This book is not quite as revolutionary as "The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing" was, but it still should have a place on your bookshelf. You won't get a lot of nuts and bolts about building a solid and powerful brand, but you will get the big concepts and basic theories in easily digestible chunks.

I've got to grin now though. Earlier in the week I received a review copy of a new book due out in January, "Brand Immortality: How brands can live long and prosper" that talks about how brands can live indefinitely by effectively breaking free from dying categories and this flies in the face of Immutable Law #21, The Law of Mortality. Such conflict! I love it. (I'll keep you posted when I'm done with the new book.)

Overall, definitely a great book to have. You won't get much more solid information about basic brand building.

Overall a great marketing/branding book for anyone wanting to get an overview of how it all works. They use classic, well-known examples that many professors cite constantly. If you have a background in marketing, it is a great refresher to remind you of the stuff you learned. As with all books, take from it what you can, and always challenge everything you read. But I read all of Al Reis' stuff, I think he is great.

Great book. Very consistent with their previous books and full of exemples that corroborate with the ideas.

This book is a classic. The language and content are so fresh you won't fail to be impressed even when you read it today.

[...]

very easy to read, to the point...sometimes a little repetitive but that's ok...good for memorizing.

There are two parts to this book. One part is pure common sense to anyone vaguely aware of what branding is, and an excellent guide for beginners. The other part is almost pure fiction.

The basics of branding are very well defined and explained through examples. Ideas are grouped under logical categories named "laws" (i.e., to be unconditionally obeyed?) whereas the concept of "pattern" (i.e., truths that apply most of the time in certain non-exclusive conditions) would have been more appropriate.

The following excerpt is very characteristic of the self-confidence this book displays: Because the eye focuses red light behind the retina, red light appears to move toward you. Therefore, red is the color of energy and excitement.

As a reader, I don't have a hard time believing that red is the color of energy and excitement. I also trust scientific experiments that red focuses behind the retina. But the causality link between the two is, to me, as risky as unnecessary.

Good for branding basics, but once it dives into the "new world of the Internet" it stops being useful basically because every prediction they have about Internet companies and the mistakes they are making turn out to be wrong. The fact that you're looking at this review proves 1 prediction wrong, they predicted Amazon would die because it's straying from it's branding by expanding beyond books (its brand). They spend a lot of time talking how none of the old rules apply to the Internet, then they spend the rest of the book doing just that, applying the old rules to the Internet, and you can see just how wrong they were. That being said a lot of information can be learned about real world branding, and by seeing where they were wrong you can also deduce information about online branding.

This book was supposedly a classic on the subject of branding some years ago. It's age certainly shows, having gotten around to reading it only recently.

For me it was basically a far less captivating version of Douglas Rushcoff's "Media Virus" - for me, the true ground breaker on the subject of branding.

I suppose the problem with any popular book about branding is this: as soon as it's concepts are popularized and utilized by any and every below-the-line boutique marketing joint in town, the concepts are rendered obsolete.

Further compounding this are extremely aging remarks - from the latest edition - along the lines of 'well, I suppose one day the internet will really find it's feet and become an important part of the proccess'.

Do ya think...!

This book contains the (infamous) 22 laws of branding according to Al Ries & Laura Ries. If you're looking for the Reader's Digest version of the message, here it is:

* Be first (invent your own category).
* Keep it simple and focused.
* Don't extend the brand; expand its category.

But really, why take my word for the book's message when it's such a fun read?

The language is simple, and there are plenty of images. You can skim right through it, or take the time to review the examples he gives of how big brands did the right (or wrong) things and come up with your own counter-examples.

This book isn't just for big brands; the 22 laws generally apply to smaller businesses too.

They point out that you shouldn't necessarily do the same things big companies do to become successful, even the ones known for success with branding. If you want to get rich by doing what rich people do, what you'll get is broke. You have to do what rich people did before they got rich.

Yes, big company branding is what they're still teaching in most business classes. Just say no if you're growing a smaller organization.

The addition of The 11 Immutable Laws of Branding on the Internet turned out to be a disappointment.

The problem is that the Internet is a fast-moving target, and the book was written a few years back (its copyright is 2002). When they say:

The Internet will be the first new medium that will not be dominated by advertising...

it's based on the way the Internet was then (remember bright flashing banner ads?)

