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Bon Journal

Branding and reputation

When we think of someone, we think of that person's personality, character, sense of humour, and ultimately reputation. When we hear the name of a person, these things also come to mind.

I was flattered to receive an email inviting me to review the book "The Revenge of Brand X." I suppose having a book review page on my site has paid off -- free books for the rest of my life?

"Branding" is a subject I know fairly nothing about, other than that it seems important. In fact, I've often confused it with an aspect of marketing. The author Rob Frankel points out that it's not the same as marketing.

What is branding then? Is it a mark or a stamp which shows your uniqueness? How does one build a brand? Which comes first - the name or the brand?

These are the questions I'm interested in. How does one build a brand on the Internet? I started building analyticalQ three years ago. And now, I feel it's got its own identity. I am not analyticalQ. I speak of analyticalQ as if it's another person, project, or company.

The paperback is quite easy to read, although I must admit that it reads like a marketing book written by an American. Having lived in London for more than a decade altogether, I tend to shy away from in-your-face salesmanship. In that sense, I think it oversells itself. Certainly, to a non-American audience, it appears too blatant. I missed most of the jokes and slangs.

Some books need to be reviewed by an expert. So I approached Ian Ferguson-Brown, my branding guru. In the ensuing conversation, I finally understood and appreciated the need for branding.

16 March 2002 Saturday

Invited book review of "The Revenge of Brand X" by Rob Frankel