. He founded
StrategiConnections Inc., a firm specializing in brand positioning. He began his career at
Y&R 32 years ago and has held the position of professor of economics at CCNY and Finch
College.
Table of Contents
Foreword (Peter Stringham).
PART ONE: INTRODUCTION.
1. Tulipmania and Inflated Brands.
2. Can You Say "Irresistible"?
3. Wall Street, Meet Main Street.
4. The Postmodern Craving for Creativity.
5. Welcome to ConsumerLand.
PART TWO: APPLICATION.
6. Stage One-Exploration: Performing an Energy Audit.
Case study: Lego-Play Well.
7. Stage Two-Distillation: Identifying the Energy Core.
Case study: Virgin Atlantic-Brilliant Basics, Magic Touches.
8. Stage Three-Ignition: Creating an Energized Value Chain.
Case study: Xerox-The Energy Inside.
9. Stage Four-Fusion: Becoming an Energy-Driven Enterprise.
Case study: Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers-Human Energy.
10. Stage Five-Renewal: Active Listening and Constant Refreshing of Brand Meaning.
Case study: Uniqlo-Seeing Farther.
Epilogue: A Brand May Be Famous. But Is It Creating Return for Shareholders?
Notes.
Acknowledgments.
The Authors.
Index.
272 pages, Hardcover
