On Brand: How to build a brand that makes more money Paperback – 20 Jan. 2024

If listening to A grade bull is your thing, I can recommend a few places you’ll find it:In a pub, men talking football. At a Trump rally, women talking politics. In a city flat, pot heads talking world peace. If you want to take the nonsense level up to 11, there really is only one place to go: An advertising agency presentation on brand.The room will be so full of hot air, you’ll have to open the windows to survive.If you do work in the brand world and hate hogwash, thankfully Ian Atkinson has the solution. His new book cuts through the self-serving gibberish and in plain speak tells all you need to know to build a healthy brand in the modern world. Writing from a brand guardian perspective (not an agency one) he debunks the myths and dares to say out loud what we’ve all thought for years. Stuff like:• Most brand research is useless.• The principals of branding are simple.• Most customers brand loyalty is paper thin.Today, brands come and go with blurring regularity, Ian advocates a more agile, less fixed approach than in the by-gone days of David Ogilvy. While he does quote the great man he also draws on Bob Hoffman, Mark Ritson, Al and Laura Ries and Steve Jobs for inspiration.I heartily recommend this book, it delivers a long overdue spit in the eye for professional brand-boozlers and as early as page 29, gives the best definition of brand I’ve ever read.

I was surprised at how thick this book was when it arrived - it is packed with content! But it’s also super-easy to read and witty too.I loved books like ‘How Brands Grow’ by Byron Sharp, but I couldn’t go out and successfully develop a brand identity or positioning or brand plan from it.With On Brand you can, it covers every area and I really liked the ‘recognition, reputation, renown’ way of breaking it down. There’s a line in the book, ‘Brand is a moat’, and I loved that, the idea that a company’s brand is a moat that can protect it from the attacks of its competitors. After reading this book, my moat-digging skills are 100x better!

"‘On Brand’ is an absolute gem in the world of brand-building literature. What truly sets it apart is its remarkable balance between comprehensiveness and clarity. Not only insightful but incredibly practica, it's perfect for anyone navigating through the complex journey of crafting and nurturing a brand identity. If there's one book that embodies the essence of mastery in brand-building, ‘On Brand’ is it. Ready to confidently hold two contradictory thoughts in your mind and emerge as a true master of the art? Buy this book!

I really enjoyed this book, made me think about the different big brands I have worked with over the years - what they did well and not so well. This is a very practical book I would recommend to anyone who wants to deeply understand how you create and nurture a brand into something that can be much more famous than the company itself, and its most valuable asset!

Your one-stop shop for all things brand. It’s an easy read, packed full of the ‘need to knows’ and offers some interesting new thinking too.Get this to plug all your brand knowledge gaps and get conversation confident.

I found the content broad, interesting, and useful. And, it's easy to understand. Best of all, my new-found knowledge has made me look amazing at work;) I'd 100% recommend it to anyone involved in advertising and marketing.