Brand warfare : 10 rules for building the killer brand : lessons for new and old economy players

In a world where consumers have infinite choices, it's almost impossible to compete without a compelling brand. Creating one, however, requires vision, daring, and the ability to understand the consumer. Above all, brand building requires knowledge of the pitfalls and the opportunities in every business decision. The care and feeding of brands is a battle; Brand Warfare provides the strategic ammunition needed to win. Contents......Page 5 Acknowledgments......Page 10 Introduction......Page 11 Why Apply to B-School?......Page 12 When Should I Apply to B-School?......Page 14 Where Should I Apply?......Page 17 About the Profiles......Page 20 What’s an MBA Really Worth?......Page 21 Is the MBA Overrated?......Page 22 Can Your Relationship Survive B-School?......Page 24 B-Schools: You Don’t Have to Wait......Page 25 MBA Applications Surge......Page 26 A Small B-School Can Be a Big Plus......Page 27 B-School by the Numbers......Page 29 Babson College, F. W. Olin Graduate School of Business......Page 35 Carnegie Mellon University, David A. Tepper School of Business......Page 39 Columbia University, Columbia Business School......Page 43 Cornell University, Johnson Graduate School of Management......Page 47 Dartmouth College, Amos Tuck School of Business Administration......Page 51 Duke University, Fuqua School of Business......Page 55 Emory University, Goizueta Business School......Page 59 Escuela Superior de Administración y Dirección de Empresas, ESADE Business School......Page 63 Georgetown University, Robert Emmett McDonough School of Business......Page 67 Harvard University, Harvard Business School......Page 71 HEC Montréal, École des Hautes Études Commerciales......Page 75 HEC School of Management......Page 79 Indiana University, Kelley School of Business......Page 83 INSEAD, The European Institute of Business Administration......Page 87 International Institute for Management Development......Page 91 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management......Page 95 McGill University, Desautels Faculty of Management......Page 99 Michigan State University, Eli Broad College of Business......Page 103 New York University, Leonard N. Stern School of Business......Page 107 Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management......Page 111 Ohio State University, Max M. Fisher College of Business......Page 115 Pennsylvania State University, Smeal College of Business......Page 119 Purdue University, Krannert School of Management......Page 123 Queen’s University, Queen’s School of Business......Page 127 Stanford University, Graduate School of Business......Page 131 Thunderbird School of Global Management......Page 135 Università Bocconi, SDA Bocconi School of Management......Page 139 University of British Columbia, Sauder School of Business......Page 143 University of California at Berkeley, Haas School of Business......Page 147 University of California at Los Angeles, John E. Anderson Graduate School of Management......Page 151 University of Cambridge, Judge Business School......Page 155 University of Chicago, Graduate School of Business......Page 159 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, College of Business......Page 163 University of London, London Business School......Page 167 University of Maryland, Robert H. Smith School of Business......Page 171 University of Michigan, Stephen M. Ross School of Business......Page 175 University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management......Page 179 University of Navarra, IESE Business School......Page 183 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Kenan-Flagler Business School......Page 187 University of Notre Dame, Mendoza College of Business......Page 191 University of Pennsylvania, The Wharton School......Page 195 University of Rochester, William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration......Page 199 University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business......Page 203 University of Texas at Austin, McCombs School of Business......Page 207 University of Toronto, Joseph L. Rotman School of Management......Page 211 University of Virginia, Darden School of Business......Page 215 University of Western Ontario, Richard Ivey School of Business......Page 219 University of Wisconsin at Madison, School of Business......Page 223 Vanderbilt University, Owen Graduate School of Management......Page 227 Wake Forest University, Babcock Graduate School of Management......Page 231 Washington University, Olin School of Business......Page 235 Yale University, School of Management......Page 239 York University, Schulich School of Business......Page 243 Columbia University, Columbia Business School......Page 247 Cornell University, Johnson Graduate School of Management......Page 251 Duke University, Fuqua School of Business......Page 255 Emory University, Goizueta Business School......Page 259 Escuela Superior de Administración y Dirección de Empresas, ESADE Business School......Page 263 Georgetown University, Robert Emmett McDonough School of Business......Page 