Brand Warriors

The companies rated by marketers as the rising stars for the future are those with very clearly positioned, confident corporate brands.

Yet not all companies these days consider it important enough to nurture their brands. Instead they spend their resources in the losing battle against increasing costs and decreasing margins.

With people more brand conscious than ever, what's going on?

'Brand Warriors' brings together some of the top brand custodians in the business to talk about the strategies they employ to put their brands in the lead and keep them there. Archie Norman of Asda, Bob Ayling of British Airways, Robert Holloway of Levi's, Alain Evrard of L'Oreal and C.H. Tung of OOCL are just some of the high profile contributors who, in a series of revealing chapters, discuss the crucial aspects of:

• effective brand architecture
• the feel good factor
• the economic value of brands
• powerful brand positioning and corporate communications programmes
• building loyalty — nurturing soft values alongside hard
• global marketing — the new paradigms
• corporate reputation
• the ability to recognise and handle change
• the importance of being not just a caring brand but a caring employer

Championing the brand is at the heart of winning business strategies. Nothing is as important if a company is to prosper. These highly readable perspectives, written from the frontline, provide penetrating insights — based on proven success — that no business leader can afford to ignore.

• Introduction
  Fiona Gilmore

1. Asda: The Accelerated Repositioning of a Brand
   Archie Norman
2. British Airways: Brand Leadership Results from Being True to Our Long-term Vision
   Robert Ayling
3. L'Oréal: Achieving Success in Emerging Asian Markets
   Alain Evrard
4. Levi Strauss: Focus on the Legend… and Record-breaking Global Sales
   Robert Holloway
5. Orient Overseas Container Line: Growth Reflecting the Rise of the Asia Pacific Economies
   C. C. Tung
6. McDonald's UK: Balancing the Global/Local Demands of the Brand
   John Hawkes
7. Guinness Ireland: Broadening the Brand Franchise without Destroying the Mystique
   Tim Kelly
8. Rentokil Initial: Building a Strong Corporate Brand for Growth and Diversity
   Sir Clive Thompson
9. Hewlett-Packard: Keeping the Brand Vision Alive
   Jos Brenkel
10. Cadbury Ltd: Harnessing the Strengths of the Corporate Brand
    Alan Palmer
11. VTech: From Vision to Culture
    Allan Wong
12. London International Group: The Benefits of Globalizing a Brand in a Fragmented Marketplace
    Nick Hodges
13. Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group: Delivering the Eastern Promise Worldwide
    Robert E. Riley
14. Mazda: The Journey Towards Harmony
    Shigeharu Hiraiwa and David Heslop
15. Federal Express: The Supremely Packaged Warehouse in the Sky
    Frederick W. Smith

A lot of case studies. Maybe fun if you work in the subject area, but otherwise skip it.