If the Internet isn't going to be dominated by advertising, you'd never know it by Google's advertising revenues. Advertising on the 'net is here to stay, and can be a key component of your marketing plan.

Still, a great book, and a fun, fast, worthwhile read. I recommend it to anyone responsible for revenue growth.

To be successful at branding is increasingly challening with so many media options and control of advertising shifting from the advertiser to the consumer. For anyone in business this book offers extremely valuable facts, case studies, experiences, and outcomes that will make them better informed about the process of branding and what they must do to be successful at getting the market place to believe and accept their product or business as a true brand. I would make this book mandatory reading for every college marketing curriculum and anyone who has a job with"advertising or marketing" in their position title. It is better than any text book.

I am really learning some things that I did not know about the subject of "Product Branding" This is a great book, I would recommend it to any one interested in getting the "inside" on this particular subject!

Having worked myself within academia for ten years and in the "real" world of marketing for about as long, I must say that this book fills no purpose at all. It is nothing but an arbitrary collection of guesses that are not proved, could not be proved and would be of limited valuen even if proved. Neither the acadmic nor the practitioner can find any real value in this book.

For the academic, the method of making unqualified guesses without being able to prove any of them is, I hope all will agree, worthless. Research is about being able to test and prove one's hypotheses, but the authors show no interest in that. It is more comfy to just make guesses, but it's not research.

For the practitioner, the scientific failures of the book may not be as important, but where's the value in it. Two guys make guesses about what might work in companies, but they have nothing at all to support their guesses.

All in all, this is a book that should never have been written, never read and certainly never relied upon.

If you would like to speed up six years of college into six hours of reading and study - buy this book.

I've been creating world known brands for Fortune 100 companies for over ten years like Heinz, Hershey, BJ's, Sams Club, COSTCO and Mc Cormick - and this read sharpened my skills to a razor slicing edge.

I can't say enough about having every manufacturer or college student to have a copy of this amazing tome on their, "required reading list." Some of the most inane things million dollar and start-up clients try to do are revealed in the Ries writings.

Creative groups and major marketing agencies with 20 people around the table roll what they think are amazing and astounding ideas. A good example of this is Miller Clear Beer with a 50 million dollar advertising budget. It was pulled in six months and the brand suffered. The product was removed from the shelves.

At our company, King Marketing, this book is required reading for all to memorize! I can also say that a lot of my colleagues at Momentum Worldwide, the Interpublic Group, Marketing Drive and Proctor & Gamble love this book.

I really found this book to be useful on many levels. It's easy to read, and you can immediately find uses for the ideas here. Some of the information about specific products is outdated, so I'd like to hear what the author would say about huge emerging brands over the past few years.

I'd love to see a study examining Microsoft's Zune marketing strategies to go up against the iPod, what went wrong, and could still go right. Going up against the iPod is quite the challenge.

I used the "category definition" information immediately. "Promote the category if you are first, not just the product." Great stuff!

Excellent book. Although the 22 laws may not be immutable they definitely are impossible to overlook. This book is packed with practical examples of where major corporations failed and succeeded, by breaking or following each of the 22 laws. Definitely must read if you're interested in creating a strong brand.

I never read a book more packed with incredible insights that this one. My company, Astonish Results (www.astonishresults.com) provides consulting to mortgage companies. I will recommend this book to every company we consult.

As a small business owner and someone who was new to the business side of running a business I have found this book an absolute necessity in my daily business life.

I read this book with pleasure. It contains a lot of common sense and showed how people are influenced in their choice of branding features by what others have done and not what makes sense. I hope to use much of the information in my firm for our software branding.

Steven Calkins
Cross Media Solutions
Würzburg, Germany

I must say I have become somewhat of a Ries groupie. Al & Laura Ries along with Jack Trout have created some of the most thought filled pieces within the Branding, Marketing and communications world today. This one lives up the all the hype. The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding is a masterpiece to say the least. I began seeking out new books on the topic and thought why not hear from the gurus of the field. I had read The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing first and it lead me to this great piece. I am a marketing student not just in the classroom but for life. It is what I do, therefore learning more is what I must do.

