A catchy business name and a smart logo may get you a few clicks, but to create a sustaining image for your organization and build continual success will require the perfect branding statement. The essence of an organization begins with establishing its brand, therefore it is absolutely essential to get it right.Brand managers, marketers, and executives have long turned to the trusted principles in Brand Aid to troubleshoot their branding problems. Written by an acknowledged branding expert with 30 years of experience building world-class brands, this must-have guide covers topics ranging from research and positioning to brand equity management and architecture strategy. The latest edition has collected illuminating case studies, best practices, and the latest research in order to offer invaluable advice on every aspect of brand management, including:• The 6 most powerful sources of brand differentiation• 5 elements that trigger brand insistence• Turning brand strategy into advertising• Online branding• Social responsibility, sustainability, and storytelling• 60 nontraditional marketing techniques• And moreAn organization cannot afford to get their branding wrong. With the treasure trove of techniques, templates, and rules of thumb found in Brand Aid, it won’t! " As a business leader, you know that every company, object, service, person or pet hoping to compete for public attention needs a brand. An enormous cottage industry has grown up around creating and improving brands, making it increasingly harder to cut through to useful, actionable information to help position your company's products or services. Just about all the information you need has been compiled in a single book. The second edition of Brand Aid includes everything from a basic introduction to brand management to advice on leveraging and measuring your brand's success."smartCEO.com "Powerful yet intangible, a brand is the personification of your organization. Learn to build, nurture, and grow a strong brand that inspires people, forges emotional bonds, and moves customers to insist on buying your brand. This book guides you through the entire branding process, from using social media effectively to linking your brand to human needs."Advertising Educational Foundation (aef.com) "There are literally dozens of flags marking pages in my copy of Brand Aid. Pick up a copy, and it will undoubtedly look the same in short order. Brand Aid functions equally well as a troubleshooter for underperforming, established brands, and as a toolkit for launching new brands destined for legendary status."brandingclass.com Brand Aid guides you through the entire branding process, from using social media effectively to linking your brand to human needs to developing a brand architecture strategy that unifies merging companies. Step by step, it breaks down a vast body of knowledge into helpful overviews and worksheets, checklists, case studies, research findings, rules of thumb, and more. Whether you're branding a company, product or service, museum, trade association, municipality, or anything, this book explains how to: * Get and analyze information about each consumer segment * Define your brand essence, promise, archetype, and personality * Position your brand against the competition * Make your brand identity consistent across the enterprise * Bolster the five qualities that create brand insistence * Translate your brand strategy into a multichannel advertising plan * Create great online content, blogs, SEO, email marketing, mobile apps, and more online requirements * Make your brand promise a reality by cultivating a brand-driven organization * Extend your brand into new products or leverage it globally * Use qualitative techniques for researching your brand's impact * And much more Your building, your products, your people. They're immensely valuable. But only your brand is irreplaceable. Get it right, and your company thrives. Make too many mistakes, and watch out! Brand Aid gets you up to speed on every branding essential--sidestepping pitfalls and positioning your brand for enduring success. Brad VanAuken is the president and founder of BrandForward, Inc., a brand strategy consultancy with clients throughout the world. Previously, he was director of brand management and marketing for Hallmark Cards and Vice President of Marketing for Element K. An active speaker and writer, Brad has been interviewed regularly in the national media, including Adweek , CNN, Entrepreneur , and Investor's Business Daily . Brand Aid guides you through the entire branding process, from using social media effectively to linking your brand to human needs to developing a brand architecture strategy that unifies merging companies. Step by step, it breaks down a vast body of knowledge into helpful overviews and worksheets, checklists, case studies, research findings, rules of thumb, and more. Whether you're branding a company, product or