Reviewed by Rabia Tanveer for Readers' Favorite

Assemblage: The Art and Science of Brand Transformation by Emmanuel Probst is a comprehensive guide that delves into the process of transforming a brand. It blends artistic and scientific approaches to achieve a successful brand overhaul. The book provides a detailed and practical guide for businesses, entrepreneurs, and marketers seeking to revitalize their brands in today’s dynamic and competitive marketplace. Featuring interviews with leading marketers, and modern techniques to revolutionize marketing and brand management, Probst has the recipe for a successful game plan. The book takes readers on a journey through the various elements of brand transformation, including understanding the current state of the brand, conducting market research, defining objectives, creating strategies, developing a brand identity, implementing touchpoints, and measuring performance.

Assemblage analyses global brands and provides real-world examples, case studies, and practical tools that readers can use to implement effective strategies. Emmanuel Probst emphasizes the importance of encouraging a brand culture and maintaining brand identity throughout the transformation process. I loved the way that the author uses business and pop culture references to drive the point home. Business is personal, and it should be treated as such. Unless you have a direct consumer-business relationship, your brand isn’t going to survive. Probst’s passion for branding, combined with his expertise in the artistic and scientific fields, makes this book a valuable resource for anyone seeking to unlock the true potential of their brand in today’s ever-changing business landscape. The narrative style is simple, the information is plentiful, and the execution of it all is perfect. A must-have guidebook to help new businesses become brands.

Reviewed by Jennie More for Readers' Favorite

The Stripped-Down Guide to Content Marketing by John Egan is a step-by-step guide to starting, flourishing, and succeeding in the content marketing game. With a wealth of experience as a content marketing specialist and examples of real-life on-the-job experience of what works and what doesn’t, Egan provides an in-depth and insightful look into the reality of content marketing. Covering key topics like SEO, content creation and promotions, the values of pillar content and blogging, and the importance of brand storytelling and authority, this easy-to-read guide makes content marketing a manageable endeavor for anyone interested in entering or improving their content creation and management journey.

The Stripped-Down Guide to Content Marketing by John Egan is an absorbing, concise, and resourceful guide to understanding and implementing a content marketing plan. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, especially the reference to personal anecdotes like finding local angles to stories that resonate with specific communities to drive traffic to a site and never underestimating the amount of traffic that so-called boring companies like lawn and storage businesses can get through well-crafted and implemented content strategies. These two elements stood out most because we often read about the content success of glamorous and desirable brands like fashion and the automotive industries. Still, Egan skilfully demonstrated how he achieved notable content marketing success for companies most would consider unlikely, proving the value of skilled content creation and the difference it can make to any brand. The Stripped-Down Guide to Content Marketing is a valuable resource for content creators, written in a reader-friendly and authoritative tone backed by actionable insights.

Reviewed by Pikasho Deka for Readers' Favorite

Having a personal brand is one of the most critical tenets of marketing. It has become indispensable in an increasingly competitive world where how you project yourself determines your success. In Sell Yourself: How to Create, Live, and Sell a Powerful Personal Brand, Cindy McGovern takes you through a step-by-step process to help you build a brand of authenticity that showcases your talents to sell to a broader audience. The five stages of selling your brand consist of planning, looking for opportunities, establishing trust, asking for what you want, and practicing gratitude. The book also explores the three critical components of a successful personal brand. Choose a brand that leads to selling your message and positions you to help yourself and others. Live your brand by incorporating it into your everyday life. Finally, selling your brand requires you to live up to your personal brand.

In Sell Yourself, readers will also learn the in-depth steps to sales success and how to differentiate between being a manager and a leader. What I loved about the book was Cindy McGovern's ability to provide the guidelines in a thorough and accessible writing style with meticulous organization of the subject matter. After finishing the book, you will better understand the whys, hows, dos, and don'ts of creating, living, and selling your brand. This is one of the most detailed and well-researched self-help books I've read in recent years. McGovern also provides anecdotes and examples of people who have created authentic personal brands in their journey to success—for example, Dolly Parton. So, grab a copy and start working toward building a brand and leaving a legacy you can be proud of.

Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers' Favorite

Brands Don’t Win: How Transcenders Change the Game is a work of non-fiction that focuses on business, marketing, and branding. It is intended for the general adult reading audience and was penned by author Stan Bernard, MD, MBA. From the mind of this globally renowned and award-winning consultant comes a concise but comprehensive guide to how major successful companies corner their market by changing the rules of the typical brand game. The work explains how these businesses break and remake the rules, and how any aspiring business and/or marketing professional can do the same.

