The inclusion of this book in my immediate reading list came at the recommendation of a work team leader, as a supplement to new globally-driven marketing training we were to undertake. Sadly, though the nucleus of the book’s theme was well worth understanding, it was enveloped with such redundancy that I just barely dragged myself to the final page. There are several undesirable characteristics indicative of the book’s authorship – that of a former Fortune500 executive – that taint the insightful tone adopted by Stengel throughout. The need to fill 300 pages exudes an odor of desperation from an individual no doubt acting in self-interest to attract business to his new consultancy. I must reiterate that the core idea is of benefit to anyone within the practice of brand management, but the cry to legitimize this thinking is palpable. Evidential to this are the numerous one-line testimonials that don the prefacing pages and back cover, all from famous names in business plainly looking to support a friend and unlikely to have read a single paragraph.

        While a shame that the needless pages drag down the reader’s experience, Stengel is to be commended for distilling what is often labelled ‘fluffy’ marketing into a cogent framework, tested and proven to accelerate business growth. It all stems from establishing a brand’s purpose, a higher-order benefit that dictates how it improves people’s lives, bucketed into categories such as ‘inspiring exploration’, ‘evoking pride’, or so on. The sprinkling of relevant examples helps crystallize the idea’s different branches, even if some of them feel somewhat retro-fitted and by the end painfully so. Were I not the type of person incapable of leaving a book half-read, I’d have put it down after the third chapter and congratulate myself for having identified the optimal point of ROI.

-NP, Jan. 2015