Al Ries (1926–2022)

While quite (and sometimes laughably) dated more than ten years after publication, this is still at least a somewhat relevant book, although today "social media" has replaced "PR" as the dominant form of "soft advertising."

Some of the examples included here seem absolutely ridiculous now, and I have to say I'm not overly impressed with some of the strategies these authors have put forth as serious suggestions (i.e. changing the names of Guatemala to Guatamaya, and Cuzco to La Ciudad de las show more Incas, in order to attract more tourists). But the book does lay out a strategy that was in the early 2000s widely embraced, before Facebook and Twitter-style social media took hold.

A bit too full of bullet-points and unsupported anecdotal suggestions for my taste, but interesting as an artifact of a particular moment. show less

When I noticed that this book was published in 2000 – 17 years ago – I was interested to discover if any of the advice (and predictions) of the Rieses still hold true today. Some of their advice continues to make a lot of sense, like understanding if you intend to use the internet as a medium (to communicate and act an “up to the moment” catalogue of your available products and services) or if it is to be an internet business (think Amazon and Shopify) which has no ‘bricks and show more mortar” storefront. Coming up with short names for your online presence (i.e: the Hudson Bay Company website is www.thebay.com) continues to be a good idea as is anything that shortens keystroke entry.

Some of their predictions for the online world were fascinating. Amazon and Walmart’s current work towards a service that will deliver and put your groceries away for your while you are at work was predicted by the Rieses… but they thought that would happen by 2010, 7 years ago. Even back in 2000, they predicted Amazon’s dominance of the online book business, but their idea of “first out the post” dominance is not the guaranteed predictor of long-term success they communicate as Google has now completely dominated what back in 2000 was Yahoo’s domain as supreme search engine.

While I question the use of the word “immutable” to qualify their “laws” of internet branding, they do make some good arguments for unique brands for distinct product and service lines and the importance of understanding your business and your customers, in both the physical and online worlds and that all businesses will benefit from an online presence of some type, even if it is just to provide contact information for way to connect with the company.

Overall, a quick and interesting read that I would recommend more for its interesting historical view of the Internet in its infancy and the recommendations provided at the time for businesses seeking to make that first leap into the online world. show less

This is an excellent introduction to branding, why it's important, and how to do it right. What I found most helpful was their emphasis on not complicating or diluting a brand; with new product extensions or as an umbrella for multiple lines and business units. The book is organized in quick chapters, each highlighting one law. Each chapter is also prefaced with a solid example. I read the 1998 version, and found their points even more credible based on the longevity of the brand cases they show more cited. show less

Extremely useful book, reads almost like a psychology book as much as a marketing one.

It underlines principles that underline anything related to persuasion and communication between people. Indispensable read for marketing, still enjoyable even for anyone else.