Aaker on Branding

Hey y’all and welcome to ~Dylan’s Book Club~ In this series, I am going to cover different advertising books that have (for a lack of better words) changed my (ad) life. The first book in this series is going to be “Aaker on Branding” by David Aaker. Before we get into that, though, here’s some background on me.

I am a senior ADPR major from Council Grove, Kansas. Growing up, I had a different “dream job” every year, which is probably why I ended up in Advertising. The idea of being able to do the same job in a different way every day and deep dive into different brands all the time really appeals to me. This desire to learn about different brands is what lead me to take ADPR 484 “brands and branding” with Kelli Britten. It was in that class that I was first introduced to “Aaker on Branding”

This book is divided into five different parts that start with “Recognize that Brands are Assets” to “Manage your Brand Portfolio.” Each part has different chapters and there is a total of 20 chapters in this book with each one based on a “principle that drives success.” Each chapter is super easy to read in a night or two, and with a busy student schedule I know that sounds insane, but it really is an easy read. Each chapter starts with a detailed explanation of the concept, and then transitions into a case study of how that has worked for current brands, and finally a bottom-line section that covers how important that concept is to modern-day brands.

Personally, my favorite part of the book was the “Bring the Brand to Life,” which is part 3 in the book. This part focused on how you can create brand relevance again from the inside. Being able to focus on customers’ sweet spots, have a digital presence, and being consistent are all key to a bring a brand to life. From an agency side, the most important chapter of this part is the first one, “Where do brand-building ideas come from?” In this chapter, you learn that external role models, brand touchpoints, customer motivation/unmet needs, being opportunistic, leveraging assets, and customer sweet spots are the best places to derive brand-building ideas. The brand touchpoints section in this chapter really opened my eyes to make sure that every touchpoint a customer can have with your brand can turn into a journey. Being able to connect consumer touchpoints into a bigger idea to create a brand journey can set your brand apart from other competitors. Sometimes that involves taking a touchpoint out of certain customer journeys to make their experience with the brand simple, easy and understandable.

There is so much information in this book that I HIGHLY recommend anyone going into advertising to read this, it doesn’t matter if you want to be on accounts, strategy or creative. If anyone has any questions about this book or how they can get their hands on a copy don’t be afraid to reach out at ddevries@huskers.unl.edu. I’d gladly reply to any and all questions. Also, be on the lookout for the next Dylan’s Book Club where I’ll either cover “Hey Whipple, squeeze this” or “Obsessed: building a brand people love from day one.”