Once you began your journey for more knowlege on Branding and relating fields you will side with this book. Branding lives with the perpection that is placed int he mind of the consumer. In all my many marketing classes have I not discussed the many issues that come up in this book. To be a great marketer or branding strategiest you must seek out information from all levels of the field and then rethink those thoughts in regards to your position and situation. This book places you in the right mindset to do that and much more. So begin the process...

This is a quick read and I actually found myself picking it up to read even when I WANTED to put it down. It has an easy flow and is written in layman's terms so anyone can understand. And while all of that is wonderful for a book, there is one thing that stood out the most to me-BRANDING IS MADE THROUGH PUBLICITY, NOT ADVERTISING. I swear I thought it was the other way around. I thought if you advertise your product enough then the media would pick up on your product and give you the publicity. That advice right there was worth the price of the book. If you are an entrepreneur, author or any type of businessperson, this book should be part of your library. Refer to it often.

Ries and Ries wrote a great book. I must mention that I am not in marketing or public relations yet found this book incredible and interesting.

Inside this book is 22 Immutable Laws of Branding and also a bonus book on Internet Branding. I think people in any industry should read this. I really think this book is great for small business operator. Each chapter covers examples of success and failure from huge companies such as Budweiser, Holiday Inn, Xerox, etc. You don't need to be the founder of the next Microsoft to find this book useful. 22 Immutable Laws Of Branding has important lessons that anyone could use for success in any size business.

This book is very well written and makes you laugh at times.

Ries and Ries are insanely knowledgable on branding and it shows through this book.

As the Creative Director for AUDIN Web Design, I found the 11 Immutable Laws of Internet Branding (in the back of the book) to be quite invaluable. That alone was worth the price. It allowed me to come up with a unique name for my Web Design company. I chose AUDIN solely on reading this book , Laws of Branding, and it has proven to be a good call because I am so easy to find on the search engines. However, a lot of the regular Branding stuff is a rehash of old books, but the internet stuff is gold, real gold. It is a quick read and you won't be disappointed (unless if you have read every other book by these authors). If you are on a tight budget, you might want to combine this book with another to get some savings (no, I don't work for Amazon; I'm just saying..that's all). I admit I am a bit bias; I just love this stuff--this marketing stuff. Even if you are not interested in marketing, this a good read for business in general. You could almost pick stocks based on this info; I did say almost.

As the Creative Director for AUDIN Web Design, I found the 11 Immutable Laws of Internet Branding (in the back of the book) to be quite invaluable. That alone was worth the price. It allowed me to come up with a unique name for my Web Design company. I chose AUDIN solely on reading this book , Laws of Branding, and it has proven to be a good call because I am so easy to find on the search engines. However, a lot of the regular Branding stuff is a rehash of old books, but the internet stuff is gold, real gold. It is a quick read and you won't be disappointed (unless if you have read every other book by these authors). If you are on a tight budget, you might want to combine this book with another to get some savings (no, I don't work for Amazon; I'm just saying..that's all). I admit I am a bit bias; I just love this stuff--this marketing stuff. Even if you are not interested in marketing, this a good read for business in general. You could almost pick stocks based on this info; I did say almost.

As the Creative Director for AUDIN Web Design, I found the 11 Immutable Laws of Internet Branding (in the back of the book) to be quite invaluable. A lot of the regular Branding stuff is a rehash of old stuff, but the internet stuff is gold, real gold. It is a quick and you won't be disappointed. If you are on a tight budget, you might want to combine this book with another to get some savings (no, I don't work for Amazon; I'm just saying..that's all). I admit I am a bit bias; I just love this stuff.

A must read for anyone in business. You don't just read this, you keep it around for reference. It also helps if you have read previous books...especially from the mother of all Trout and Reis books on Positioning. To navigate the world of business, marketing and advertising without this body of knowledge is like trying to get around Boston without a map. It can be done...but.

This book is a must read for anyone with responsibilities in branding because it gives some great advice and guidlines to get your mind muscles working. My biggest problem with the book is that they take an anti-extension position, which is dead on, but they don't recognize that brand managers don't live in a perfect world and sometimes find themselves in situations where they HAVE to extend the brand or find a new job. Don't look back, but that's Al and Laura sawing off the branch that you're standing on. There's absolutely no guidance in this book that would give you some reasonable rules to follow in the event that you have little choice but to brand extend.