267 INSEAD, The European Institute of Business Administration......Page 271 Instituto de Empresa......Page 275 International Institute for Management Development......Page 279 New York University, Leonard N. Stern School of Business......Page 283 Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management......Page 287 Ohio State University, Max M. Fisher College of Business......Page 291 Queen’s University, Queen’s School of Business......Page 295 Southern Methodist University, Edwin L. Cox School of Business......Page 299 Thunderbird School of Global Management......Page 303 University of California at Los Angeles, John E. Anderson Graduate School of Management......Page 307 University of Chicago, Graduate School of Business......Page 311 University of London, London Business School......Page 315 University of Michigan, Stephen M. Ross School of Business......Page 319 University of Navarra, IESE Business School......Page 323 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Kenan-Flagler Business School......Page 327 University of Pennsylvania, The Wharton School......Page 331 University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business......Page 335 Villanova University, School of Business......Page 339 Washington University, Olin School of Business......Page 343 Boston College, Carroll School of Management......Page 347 Boston University, School of Management......Page 351 Carnegie Mellon University, David A. Tepper School of Business......Page 355 Drexel University, Bennett S. LeBow College of Business......Page 359 Elon University, Martha and Spencer Love School of Business......Page 363 Emory University, Goizueta Business School......Page 367 Georgia State University, J. Mack Robinson College of Business......Page 371 Indiana University Southeast, School of Business......Page 375 Lehigh University, College of Business & Economics......Page 379 Loyola Marymount University, College of Business Administration......Page 383 Loyola University Chicago, Graduate School of Business......Page 387 New York University, Leonard N. Stern School of Business......Page 391 Ohio State University, Max M. Fisher College of Business......Page 395 Rollins College, Roy E. Crummer Graduate School of Business......Page 399 Southern Methodist University, Edwin L. Cox School of Business......Page 403 University of California at Los Angeles, John E. Anderson Graduate School of Management......Page 407 University of Chicago, Graduate School of Business......Page 411 University of Denver, Daniels College of Business......Page 415 University of Houston, C. T. Bauer College of Business......Page 419 University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Isenberg School of Management......Page 423 University of Nevada at Reno, College of Business Administration......Page 427 University of Richmond, Robins School of Business......Page 431 University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business......Page 435 University of Texas at Austin, McCombs School of Business......Page 439 University of Texas at San Antonio, College of Business......Page 443 University of Washington, Michael G. Foster School of Business......Page 447 Villanova University, School of Business......Page 451 Wake Forest University, Babcock Graduate School of Management......Page 455 Washington University, Olin School of Business......Page 459 Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Department of Management......Page 463 A Movie Star Like Tom Hanks Talks Openly About The Importance Of Protecting The Tom Hanks Brand. The State Of Vermont Thinks It's A Brand, Too And Wants To Keep Out-of-state Companies From Borrowing The Name Vermont. Even The Official Exorcist Of The Cathedral Of Notre Dame Believes He Does A Lot Of Business Because Notre Dame Has A Certain Brand Name. It's Brand Mania. And If You Try To Tell Any Professional Anywhere In The World That Brand Matters, You Are Probably Preaching To The Converted. At The Same Time, Nothing Is As Misunderstood In Business As The Question Of How To Use A Brand. Businesses Routinely Sink Their Brands With Ill-considered Mergers And Acquisitions, Mishandled Scandals, And Embarrassing Sponsorships. Even Brand-savvy Companies Like Nike And Coca-cola Occasionally Stumble Because They Fail To Recognize That A Brand Is Everything A Company Does - The Information You Want To Communicate To Consumers And The Information You Communicate Despite Yourself.