Branding Book – Personality Not Inlcuded

An interesting  book by Rohit Bhargava called Personality Not Inlcuded looks to be promising.

Faceless companies don’t work anymore.  In a world where consumers have more access to information than ever, and more power to share their voice … a brand’s identity is no longer controlled through marketing and advertising.  In this new era, what you say your brand stands for is no longer good enough.  What you demonstrate to your customers matters most.  This is the power of your personality.  Personality Not Included is an essential guide for brands on putting back the missing ingredient in their marketing to build loyal customers, foster consumer (and employee) evangelists, and create a connection that goes beyond profit.

A good read and worth checking out!

Relevance of Online Branding to Offline Branding

Online branding has evolved from when it was first conceptualized. Before, it was solely implemented with the use of some color schemes and the logo of the brand. Today, when competition is stiff, marketers have to find ways for their brands to stand out and promote brand recall. This is why it is now made with more artistic inputs and technological applications.

Here are some facts that describe this method of branding with relevance to offline branding:

• Given more attention. According to measures of marketing trends such as that of MSN’s Pulse, businesses are now paying more attention and focus to building branding online. As a result, there is an increasing trend in the creative aspects of the advertisements which are done to build a brand through the Internet.
• More difficult to execute. This is regarded as one of the major marketing efforts that should be done by businesses, especially by large companies. Most of the marketers of these businesses admit that branding through the Web is more difficult to do especially when they cannot repeat and apply what they do offline. Thus, they have to think up new means of branding for it to be effective. The Web should not be treated as a medium like that of offline branding, according to one creative director.
• Different from offline branding in terms of results. Businesses which hit the high marks for offline branding did not necessarily do well with their online efforts. This is evident in the brand building for Nike, one of the biggest brands in the world. Its website still contains the big swoosh mark. However, the loading of other graphics is so slow it is simply discouraging for customers.
• More expensive. Having reached the top and succeeding in building your brand online is not the end of the story. You have to maintain that position but it is expensive to do so. You will need at least $10 million. However, this will eventually pay off with your sales and profits.
• Definitely more effective if combined with offline branding. This way, you will be able to reach more people through these two media.

You can also find additional information on  online branding at brand new day and toprank.