Integrated Branding: Becoming Brand-Driven Through Companywide Action

Confused about what branding actually is? Not convinced of how important it is in the success of your organization? Integrated Branding provides a comprehensive view on what branding can do when properly implemented. The unique view on how branding is more than consistent marketing collateral and a fancy logo, Integrated Branding takes the branding process (and results) to a whole different level. This book discusses the process of driving your brand from every facet of the company, and more importantly, why it works.If you are looking for the best place to start in building your company's brand equity, this is the book for you.

What is branding? A common misconception is that branding in the business world is like branding on the cattle ranch. Company A hires company B to brand them. Company B rustles up some research and then proceeds to place a brand on Company A. Nothing could be less effective, or farther from the truth. Parker and LePla do a great service in clearly and simply explaining this in their excellent book, Integrated Branding.Integrated Branding shows that every company has a brand waiting to be revealed. What a company doesn't need is a "brand" presented to them by an ad agency. What that company needs, and what this book will teach it, is learning how to recognize and develop their existing brand and then live that brand all the time. Integrated Branding maps out a process that merges research of what an organization's customers/audiences want/need/expect, with the strengths and assets that a company has to offer. With that process the author's show you step-by-step how to develop (and use) all of the brand tools at the core of the integrated brand - principle, mission, values, personality, story, and associationIntegrated Branding also explains how to introduce the brand from top to bottom into every level of the company, and to every employee --from CEO to receptionist-so that they learn to live that brand. Following the Integrated Branding process will help your organization to reveal what brand assets it already has, and some that it may choose to aspire to. It helps provide each employee with tools to guide them throughout every decision and communication -- from announcing company news, to hiring, to product development. If a company truly lives its brand, customers will respond with increased loyalty, a willingness to pay a price premium and shortened purchase processes; and employees will pitch in for the long haul. How many books can provide you with a method to do all that?Integrated Branding should be the bible for anyone who is embarking on a brand program with any type of organization, big or small, corporate or non-profit. Your company - and your customers - will thank you for reading this book.--Rob Crowther

Lepla and Parker are the kings of branding how to. I've read all the latest literature from ries, etc. but this book guides my efforts.I have gone so far as to contact them in Seatle, however the events of the past few weeks have kept me out of contact.If you are developing a brand and need guidance, this is the book for you.

Integrated Branding is loaded with great tips for businesses of all sizes to effectively develop and use brand tools. Parker and LePla speak with authority on what works, and what doesn't work, in creating messages that resonate with customers and employees. They take brand out of the company handbook and into the everyday actions of employees. This book gives lots of entertaining examples of how to make sure everyone in the company is using the same principles to guide the way they represent the company--through customer interactions, product development, corporate communications, and more.