The most recent example that shatters their immutable law about brand extending weakening a brand is the Apple iPod. Everybody is aware that the iPod is an Apple product. Apple didn't have the first MP3 player in the industry. Instead, Apple had a frame of reference built into their brand, as well as a point of difference (the strongest branding tool there is).

While there are a lot of examples of failed brand extensions, there are also a lot of examples of successful ones. There is a fundamental science behind what makes a brand extension work so that it re-inforces the parent brand, rather than acts parasitically. The weakness of this book is that it tries to present the last word on the subject without acknowledging the successes on other side of the coin.

I would give this book 3 1/2 stars if I could, but since I can't, I'll round up to 4 based on the easy style of this book, as it presents some powerful concepts in an conversational and easy to grasp way that includes a lot of brain fodder to stew on.

Books by Al Ries and Jack Trout are always worth a read. These marketing specialists are perhaps best known for their seminal work "Positioning". They have written several books together and also gone out on their own.

In this book, "The 22 immutable laws of Branding", the Ries/Trout partnership is broken, and instead it's Ries/Ries, Father and Daughter.

We are presented with 22 short chapters on what Ries considers to be immutable laws. E.g. The first law, "The law of Expansion" states that the power of a brand is inversely proportional to its scope. Each chapter is introduced with a one page company logo and brief description on transgression or adherance to the law. The Law of expansion uses chevrolet as the example, stating that by trying to be all things to all men, it undermined its brand. The chapter then continues in giving further analysis of that company and also illustrating other examples to back up the law.

As with all books by All Ries, or Jack Trout, this book is highly readable. The analysis is not indepth, but the concepts are easy and clear to understand. The chapters are short enough to read 5-10 minutes, and do not have to be read in order.

One criticism of the book is that it tends to state the same ideas in several different ways. Essentially the author's message is the same as in the classic "Positioning" - find a unique space in the mind of the customer for your company/brand, beware of product line extensions/brand extensions.

4 stars

This is a great short primer on branding and some of the critical mistakes to avoid. On first blush some of the laws seem counter intuitive, but the authors provide fabulous real world examples to prove their point. Also provides a bonus section on Internet branding, which is an entirely different animal. A must read for any small company delving into branding for the first time!

I believe Al Reis is one of the most important contributors to the principles of marketing as we know. I read this book and his other book about Laws of Marketing years ago. I still think the ideas in these books are timeless. I still browse them from time to time to refresh my memory. I would recommend this book to anybody who wants to be a businessman or successful in their careers. I believe it is a neccessity to learn about the principles of branding and marketing in today's business world wether you are in marketing, advertising or finance. Easy to read, great to learn.

The excellent book "The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding," by Al Ries and Laura Ries, states that "A branding program should be designed to differentiate your cow from all of the other cattle on the range. Even if all the cattle on the range look pretty much alike." Good branding can separate your cow from the other cattle, but many companies fail to follow Ries and Ries's immutable laws. If you choose a good brand by following the guidance given by Ries and Ries, then you will also end up with a good trademark for your brand.

Al and Laura Reis have put together an interesting book on branding that busy people will appreciate because it is short, clear and filled with examples from well-known brands to help you understand a variety of issues important to good branding. Each of the 22 laws of branding and 11 laws of Internet branding is covered in about 7 pages and includes lots of charts, notes and photos in the margins.

The problem with this book is that the supporting "proof" is presented primarily in the form of observations of only one component of a company's branding strategy and attributes the success or failure to the level of adherence to the law presented. While I believe that these 22 laws are important to consider, they are not the only factors that influence the success or failure of a brand. Unfortunately, this type of in-depth research is not presented, so the arguments can be misleading.

The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding is easy to read, entertaining and will give you some important branding issues to consider. If you are interested in branding advice, this book is a good primer. If you are looking for a comprehensive, research-based guide to building a branding strategy, I would suggest looking elsewhere.

This is a book giving very clear examples of the smart and not smart way of branding. Very useful to look at every now and then not to make the same mistakes again.

