David Aaker is one of the most respected and widely cited authors in the field of marketing, so it’s with a small degree of trepidation that I’m writing this critique of his 1995 book ‘Building Strong Brands.’ I feel duty-bound to write one nonetheless, as my growing collection of reviews of books that inspire me wouldn’t really be complete without mentioning this one.

I was first introduced to it during my postgraduate degree course, and have gone back to it several times since, as I’ve found it to be one of the most useful and practical references of its type.

Tonally, it hits somewhere between a text book and a five-part seminar; with the theory of managing brands as strategic assets grounded in a wide array of case studies, references and examples of practical applications – the combination of which makes for a stimulating read, despite at times being a bit academic in style. Readers outside of the US will also find that quite a few of the brands cited are local, and, with the content having been written in 1995, some of the case studies are starting to feel a little dated.

That said, the insights gleaned from the case studies are just as relevant today as they were 15 years ago: In the first chapter of the book, the author introduces the concept of brand equity with a look at how Kodak managed its brand assets to establish a strong competitive advantage and to grow loyalty and share. There is similarly an excellent chapter on the concept of brand personality, using Harley Davidson as a jumping off point. Another chapter introduced with a Body Shop case study explores the relationship between a brand’s ‘organisational associations’ (values, culture, people etc) and the subsequent effect on the perception of its products and sub-brands.

The latter parts of the book deal with the management brands as ‘systems’ (the relationship of master brands and sub-brands and the challenges of coordinating them across different markets), as well as exploring the complexities and techniques of measuring brand equity.

When I was studying, I personally found the chapter on the ‘brand identity system’ one of the most useful (it’s also one that I’ve returned to since on several occasions). In that chapter, Aaker describes the broadest concept of a brand’s identity - summarised in four perspectives as a product, organisation, person, and symbol - and how they contribute to delivering a combination of functional, emotional and self-expressive benefits to the consumer (as a value proposition).

I also found Aaker’s concept of ‘brand identity traps’ (the common pitfalls of focussing on brand attributes alone)  a useful way of understanding the importance of looking at brands from a broader, more emotional, and consumer-centric perspective.

Overall, this is a highly-recommended read, but it does needs quite a lot of time and brain investment to piece all the theory together and to get the full benefit of it – something that’s much easier to do of course if you are at home studying, than if you are cramming chapters in between stops on the Jubilee line…