The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding

Authors: Al Ries, Laura Ries
ISBN: 1861976954
Publisher: ProfileBooks

After the enjoyable and easy to read "22 Immutable Laws of Marketing” (review) I decided to give “The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding” an afternoon of my time. This book is very similar in presentation, format and even writing style to the “Laws of Marketing”. It’s an accessible, easy read in which each law is broken down in to a very short chapter that makes it as enjoyable to dip in to while on the go as it does to read cover to cover.

As you’d expect from the title, this book focuses on branding. Using brands that were current at the time, it presents the authors thoughts on how a brand should be maintained, why tightening your focus is always better than line extension and why a number of the less successful brands suffer their fates. Using a number of (mostly) anecdotal examples the essential points of what not to do with your brand are conveyed in an easy to following and occasionally light-hearted tone.

Although the “The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding” contains nothing as profound as the “Laws of Marketing” it does provide some valuable insights on how the big players of the time, some smart and some not so, approached their brands and tried to exploit them. Summary: 6/10.