Brand New View

New Book-'The Olympic Games Effect'

The Olympic Games begin today and, for much of the next 17 days, the world's attention will be turned toward Beijing. Simultaneously, my latest book, 'The Olympic Games Effect' will be published in the next few days. Visit www.amazon.com to order the book. Interest in the book has been extraordinary.Visit my television, radio, and print interviews to learn more.

Book Overview

The Olympic Games attracts fans from all over the world with a diverse range of interests, from a passionate love of sports, to fervent nationalism, to the thrill of athletic competition. This book explains and examines why companies vie to be Olympic sponsors and the tangible and intangible returns they reap for their investment.

Starting with a brief history of the Olympics, from the Ancient Greeks to now (including interesting parallels between the ancient and modern games), the book shows why and how the Olympic Games have become one of the world’s most powerful brands, and the resulting impact for companies that are Olympic sponsors.

You might also visit BrandNewView to learn more detailed information about the book, including reviews. Please blog to discuss further. More to come!

Branding Harry Potter's Way

I have not yet read Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, but I will. Having read the previous 6 books I, like millions of readers around the world, have thoroughly enjoyed Harry's adventures. I have also been a fan of the films, including the most recent, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (although I will say that this film had a few more story gaps than prior films in the series). All in all, I am an unabashed Harry Potter fan. The success of Harry Potter provides interesting lessons for companies seeking to build strong brands. How did JK Rowling succeed in taking the world by storm when her first book was rejected by several publishers and, when finally accepted, had an initial print run of 1000 copies? NT, for short. NT is non-traditional marketing. It includes word of mouth (or buzz, viral marketing et al), silence (similar to Apple and its famous secrecy), a wildly devoted fan base that fosters its own momentum through rampant speculation, severe restrictions on pre-publication review copies, even more severe penalties for those who violate the terms of the publisher's contracts, amazingly creative parallels between the imaginative Harry Potter world and the real-world we all inhabit (readers are encouraged to find articles by Stephen Brown, a marketing professor who has written thoughtfully and eloquently about this), low dependence on traditional marketing, thoughtful--not overdone--merchandising, and more. All of this has, over the years, created a natural, authentic fan following that no amount of clever advertising or TV special effects visual imagery could remotely duplicate. The lesson for companies seems painfully clear: part of the secret to building a successful brand requires an almost 'anti-marketing' approach, appealing genuinely to your customers, doing so imaginatively and with authenticity, and avoiding the gimmicks so often associated with marketing--fancy ad campaigns that promise much and deliver little.