Just out is a digest on everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-brands in 2015. Kartik Kompella has orchestrated 18 brand experts from around the world to compile a 425-page doorstopper The Definitive Book of Branding. Kartik lives in Bangalore where he is the founder of Purposeful Brands. He has been associated with brands in various ways from an advertising planner, brand consultant, DM and CRM professional to marketer and international conference speaker. He is especially passionate about Cause-related Branding and was responsible for the first ever study on consumer attitudes toward CSR in India. His Lovemarks are Pink Floyd and cricket.
Fortuitously, perhaps presciently, he has given me the last word in the book. Naturally, my chapter is on Lovemarks as the future beyond brands.
Fellow contributors include Adam Morgan (Challenger Brands), Helen Edwards (Passion Brands), Richard Mosely (the Employer Brand), Mark Batey (Meaningful Brands), Jan Lindemann (the Economy of Brands), Sicco Van Gelden (City Brands), Jean-Noel Kapferer (Luxury Brands), Daryl Travis (Brant Trust), Patrick Hanlon (Primal Brands) and Al Ries (Positioning).
Kartik has assembled a great body of endorsers, including this great summation from Phil Chapman, Vice President Equity and Communication- Global Chocolate, from Saatchi & Saatchi client Mondelēz International:
“Kompella has marshalled an outstanding body of Brand thought, both contemporary and timeless, paying into my own beliefs and prejudices. The thesis is that Brands must be at and in the hearts of our organisations. Brands that keep winning are built to make the world a little better every day, built with clarity of purpose and authenticity behind causes which resonate. They create compelling connections and new perspectives which celebrate their unique brand distinctiveness through everything that they do, every day. This is in the face of two enormous challenges; first, most shopper decisions are unconscious and implicit, when forced to articulation they are often misleading, misconstrued or misinterpreted. Secondly, in the age of real time global social digital connection, the days of controlled brand ownership and confidentiality are over. It is only what we stand for, communicate and deliver that counts. We had better do it better, faster and more tenaciously than others. This book is a great starting point to understanding branding success today.”
