About the Book
The convergence of the Web and branding profoundly changes our world and resides at the heart of the New Economy. Particularly in the "post-crash" period of the Internet age, where financiers and customers are looking to companies with profitability and endurance, branding is the critical differentiator used to distinguish one company from another. Few executive or marketing staff understand how to build a Web brand thoroughly, much less its purpose, its opportunities or its contribution to the bottom-line; however, many experts regard brand as arguably a company's most valuable attribute, and venture capitalists often today look first to the brand and then to the technology or the business plan. We begin the 21st century in every bit as much of a brand revolution as the Industrial Revolution-sparked 20th century. Foremost in the minds of executives is, "How can I extend my brand on the Web and continue or establish my success in unfamiliar waters?" So, how do you take a successful offline brand and make it a successful online brand? Walmart, arguably one of the strongest offline brands in the country, failed (twice!) to establish their brand online.
It found that its offline customer was indeed very different from its online customer. Barnes and Noble faced similar challenges developing their online presence by noticeably hesitating because of lack of expertise in extending their strong offline brand online. Now they are playing a game of catch-up. Industry experts believe that this issue may be the biggest issue facing companies for the next 3-5 years. This book offers advice and a proven method for developing and managing an online brand that coordinates and compliments the offline brand. A state-of-the-art, authoritative and comprehensive treatment of the most important factor in building a Web presence, the book should become a useful guide for every CEO, marketing executive and anyone else interested in building a brand online. At the very core of the book is the Web brand development process that Timacheff and Rand live by. This proven and effective process includes five stages: discovery; framework; verbal articulation; sensory (visual, auditory) design and articulation; and execution. It is a sure-fire way to ensure a successful online brand.
This book will address a variety of brand topics and how they all relate directly to the Web. Case studies and interviews with various people will punctuate the brand text, emphasizing the various points. Because many books exist on the fundamentals of brand development and brand management, this book does not focus on the 101 of online branding, but rather focuses on the various aspects of branding and branding challenges relating directly to extending offline brands to the Web.
Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: The Complete Brand and the Web. Chapter 2: The Discovery Stage. Chapter 3: The Framework Stage. Chapter 4: The Verbal Articulation Stage. Chapter 5: The Visual, Physical, and Sensory Articulation Stages. Chapter 6: The Execution Stage: Launching, Pruning, and Rediscovery. Chapter 7: Branding the Internet Village. Chapter 8: The Global Web Brand. Chapter 8: Beyond the New Economy.
About the Author :
Serge Timacheff is "ambassador" for the Garrigan Lyman Group in Seattle, a branding and marketing communications/creative services firm where he provides brand development, name development, and strategic communications counsel for a variety of companies seeking to build or expand brands on the Internet. His clients include new startups. Fortune 500 companies such as AT&T and Microsoft, the Desmond Tutu Peace Trust (in Capetown, South Africa), and Perrotti Informatica, a major IT integrator and consultancy in Sao Paulo, Brazil. In addition to providing comprehensive, process-based branding and strategic marketing services with The Garrigan Lyman Group, he is also building a global partnership of brand and creative service firms, and frequently lectures on technology and brand-development topics throughout the U.S. and the world. A former Senior Editor at InfoWorld magazine, he worked over five years with literally hundreds of technology companies launching products and services and is the author of hundreds of articles on a variety of topics, both in technology and general interest areas. He has appeared in a variety of media, including being a guest on The Joan Rivers Show, Computer Chronicles, and CNBC and has published/broadcast hundreds of interviews with a wide range of business leaders, politicians, and celebrities.
Douglas Rand created Brandside Corporation, an image and identity brand consultancy in San Mateo, California in Aug 1999, focusing on companies extending their brands to the Web and technology companies deploying Web brands. Prior to Brandside, he was managing director of Addison Whitney's west coast operations, located in Palo Alto. Rand helped found Addision Whitney in 1991, following various positions in broadcasting and advertising, where he won several awards for news coverage and community involvement while a news director at WEGO/WPEG radio in Concord, NC. Rand frequently speaks before various groups on branding topics, including research applications, brand effectiveness, extendibility, and obsolescence. His wide array of image and identity clients include General Motors, 3M, Microsoft, General Electric, Hunt-Wesson, Nestle, Johnson & Johnson, Hughes Electronics, Hoffman-La Roche, and Epicor, among others. He is responsible for leading projects that resulted in the naming and positioning of a leading HIV therapy, major computer products and automobiles, helping startup firms gain traction with enduring brands, repositioning multi-billion dollar companies or divisions of companies, eliminating multi-brands within a company's portfolio, and scores of others.
