Book Review: The Brand Gap by Marty Neumeier

Cover of The Brand Gap: Expanded Edition

As mentioned in my previous post, I have a few books to read in the upcoming months. I just finished reading "The Brand Gap: A Whiteboard Overview" by Marty Neumeier.

Neumeier is a California-based brand collaboration expert. This means that he specializes in making sure marketing teams understand and communicate brand value consistently across all of their activities and customer touch points.

The Brand Gap is a quick read and designed to get you into the heart of branding really quickly.  Absent from this book is the long-winded prose you find in many marketing/branding books where the author goes on and on about one subject until you begin to fall asleep.  Neumeier keeps this book on-point and to the point.

Tip: The book contains a summary and suggested reading list at the end and both are awesome.

He starts by talking about what a brand is (a gut reaction) and what the brand gap is (between strategy and creativity).  Then he goes about explaining the five disciplines of creating a brand that is "charismatic", meaning a brand less prone to commoditization.   They are:

1. Differentiation
2. Collaboration
3. Innovation
4. Validation
5. Cultivation

I have to say that after reading this book, I realize that many of these concepts and many of the exercises in the book have been taught to me over the years.  Nevertheless, this book is so good and so easy to get through that I recommend it as essential reading for everyone who is even close to managing a brand.

Next up:  Fascinate by Sally Hogshead.  Been waiting 6 months to read this one!