Brand Now: How to Stand Out in a Crowded, Distracted World
With the rise of digital media, you’d think it would be easier than ever to be heard. Yet, most messages fail to cut through the clutter.
Consumers are overwhelmed. Ads alone aren’t effective. And you can’t just churn out content and connect on every social network. To stand out today, you need to start with your brand.
Brand Now uncovers the new rules of branding in our complex and chaotic world. Written by the author of Get Scrappy, the digital marketing bible for business, this latest book explains how to build brands that resonate both online and off. The book helps you:
- Create a brand with meaning
- Reinforce it with the right touchpoints
- Hone your brand’s unique story
- Share it through engaging content
- Cultivate a sense of community
- Craft a coherent experience
- Stand out with simplicity and transparency
The world may be growing louder, but with Brand Now’s big ideas and practical toolbox, you can break through the noise–and win a place in the hearts and minds of your customers.
Praise for Brand Now
“Branding is the most-difficult mental exercise you can possibly imagine. But Nick Westergaard can help by providing seven key concepts to building a brand: Meaning, Structure, Story, Content, Community, Clarity and Experience. Well written and exceptionally helpful.”
– Al Ries, co-author, Positioning and The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding
“It’s tough to make your brand stand out in these colossally wired, highly distractible times. In Brand Now, Nick Westergaard shares the secrets, gleaned from dozens of case studies, of the seven dynamics that will help you design a brand that will work for you. Branding is too important to leave to chance, which is why you should take a chance on Brand Now.”
– Daniel H. Pink, author of When and Drive
“Perfectly articulated and powerfully argued, Brand Now is the quintessential guide to modern branding. A must read for every company, at any size!”
– Jay Baer, founder of Convince & Convert and author of Hug Your Haters
“Branding is one of the most misunderstood and under-leveraged aspects of marketing. It feels amorphous. And a little squishy. Well not anymore — because Nick has penned a much-needed practical, how-to field guide.”
– Ann Handley, best-selling author of Everybody Writes and Content Rules
“Nick has spent a tremendous amount of time reaching out to the smartest people in the industry and doing the two most important things I can think of — asking the very best questions and then actually listening to the answers. He’s crystalized a modern-day manifesto for anyone wishing to understand and begin to master the incredibly complex job of building a brand today.”
– John Zissimos, Chief Design Officer, Salesforce
“Westergaard shows why a winning brand depends more on the size of your heart than the size of your budget.”
– Marty Neumeier, author of The Brand Flip
“Brand Now gives practical, tactical tools to use when you are thinking about how to approach the thesis of your brand. Whether you sell toys to hundreds of thousands of dogs each month or are just trying to launch a personal cocktail blog, this book provides an extremely helpful framework for building a brand both online and off.”
– Stacie Grissom, Head of Content at BarkBox
Resources
Enjoy these additional Brand Now resources to help you put the book’s ideas into practice in your work.
Brand Now Workbook—The official companion piece for Brand Now! The prompts and activities contained in this 24-page illustrated workbook will help you put the ideas of Brand Now into action.
Brand Now Illustrated Summary—An exclusive illustrated overview of the seven Brand Now dynamics.
Brand Story Reference Table—A handy tool for referencing the brand story archetypes presented in Brand Now.
Circles of Community Graphic—An easy to reference (and share!) image of the cirles of community from Brand Now.
Brand Touchpoint Map—Craft a cohesive brand experience both online and off with this helpful organizer referenced in Brand Now.
Branding Experts on Brand Building: An Audio Exclusive—Enjoy this special one-hour audio masterclass featuring some of the best branding thought leaders answering the biggest questions about brand building today — Patrick Hanlon (author of Primal Branding and The Social Code), Dorie Clark (author of Entrepreneurial You and Stand Out) Marty Neumeier (author of The Brand Gap and The Brand Flip), and Denise Lee Yohn (author of What Great Brands Do and Fusion)
As Referenced in Brand Now
Enjoy these additional resources referenced in Brand Now!
Meaning
Red Thread video series from Tamsen Webster
Structure
Brand strategist Marc Shillum on creating brands with patterns
Marc Shillum: Consistent Brands Through Repeating Patterns from PSFK on Vimeo.
Story
Story lessons from Pixar’s Andrew Stanton and author Kurt Vonnegut
Content
The full-length Story of Content Documentary from The Content Marketing Insitute
Community
Humor
Cisco’s Valentine’s Day ad and their “Slow Waiter” video series
Personal Branding
“A Brand Called You” by Tom Peters, Fast Company article
Political Branding
Texas County Commissioner Gerald Daugherty’s TV ad
Naming
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS)—for conducting a quick trademark search
Crisis Communication
Crisis expert Melissa Agnes’ website is home to many helpful resources including flowcharts, infographics, and the Crisis Intelligence Podcast
Neil deGrasse Tyson on the Anatomy of a Sound Bite
Listen to Interviews Featured in Brand Now
BarkBox on Branding: The Convergence of Culture & Audience
“Branding is thousands of tiny punches that add up.” And few deliver as many meaningful little punches as Bark & Co...
How Poo~Pourri Uses Humor to Humanize Their Brand
When your business category is taboo, how do you get people to talk about it? Suzy Bátiz is the inventor and entrepreneur behind Poo~Pourri…
Creating Culture Through Brand Camp at Spiceworks
“Everything we do as employees translates into the brand.” I’ve been fascinated by the Spiceworks brand since I first read about them in Jay Baer’s new book Hug Your Haters...
Why Story Is Coldwell Banker’s Biggest Brand Asset
“People want to hang out with brands they like and trust. Those are the principles we were founded on in 1906.”...
Behind the Scenes of the Whole Foods Brand Voice with Lisa Grimm
“Our Instagram voice is very different than even Facebook and Twitter.” As Associate Director of Social Media at Whole Foods Market, Lisa Grimm is responsible...
Designing the Customer Experience with Justine Jordan
“So many marketers have never walked a mile in their user’s shoes.” While we joked about playing “buzzword BINGO,” Litmus’ Justine Jordan and I spent a lot of time...
Bringing the IBM Watson Brand to Life with Amber Armstrong
“We want to personify the Watson brand.” But how do you personify a machine? That’s one of the many challenges that Amber Armstrong faces on a daily basis...
A Fan Engagement Lesson from the Minnesota Vikings
“Our brand means many things to many people.” As we cheer from the sidelines and the comfort of our couch on game day...
Exploring the History of the Maker’s Mark Brand with Bill Samuels, Jr.
“For us, marketing meant polishing the apple. Not chasing people, letting them find you.” Over the past 59 years, quite a few people have found Maker’s Mark...