In several ways I think that (we) marketing people and advertising people in particular are conservative people. Or maybe I should say not very open to change, not very open to adjust, not very open to listen. It's more inside-out than outside-in. Therefore I think that "(Re)inventing the brand - the new realities of branding" is a MUST for everybody working in or with the advertising industry. It requires, however, an open mind and willingness to reconsider traditional thinking and practice. The book is like a good novel - hard to put away before the last page. And I think the one chapter "Energize the value chain of your brand" in itself makes the book one I my best investments.
Egil Braathe, MBA
Partner & Advisor; Movement Research & Consulting

After reading many recent books on branding and enjoying them immensely, I encounted a milestone in Reinventing the Brand. Jean-Noel Kapferer is an original, penetrating, self-confident authority with international scope. He has sifted through boatloads of received wisdom and common knoweldge and corrected their deficiencies with speed and savvy. He is judicious and balanced in his explanations of how to create a truly superior brand for our times.

The book consists of 31 essays, each one a gem of insight and experience. I often found myself comparing what he wrote to what I had read elsewhere--or experienced personally--and found him many steps ahead. Reinventing the Brand is a lot of FUN when you're able to follow these connections!

You'll get more out of the book if you're beyond the basics. Kapferer doesn't spend much time explaining concepts that others have explored previously. But he is exquisitely direct and convincing when showing how to make better use of those good but imperfect ideas that tend to cloud your vision.

Nothing to see here...move along.

Kapferer promises "new approaches" and delivers the same tired pablum. Not worth the time it takes to read it--you won't find anything applicable in the book.

This book is a comprehensive and holistic approach to brand architecture. The author presents an expanded view of the meaning and role of brands and gives a new dimension, deeper than the single, limited conceptualization of a brand as a product. The role of the organizational associations, of the culture values and the emotional imput is very well integrated to understand the multidimensional meaning of a brand. This book will help brand, marketing and/or commercialization managers to best leverage their corporate, range and product brands. Additionally, the insights presented to understand brand and company valuations are very well explained. This book, by Jean Noel Kapferer, can be complemented with books written by David Aaker.

Unlike many brand experts who consider brand to be something that shifty marketers invent in dark rooms and then overlay on products, Kapferer suggests that there is an organic genesis to brand, having to do with the culture of the corporation that creates them. It's a refreshing concept, and one that is extremely valuable for the non-profit and service sectors, who don't usually create new products or services based on the latest market fad.

This is a much more conceptual approach to branding than I've seen in other works, and one that will serve as a good introduction to brand for someone who has no background in it. It's equally good, though, for someone who has trudged through other more tactical books, and even for someone who has a solid background in branding.