Even as a total layman to the world of marketing, I found it absolutely fascinating to explore the inner workings of some of the world’s most successful companies, especially with someone as eloquent and knowledgeable as Stan Bernard as my guide. One of the features I particularly enjoyed about this work was the balance of accessibility versus professionalism in the narrative style, which conveys Bernard’s wealth of experience and knowledge in his field, but also makes the text engaging and easy to understand, even for total beginners to the marketing world. I also thought the work was very well organized and easy to refer back to as a handy learning guide. Those aspiring to work in this field, and indeed those who already do, will surely find Brands Don’t Win to be an invaluable guide to creative thinking, innovation, and transcending to find success. A highly recommended and engaging read for one and all.

Reviewed by Joe Wisinski for Readers' Favorite

Management Practices of Successful CEOs: Memoir of a Psychological Consultant to Management by James P Armatas, Ph.D. is a study of the performance of more than 25 CEOs of major companies. Armatas divided his book into chapters about entrepreneurs, conglomerates, multi-divisional companies, service companies, restaurants, and manufacturers. There is also an appendix about the history of organizational management. Armatas worked for 50 years as a management and personnel consultant for CEOs and their organizations. His book, which he calls a memoir, is built on his extensive experience. He shares his insights into the inner workings of companies as he examines the management style of various organizations and their leaders in detail. This book does not contain the usual management advice; in fact, some runs contrary to standard advice.

Management Practices of Successful CEOs by James P Armatas, Ph.D. should be a college textbook in business management. The book reads like a professor carefully guiding students through the topic. Armatas shows superb insight into what makes the CEOs of major corporations effective or not so effective. Because Armatas looks at management principles not so much as the principles themselves but those who implemented them, readers learn that what matters is the people who run organizations rather than the management principles they implement. This method of making Armatas’s points also makes for an effective, compelling read. Even the advice from CEOs that is not the usual management advice is positive because readers are encouraged to sift through the good and the not-so-good advice. Armatas was critical, and rightly so, of some managers. He noted, for example, that “great men, apparently, don’t always acknowledge the people that contribute to their greatness.”

Reviewed by Courtnee Turner Hoyle for Readers' Favorite

In Everyone Is An "Influencer," sub-titled Building A Brand By Engaging The People Who Matter Most, Kelly Keenan draws on business experience and encourages the reader to be honest with employees and potential customers by involving them in growing the business, shifting the focus from an external view to an internal perspective of the company and its products. The three Ps--positive, powerful, and purposeful--are woven into every aspect of the book, illustrating the reason that the word combination is trademarked as a strategy for success.

Kelly Keenan has revealed many obvious secrets to help business owners propel their businesses and products into the future. The idea of celebrating a business instead of telling others about it is new to me, but I understand the need to pull people into the success of a product by making them feel as if they had a part in it. The writing is clear and informative, offering the reader an easy understanding of the concisely explained concepts. Some of the examples were undeniably valuable and organic. For instance, when comparing influential employees to musicians, the author suggests that allowing an employee to add flair to a decision was much the same as letting a musician interpret a piece of music in their own style. I like the idea of shifting the narrative to one where the business owner encourages customers to feel a bond with the business, product, or leader to inspire loyalty. Keenan’s success stories demonstrate true expertise, and I’d encourage anyone interested in improving their product or business to read Everyone Is An "Influencer"!

Reviewed by Vincent Dublado for Readers' Favorite

The Visionary Brand: The Success Formula Behind the World’s Most Visionary Brands opens with an interesting case study about Oakley and how it almost lost its cultural direction as a brand and regained its footing by re-aligning its brand identity. Author Bryan Smeltzer shares his three decades in the business from founding his own company and to being involved in executive-level roles with some of the world’s most iconic brands. His book points out that many in the business believe that product, marketing, culture, and innovation are good starting points in creating a visionary brand, but they need to be an integral part of your brand’s foundation to make it work and must be upheld throughout your brand’s entry into the world. It incorporates elements of a successful formula that includes not only positioning but also what is called the Power Triad, culture matrix, and how to navigate the ecosystem that will be your brand’s habitat. It is your chance to take a glimpse into how competitive brands sustain their huge hold on their target market.

Visionary branding is a powerful tool for aligning a product’s identity in the development of strategic competitive advantage. The Visionary Brand could not have come at a more opportune time. It is an idea that is timeless and will prove indispensable for as long as companies and their brands are jousting for the competitive edge in the market. If there is anything that Bryan Smeltzer’s case studies and easy-to-digest style of writing have taught me, it is that paying attention to the literature on visionary branding will help companies not only to focus on their core values and identity, but it will also increase their responsiveness to change. While reading this book, I can’t help but remember the tragedy of Blackberry, HTC, and Nokia. The Visionary Brand is highly recommended to anyone who wants to learn how a brand retains a strong recall and avoids the pitfalls of obscurity.

