Building Strong Brands by David A. Aaker

In “Building Strong Brands”, David A. Aaker develops the concept of how to deal with the fragmentation of markets by building brand identity, creating brand personality, and managing a brand system.

Although Aaker’s credentials (he’s a University of California at Berkeley business professor) might seem to exclude average readers, that is, those outside the marketing profession, there’s a great deal of interesting general information packed into these pages.

Far from being an ethereal dissertation on brands, brand equity, and brand identity, Aaker’s book presents case examples to which anyone can relate. With extensive case studies and illustrations of companies’ ads, Aaker emphasizes positioning a brand personality to match that of the consumer being targeted.

It is edifying to peruse the sections on past brand strategies and on the making of the Saturn automobile brand, among other topics.

Kingsford, known for its charcoal, tried to move into a line of foods but failed, unable to shake its charcoal image. Healthy Choice created the perception that healthy foods can taste good. Saturn developed from a new company in an old industry and had to “sell the company, not the car.”

I strongly advise you to take a look at this book!