List of tables

List of boxes

4.1Economic man: individual and societal maximization in a

4.2Transactional versus relational perspective on brand

7.5‘Six steps’ method of exploring and measuring brand

8.1Customer relationship management and brand relationship

Foreword

Leslie de Chernatony

Given the research I have undertaken over the years helping managers understand the nature of their brand and the opportunities for strategically growing brands, I am delighted to write the foreword for this insightful and most timely book. The authors have done an extremely thorough job, diligently working through the brand research literature to devise seven perspectives from diverse schools of thought about perceptions of brands. From this typology, among other things, they consider how the all-important brand equity is created and managed. The authors are to be congratulated on grounding this text so expertly in the literature yet still enabling management implications to be wisely crystallized.

Seeking to elucidate the nature of a brand is a daunting task, since brands are like amoeba, constantly changing. At the most basic, brands start life in brand planning documents, evolving as pan-company teams revise their ideas. Ultimately, after being finessed by stakeholders in the value chain, brands reside in the minds and hearts of consumers – hopefully in a form not too dissimilar from that desired by the firm. The research neatly synthesized in this text coherently brings more understanding to the challenge of understanding a corporation’s brand and managing its growth trajectory. It is clear from the authors’ work why diverse interpretations exist about the nature of brands.

From this well argued text it can be appreciated that one of the challenges managers face is finding a suitable metaphor to ensure common understanding of the firm’s brand. Without this, supporting brand resources may not be coherently integrated. Furthermore, under the service dominant logic paradigm, it is more widely recognized that brands are co-created through stakeholder interactions. Managers not only have to understand each other’s understanding and inputs to brand building, but also to recognize the way brand communities want to shape the brand.Again, the authors helpfully elucidate the importance of brand communities.

There is much in this book that makes it an inspirational read.

Leslie de Chernatony Professor of Brand Marketing Birmingham University Business School