This is one of the worst books that I was required to read for my MBA program. I didnt benefit anything from reading the book. The authors of this book should not be considered "authors", and people should be paid to read such a book!!
When you read the book, you will understand what I say (if you have to read it).
The Authors think that readers are coming from the moon or maybe Mars, and that they don't know the clear obvious in their life!

Great advice with tons of examples to back it up. As part of the marketing efforts for my PR firm, I often give this book to clients and client prospects.

Below please find the 22 Laws of Branding (and short elaboration)for your quick reference:-

1. Expansion: The power of a brand is inversely proportional to its scope
2. Contraction: A brand becomes stronger when you narrow its focus
3. Publicity: The birth of a brand is achieved with publicity, not advertising
4. Advertising: Once born, a brand needs advertising to stay healthy
5.The Word: A brand should strive to own a word in the mind of the consumer
6.Credentials: The crucial ingredient in the success of any brand is its claim to authenticity
7. Quality: Quality is important, but brands are not built on quality alone
8. The Category: A leading brand should promote the cateogry, not the brand
9. The Name: In the long run a brand is nothing more htan a name.
10. Extensions: The easiest way to destroy a brand is to put its name on everything
11. Fellowship: In order to build the category, a brand should welcome other brands
12. The Generic: One of the fastest routes to failure is giving a brand a generic name
13. The Company: Brands are brands. Companies are companies. There is a difference
14. Subbrands: What branding builds, subbranding can destroy
15. Siblings: There is a time and a place to launch a second brand
16. Shape: A brand's logotype should be designed to fit the eyes. Both eyes.
17. Color: A brand should use a color that is the opposite of its major competitor's
18. Borders: There are no barriers to global branding. A brand should know no borders.
19. Consistency: A brand is not built overnight. Success is measured in decades, not years.
20. Change: Brands can be changed, but only infrequently and only very carefully
21. Mortality: No brand will live forever. Euthanasia is often the best solution
22. Singularity: The most important aspect of a brand is its single-mindedness

If you feel fine with the above statements, I assure you that you will enjoy the book much with its smooth writing style and plenty of real life examples/graphs (and that trigger you to think of many counter examples, too, as stated by many reviewers already). If not, please give it a pass.

p.s. The additional 11 Laws of Internet Branding is definitely an A+.

I thought it was a very helpful book. It filled a gap that
will help my people understand more fully what we are trying
to accomplish - create a culture of discipline.

The great part about books by Al Ries is the fact that he tries to prove his point by using real life examples of companies doing the right (or the wrong thing). He uses the same pattern in this book too with great results. In this book, the stress is on the tendency of companies to expand their brand , often resulting in disastrous consequences. Another interesting point is about how quality of the product really doesnt matter much, and the success of the brand depends of a whole lot of other factors.
Read the book for more! Its a quick read and you should be able to finish the book in around a couple of hours.

As an avid business book reader - it is not often these days that I pick up a book that I enjoyed as much as I enjoyed this book. Really well written, interesting examples and very informative - I learnt a lot from this book - well done!

I found many of the basic principals of this booked flawed.
The internet branding portion is almost completely irrelevant, given what happened in the past few years.

It's not a book for lawyers although it could be, as well as it could be for doctors, engeineers, marketers and for everyone. If you think how to sell yourself or your brand, this book will help to let others buy yourself and your brand.If your 2006 marketing calendar is busy with promotions and new products under the pressure of management to beat year ago stop and read this book. If you face alot of arguments that marketing is an art but not a scince you and those people should read this book. In fact, Al Ries cleaverly help us to understand ourselfs and our career. Appreciate Al Ries a lot wishing to get the chance to meet sometime.

An easy read and as far as I'm concerned one of the Bibles of marketing and branding

OK, this book will not enable you to pull another Starbucks out of your ass, but it will give you the fundamentals of branding, how and why it works, and sometimes doesnt. Branding is not exact science, neither is marketing or marcoms, there are too many variables at play. However, this book, together with laws of marketing, positioning, eating the big fish (to name a few) will at least give you a "feel" of what it is like to work in marketing in this day and age. I love all the books I named above, they are all worthy read.

