I've enjoyed getting to know branding luminary David Taylor over email, and finally met him in person for a pub lunch a few days ago. He writes a very useful and entertaining marketing blog called Where's the Sausage?, which is a manifesto for branding with substance. Some great case studies there. He's written a number of good books, but his latest is just coming out (aptly named "Where's the Sausage?"). This one is a slim marketing book actually written as a short novel -- a bit like a branding parable. It covers a year in the life of brand management.
What I love is that it very simply shows how a company can market authentically from the inside out, not just by slapping on a marketing campaign after the fact, but by truly thinking of the consumer all the way through. It also pokes well-needed fun at overly academic marketing types who use way too much branding jargon. It includes a nice quote from the founder of Geek Squad ("Advertising is a tax for an unremarkable product") and much of the book is a case study to prove that point. I bought copies for everyone in our tiny office here, because it's a nice introduction to marketing (and we don't have a large enough budget to pay the "unremarkable product tax"). Anyway, I highly recommend it, and here's the Amazon link.
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