Reviewed by Susan van der Walt for Readers' Favorite

In Leading in A Social World, R Aaron Templer turns our perception of social media marketing on its head. He considers social media the area of leaders and customer service, not marketing. He sees building social capital as a leadership skill, and the goal of forming connections on social media should be to lead, not convert leads to customers. Social capital builds a community through mutual trust, providing value, reciprocity, and shared belief systems. Customer service should be in the midst of the conversation on social media, interacting with customers and even encouraging customers to share their experiences to help others.

Leading in A Social world is a theoretical investigation into businesses' current use of social media and offering an alternative. I feel that R Aaron Templer has made a valid case why leaders should build social capital and why social media should be the arena for customer service and not marketing. His examples of real businesses' ways of creating social capital highlight his arguments and give different ways of how companies can accomplish this. He shows that social media offers leaders a way to focus on smaller groups, making it more affordable to reach them, build meaningful relationships, and thus acquire social capital. Also, current customers can assist with customer service by sharing their experiences. I did enjoy the summary chapter at the end of the book for those who like to skim content and get the gist of the book because they don't have the time to read all available books on a topic.

Reviewed by Tammy Ruggles for Readers' Favorite

Your Next Big Idea: Improve Your Creativity and Problem-Solving by Samuel Sanders is a compelling, award-winning, go-to guide for creativity in your business world. This author inspires motivation in managers and entrepreneurs everywhere, even those who don't really see much of a connection between business and creativity. It's about ideas and how to solve problems with creativity. If the ideas on the show "Shark Tank" have you wondering why you can't come up with something new, useful, or innovative, you aren't alone. Many people are more creative than they give themselves credit for. They just need something to pull it out of them. Well, this book is the mechanism to do just that.

Sanders brings a self-help guide that will build skills and knowledge in problem-solving, observation and analysis, achieving the correct mindset, knowing the value of sharing ideas, and judging their likelihood for success and sustainability. Sometimes you just need inspiration, and this book has it in droves. You have exercises that you can do on a personal level, and tips on how to see your surroundings in a new, fresh way. What I like about the advice is that it isn't just theory--it's actionable. You can take the content and use it wherever you are and whatever you do, whether it's coming up with a bold plan to take your company or team to the next level, or approaching your boss about a special individual project. This advice would be especially helpful to recent high school or college graduates eager to excel. If "100 meaningful ideas a week" sounds impossible, or desirable, this is the book you need to read. It can be a little difficult changing the way you think about yourself and your creativity, but this author's writing style is easy and encouraging. As a matter of fact, this book would be a great addition to a classroom or book club discussion. My favorite section is on stigmas, how to identify them, and how to erase them. Everyone can use a little more creativity, and Your Next Big Idea: Improve Your Creativity and Problem-Solving by Samuel Sanders is the jumpstart to take it from stale to stellar.

Reviewed by Lesley Jones for Readers' Favorite

How did a former host for NBC Sports' Golf Channel become a successful entrepreneur and celebrated public speaker? Kraig Kann shares his incredible journey to prominence and the techniques that have propelled his business to success in Can You Get Our Attention? Discover how to overcome life’s obstacles and gain the courage and self-belief to continue when your competitors do not. How can you set your business apart from others in your field and build a loyal customer base? Learn how to build a brand that is desirable, inviting, and professional. The effectiveness of every strategy has been tried and tested by Kraig and his many students. From building a reliable following, understanding trends so you remain relevant to social media marketing, and powerful communication techniques, Kraig’s methods will ensure your business will be built on a strong foundation that will withstand increasingly fierce competition while maintaining its excellent reputation.

Can You Get Our Attention? by Kraig Kann is an incredibly helpful and insightful read. What sets Kraig’s guide apart from other guides in this genre is the layout. I loved how he covered a subject in-depth and used his own experiences to highlight how these methods worked. His section on effective communication was superb and I resonated with his thoughts completely: ‘There are a lot of people who talk. There are very few who actually say something.’ He encourages a strong self-belief and confidence in your abilities by focusing on human psychology in depth. His strategies are effective to help you maintain an optimistic and driven mindset when you have to face obstacles. The questions Kraig asks throughout are terrific and make you face problems or self-doubt logically. I thought the sections on using social media and understanding what makes a customer choose a product or service were brilliant.

There were also many encouraging and powerful pearls of wisdom throughout the guide. This was my favorite: 'You can work to be comfortable, or you can work to be outstanding for you and others. It’s your choice to make.’ His advice on setting and achieving goals was so simple and easy to implement. His advice on public speaking was absolutely amazing too, especially his insights into overcoming fear. Kraig’s style of writing is straightforward and to the point and a reminder that entrepreneurship is not for the faint-hearted but for those who will remain strong in the face of challenges. I strongly believe that taking Kraig’s techniques on board, building your brand is certainly going to be far less daunting.