Neumeier, Marty. the Brand Gap. Berkeley: New Riders, 2006

Thesis:

Brand is a person’s gut feeling; it’s not defined by companies. However, companies can influence us by communicating the qualities that make their product different than other products. In order to communicate this message effectively, the company need to bridges the gap between strategy and creativity to create and maintain a strong brand.

Major Section:

Neumeier started this book by addressing few misconception about brand. Majority, when people hear the word brand they associate it with a logo. Brand is neither a corporation identity system nor a product. Neumeier concluded that brand is a person’s gut feeling about the product, service or company because, brand is defined by individuals not companies. Therefore, each person has his/her own version of it. It is the company’s responsibility to show us how they want us to feel about their product.

According to Neumeier, every company should build a charismatic brand, for any product, service, or company so that people believe there’s no substitute. In order to accomplish this, companies need to work on a plan to study, measure, manage and influence their brand. One major issue in most companies is separation between strategy and creativity.

When there is a gap between logic and creativity, there is a brand gap. This can seriously hurt the company’s brand. This gap can create a natural barrier to communication and competition. Neumeier’s standard for charismatic brands are a clear competitive stance, a sense of rectitude, and a dedication to aesthetics.

Five discipline:

Neumeier breaks down the five area disciplines of Branding: (1) Differentiate, (2) Collaborate, (3) Innovate, (4) Validate, and (5) Cultivate. He believes that in order to become a charismatic brand, one must master all of these disciplines. Differentiation works the same way as the human cognitive system works, it filters information that we receive. It begins with our visual system that wired to discern the differences...