| | |  | Toby Bloomberg | Home » » Accidental Branding: How Ordinary People Build Extraordinary Brands | | | | | | | Description: | | Every year, thousands of new business are started by people with no knowledge of modern marketing at all?and some of them survive and thrive. Accidental Branding tells the story of seven "accidental" brands and how their founders beat bigger competitors by breaking the standard rules of marketing. Successful brands like Burt's Bees, J. Peterman, and Clif Bar reveal how doing things differently can lead to big-time success. If you're an entrepreneur or a marketer, this guide will show you how to build stronger brands. | | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| David Vinjamuri | | Hardcover:
| 224 pages | | Publisher:
| Wiley | | Publication Date:
| March 28, 2008 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 0470165065 | | Package Length:
| 9.0 inches | | Package Width:
| 6.3 inches | | Package Height:
| 1.1 inches | | Package Weight:
| 0.9 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 15 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
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great read and very inspirationalJul 31, 2008
I like to learn about things, so non-fiction in general appeals to me. A real winner, though, is one that is actually fun to read in itself. Accidental Branding is one of those books. It is a great read - full of stories that are engaging and really interested me. I found it very inspiring and informative. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a book that gives detailed case studies on real companies and how they've turned a good idea into amazing businesses.
Enthusiastic readJul 31, 2008
I found this book to be just the motivation I needed to move forward with my business. It took less than two hours to read the entire book. I was able to relate the stories to my own life and business. I found the book fascinating and exciting! Great for any new business owner.
Tips to becoming extraordinaryJun 23, 2008
In Accidental Branding, David profiles the leaders of several companies whose brands took off seemingly out of nowhere and succeeded in different, but amazing ways. The people he profiles include Gary Erickson of Clif Bar, Julie Clark of Baby Einstein, Roxanne Quimby of Burt's Bees, John Peterman who created the J. Peterman brand and Craig Newmark who founded Craigslist. David qualifies an Accidental Brand as one that passes three tests:
1. An individual who is not trained in marketing must create the brand.
2. This individual must experience the problem that the brand solves.
3. The individual must control the brand for at least 10 years.
The great news for all of us is we can create a great brand regardless of whether we came from a wealthy family or attended an Ivy League university. Some of the people profiled did not even go to college.
To take an idea and make something great requires determination and focused intention. The people profiled in Accidental Branding offer great examples of how anyone can, by following sound principles, create something great. I highly recommend you add Accidental Branding to your reading list.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
'Accidental Branding' is no accident Jun 03, 2008
Vinjamuri has created an informative and entertaining collection of real life success stories. His in-depth research and easy writing style makes for a good read. I learned that developing brand loyalty does not require MBA credentials. Hard work, good instincts, attention to detail and several other characteristics are identified as common denominators of these successful entrepreneurs. I'm incorporating these pearls into my business and I heartily recommend this book to anyone who has a product to take to the marketplace.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Inspiring for Marketers and EntrepreneursMay 29, 2008
Once, I was reading Accidental Branding on the subway and two twenty-ish European women sitting by me paused to check out the book. "It's an interesting title," said the brunette.
The next day I was at UPS and a 30-something mother entered with her three-year-old. She asked to see the book, as it turned out she had Thanksgiving dinner with the author.
Later, I went to The Art of Shaving. This wasn't so accidental, as the company is prominently featured in the book as one of seven "accidental brands," which means it fits three criteria, according to author David Vinjamuri:
1. It was created by someone not trained in marketing.
2. The creator must experience the problem the brand solved (eg the co-founder of Art of Shaving experienced nasty razor burn).
3. The individual must control the brand for at least 10 years.
I was so captivated by the story of Shaving founders Myriam Zaoui and Eric Malka and so troubled over my own inability to get a decent shave that, as I was finishing the book, I took the subway to the nearest Art of Shaving store on East 62nd Street, the original store they opened. As the book hadn't been released yet, the store manager Angelo wasn't aware of it, but he was excited to glance at the chapter featuring his store. Fifteen minutes later, I learned enough from Angelo to attempt to try a new way of shaving at home, spending more than I ever have in my life on skin care products in the process.
Now, that has much more to do with the brand than the book, but it also gets to what makes the book so compelling. Vinjamuri tells seven stories of accidental brands: J. Peterman, craigslist, Clif Bar, The Art of Shaving, Columbia Sportswear, Baby Einstein, and Burt's Bees. Perhaps more than any individual brand's story, I'll remember the storytelling. Each story's told with affection, and the tone shifts ever so slightly for each one, from the wilderness of Peterman to the trailblazing Clif Bar to the high class shaving to the bucolic Burt's Bees.
And then again, I'm just falling for a trap. The brand's founders are the stars of nearly every page of the book, and their personalities, as captured by Vinjamuri, shoot of this magnetism.
This is not a how-to book. Yes, there is some advice up front to tie it all together, six characteristics of accidental brands and their creators. While that's necessary in a business book and the book would feel lacking without it, one can understand why he puts it up front and keeps the afterward brief. You get your formal education out of the way, and then you get to really learn from experience - the experience of the accidental branders.
Entrepreneurs will find the most inspiration here, as will most in the marketing field. The storytelling merits an even wider audience.
You won't need this to complete your MBA or successfully run a marketing department, but you may well find some added inspiration to keep doing what you're doing, or perhaps pursue a passion of yours with more zeal than you've had before.
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