While Trout & Ries do not go into detail regarding the marketing tactics a Brand Manager works with on a daily basis (ie, the 4 P's), they provide a wonderful framework for understanding brand communications. In fact, if you are seeking to begin learning about branding and brand management, I would recommend that this be your first read, as it is easy to understand, well-structured, and will teach you many of the "do's" and "dont's." I highly recommend purchasing the audio tape rather than the book because it contains all of the essential information, takes only 90 minutes to listen to, and is enjoyable.

Much of the information on branding does not apply or is too general.

First, you have to understand why some brands are successful and others are not..This is the right book for that purpose. I am sure that you will get some critical hurdles for creating your own one.

Interesting read but here's my question. As this book points out, there can only be one brand for the internet. Dell is the king of the 'PC ordering system', and then they say Yahoo is king of search engines. I understand that this book was brought out before Google was such a player, but that goes to show you that their laws of internet branding does not work. Yahoo and Google are the Pepsi and Coke of online search engines. There is healthy competition and so while the 22 Immutable Laws of Branding is dead on target and a great read, I feel the add on '11 laws of internet branding' is not 100% correct.

not bad- but not great... they have more pictures than other books and the layout is attractive, but they oversimplify a few contentious areas. Everyone understands there are no laws in love or marketing... so what's with the 22 (oh marketing)!

I do a little consulting in marketing & branding. I've got five other books on branding sitting on the shelf, & I've plowed through four.

I wouldn't say those other books were a waste of time, but I'm confident that this one has more immediately useful information than all of them taken together. And I'm stunned that it as easy read, not only informative but *fun*.

This edition is the one you want, as it combines the 22 laws with the other 11 that pertain very specifically to the Internet. By the time you get through the first few, you will find yourself looking at every brand -- on television, in the stores, on your own shelves -- in a whole new light. One of the prime models, coincidentally enough, is Amazon.com itself. The authors' comments on this very site will probably open your eyes to how remarkable the Bezos legacy has been.

I've barely finished, yet this book has already helped steer me better as to some website questions I had been studying. It's already paid for itself ten times over, & I am certain that the benefits have only begun. The simple, clear differentiation between a company name & a brand name has, by itself, been a unique lesson, & I've taken to heart the stern warnings (& wonderfully absurd object lessons) against line extensions & brand dilution.

Don't let the somewhat bizarre cover put you off (as it did me). This is one of the few books that I intend to re-read on a regular basis, & I will read more Reis titles in the near future.

I write reviews on Amazon rather avidly. When I started reading this particular book, I knew it would be a good number to review. So I started marking everything in the book that I disagreed with or that I felt was worth commenting on.

That the Ries duo relies on sweeping statements (e.g., "Quality of a product doesn't matter. It's all about brands.") hardly made my intentions any easier. Needless to say, my copy of 22 Immutable Laws of Branding is riddled with lots of ink and copious sidenotes. There is a lot I said "Really?" to while reading.

But maybe that's the thing I adore about Ries Inc. Their books are anything but boring manuals on a topical issue so relevant to almost anyone in business. I was "involved" with this book like I have seldom been with a work of non-fiction. I adored and went all retrospective with the "Law of the Name" and the "Law of Globalism". The writing is trippy, semi-provocative and hence absolutely delectable in a piece of work such as this!

Do I recommend it? Wholeheartedly. A wonderfully satisfying read. Just keep your discerning senses about you and think twice before wrapping your (brand management) career around all the advice this book proffers.

Noteworthy: The whole book is also available in a PDF version, if you are not particularly averse to on-screen reading.

I've been branding for most of my life. It's an intrinsic and essential feature of my profession. I thought I knew pretty much all there was to know - that is, until I saw this book. It claims to cover everything, and I must admit even I would be hard pressed to come up with 22 laws. Personally, I find some of the concepts apparently introduced in this book a bit far-fetched; I can't imagine how an idea like "branding people's minds" could be put into practice, nor, indeed, why you would want to. And as for "branding over the internet", well, to me that's just pure science fiction. Branding is a fairly personal thing, though, and everyone has their own tricks and techniques. I applaud the author for treating it as a serious enough subject to warrant an entire book.