--jacket. It's The Brand, Stupid -- Codependency Can Be Beautiful--consumers Need Good Brands As Much As Good Brands Need Them -- A Great Brand Message Is Like A Bucking Bronco--once You're On, Don't Let Go -- If You Want Great Advertising, Be Prepared To Fight For It -- When It Comes To Sponsorships, There's A Sucker Born Every 30 Seconds -- Do Not Confuse Sponsorship With A Spectator Sport -- Do Not Allow Scandal To Destroy In 30 Days A Brand That Took 100 Years To Build -- Make Your Distributors Slaves To Your Brand -- Use Your Brand To Lead Your People To The Promised Land -- Ultimately, The Brand Is The Ceo's Responsibility--and Everyone Else's Too. David F. D'alessandro, With Michele Owens. Includes Index. In the last ten years, over a quarter of John Hancock's traditional competitors have indeed gone the way of the dinosaur. John Hancock, on the other hand, has maintained average annual growth of nearly 20%. Its revenues have tripled in the last eight years and it has managed to take its credibility in the shrinking insurance market and transfer that credibility to the thriving investment market to become a major player. Throughout John Hancock's transformation from a sleepy old life insurer into a dynamic financial services firm, President D'Alessandro has been the unconventional leader of a once conventional company. He is the first marketer ever to become President of a large life insurer, a maverick and a bomb-thrower who speaks the language of the new world from the corner office of an old-line concern. Thanks to Hancock's stellar performance and D'Alessandro's own unfailing quotability, he has appeared on TV programmes such as "Good Morning America", "The Today Show", "CNN" and the "Bloomberg Fortune" to offer his views on marketing intelligently in the modern world, and has been featured in countless newspaper and magazine stories While more than a quarter of its traditional competitors were going out of business, John Hancock, under the direction of marketing wizard David D'Alessandro, transformed itself from a sleepy old life insurer into a leading financial services giant, with a sustained 20% annual rate of growth. In Brand Warfare much-quoted maverick D'Alessandro provides the secrets to his winning brand strategy that anyone in business can use to become a brand icon and incredible bottom-line success. D'Alessandro introduces his "brand first" philosophy and explains why brand must always take top priority over every other business consideration. He describes how that philosophy helped inspire the innovations in distribution, advertising, technology, and product mix behind John Hancock's astonishing transformation. And he reveals how through a daring combination of marketing savvy and street smarts, managers and executives, marketing professionals and business owners can build their own "killer brand." This book provides powerful lessons on how to build and sustain a successful brand, and a great company, in any industry. Author David F. D'Alessandro, the CEO of John Hancock Financial Services, describes how to build and protect a brand name. With writing assistance from Michele Owens, he draws on stories from John Hancock and other companies to illustrate successful brand building as well as missteps along the way. Based on these stories, D'Alessandro summarizes the principles of brand building, such as being consistent, refreshing the brand to keep up with the times and sponsoring events that are in keeping with the brand's image. His basic principles are familiar: Use your brand as a powerful image that reflects your company and product's core identity. getAbstract likes D'Alessandro's breezy, personal style and conversational approach, which convey these ideas in a fresh way. If you haven't brushed up on your branding lately, this is a useful roundup of information, reminders and cautionary tales In "Brand Warfare: Ten Rules for Building a Killer Brand", D'Alessandro explains why brand must come first, before any other business consideration. And he shows how his "brand first" philosophy helped John Hancock transform itself by inspiring innovations in distribution, advertising, technology and product mix, all to serve the brand. He uses his first hand experiences at John Hancock, as well as the things he has observed at other companies, both as a public relations consultant and as a student of the marketplace, to illustrate the ten rules for building and sustaining a successful brand, and with it, a great company no matter what industry John Hancock is one of the oldest brands in America. But in one crucial aspect, the company was 15 years ahead of its time when David D'Allessandro arrived there in 1984. John Hancock was facing exactly the same threat back then that many competitors worldwide are just now waking up to: the threat of extinction at the hands of new competitors with a better command of technology and a better grip on the expectations of modern customers "Branding" has developed into one of the business world's hottest concepts, and for good reason. Branding is cited as the secret ingredient behind the tremendous corporate gains realized in recent years by companies ranging from FedEx, Rolex, Starbuck, Volvo, and most interestingly, John Hancock In this work the author explains why "brand" must come first before any other business consideration. He illustrates the rules for building and sustaining a sucessful brand and company no matter what the industry, using innovations in distribution, advertising, technology and product mix. The author of this book uses firsthand experience to explain why brand must come first; before any other business consideration. And he shows how his brand first philosophy helped John Hancock transform itself by inspiring innovations in distribution. -- Résumé abrégé tiré de l'ouvrage