Brand is a Four Letter Word

Book excerpt: In this breakthrough book, marketing expert Austin McGhie urges readers to set aside their obsession with "branding" and instead focus on the real work of marketing: positioning. In fact, McGhie believes there's no marketing problem or opportunity that can't be framed as a positioning exercise. He argues that brands are a marketplace response, not a marketer's stimulus; if that response from the audience is simple, clear and on strategy, marketers can build a brand. Drawing on his 30-year career working with some of world's best-known brands, including Disney, ESPN, Nike, Google, Visa, Expedia, Best Buy, Microsoft, Anheuser-Busch, Abbott and YouTube, McGhie tackles the strategic essence of positioning and creating differentiated advantage. He deftly weaves the positioning discussion throughout the book with a series of real-life anecdotes to deliver a crisp, clear view of what it means to build a brand. McGhie has written a practical book that will guide and inspire marketers and in turn help them guide and inspire their audiences.