Publisher's Synopsis
Remember when brand management was as straightforward as promoting a single product or service? Today, brands mingle so much - McDonald's and Disney partner on promotional giveaways, Subaru markets an L.L. Bean edition of the Outback, Toys R Us and Amazon.com jointly launch an online toy store - a whole system of brands can make or break a product and a career. Once content to "mind their own brands," marketers need a radically different game plan to succeed in this complex marketplace. In "The Infinite Asset", Sam Hill and Chris Lederer unveil an ingenious strategy - the Brand Portfolio Approach - that exponentially increases the value of brands by exploding them beyond the boundaries of their division or even their parent company. The authors argue that a company's brand portfolio must reflect how the target customer actually views the brand; it must encompass every brand - whether the company owns it or not - that affects the buying decision.;Based on thirty years of consulting experience and extensive research across industries, the authors introduce a breakthrough 3-D mapping tool - the brand portfolio molecule - that lets managers visualize all elements of a brand and how they interact to create new value. Compelling case studies apply the model to the brand strategies of companies including 3M, Cadillac, Miller Beer, and Yahoo! In addition, a comprehensive set of implementation tools guide marketers in using the model to: identify the "lead brand" in the eyes of the customer; find and fill product holes; decide whether to extend, prune, or reposition a brand; arrive at the right number of brands; determine how and when to use a corporate brand as an umbrella; allocate marketing funds most effectively; trace brand value using informative metrics; and convert brand equity into shareholder value and more. The first to provide a holistic model for brand value creation and management, this book is the must-have guide to leveraging every company's infinite asset for lasting competitive advantage.;Sam Hill was Chief Marketing Officer at Booz, Allen & Hamilton; he is now a partner at Helios Consulting and co-author of Radical Marketing. Chris Lederer, once a brand manager at Lever Brothers and a Senior Associate at Booz, Allen, is also a partner at Helios.
