Firebrands: Building Brand Loyalty in the Internet Age

There are so many books on the market that discuss the concept of 'brand' from so many different points of view, that it's difficult to sort out the good from the bad. This is one of the good ones. Moon and Millison define the basic concepts around brand. They explain in clear buzzword-light language what influences the growth and positioning of a brand. Finally, they provide ample and well-explained pointers to further reading to help understand some of their basic ideas more clearly. As a consultant working for a systems integrator, one of the things that impressed me the most was the focus on execution. Many books about branding seem to imply that the technical details are irrelevant to brand success, but _Firebrands_ makes the point that a relationship with a customer only has brand value when supported by appropriate policies, training, and technical infrastructure. This is a message that can't be, IMO, repeated often enough.Well worth the time to read.

If you read Firebrands as it was intended, you will read it as a mentor's guide: a dialogue and checklist for bringing your product into your customer's mind and experience. You will come to understand your firebrand as your rally point for your organization, operations, marketing, and product design. Firebrands is not a statement about the condition of the industry, any industry. Neither is it a collection of wisdom from the ages. It has to do with what is happening NOW and what is working in this fast mutating world of communications and commerce. In fact, if you don't have a mission underway, or one in mind, my bet is that you won't "get it." However, if you're in the heat of the quest, I would suggest keeping Firebrands close at hand.

As the Chief Technical Officer of a Texas based e-services and print communication firm, I live in this interactive brandspace on a daily basis. The problem with this brave new world of pixels is simply that much is said and much is written but little intelligent communication occurs. I find the innovative and far reaching approach taken by Michael Moon to be the de facto foundation for the next "big thing". The approach that one must take to these new media spaces and channels is not readily discernible from the clearly defined trails blazed in the more traditional areas of branding. This new territory is as different as the Earth is from the Moon [no pun intended]. The book travels beyond the areas marked as "unknown - there be dragons here" and opens a clear and understandable path into formerly mysterious areas. What we need out here in the field is less hype and more substance. Firebrands is a rational, ground breaking treatise on the evolution of Branding. This is a pivotal work that serves as a wonderful deskside companion, as indispensible to me as my spell checker or my browser.Michaels' best practices mental evolution from the time of the Jeff Martin led Digital Brand Building Seminars of the mid-90's to this opus show an extraordinary depth and breadth of thought and research . The Firebrands book is the Gray's Anatomy of Brand "science". As my company moves forward with ground breaking, market defining services in the area of brand guaranty we will continue to consult the Firebrands roadmap. We anxiously await any follow-up materials that might come from this mind trust.Be warned - this is not a shallow pop-business, executive book of the hour read. This is a genetic level approach to a new mindset. It must be read slowly, deliberately, and with a totally open mind. The graphics are not simply illustrative they are literally a book unto themselves. Read this brandspace atlas one chapter at a time, review the graphics, and with time and reflection you will understand.

Being involved in IT consulting exposes me to various approaches when a 'bricks and mortar' wants to go ON-LINE. This book crystalizes my thinking on the methodology of branding. After reading most of the book, I understand the importance of integrating off-line & on-line branding activities for every professional services firm. Either you are on the customer mind or you are another "what's their name?" firm.... Focus on creating a WOW experience for the customer is a must read... I love this book! Read it or regret it later.

No one understands branding in the digital space better than Michael Moon. If you work in this space, this book should be your bible...