Additional Reading on Building Brand Believers
BOOKS
The Culting of Brands: When Customers Become True Believers, by Douglas Atkin, Portfolio Hardcover, published June 2004
Brandchild: Remarkable Insights Into The Minds Of Today's Global Kids And Their Relationships With Brands, by Martin Lindstrom, Butterworth-Heinemann, published November 2004.
Building Brands & Believers: How to Connect with Consumers Using Archetypes, by Kent Wertime, Wiley Publishers, published January 2003.
How Brands Become Icons: The Principles of Cultural Branding , by Douglas B. Holt, Harvard Business School Press, published September 2004.
Lovemarks: The Future Beyond Brands, by Kevin Roberts, powerHouse Books, published April 2004.
The Power of Cult Branding: How 9 Magnetic Brands Turned Customers Into Loyal Followers (and Yours Can, Too), by Matthew W. Ragas and B.J. Bueno,
Crown Business, published June 2002.
ARTICLES
Americans Continue to Be Loyal to National Brands, Marketing Today, Aug. 24, 2005.
Brand Rehab: How Companies Can Restore a Tarnished Image Knowledge @ Wharton, September 7-20, 2005
The Everyday Life of Consumer Brands, NOP World Perspectives, Spring 2005
Marketing Spending Effectiveness: How to Win in a Complex Environment, McKinsey & Co. White Paper
BLOGS
Marketing to a Specified Group
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It’s considered a brand icon. It’s also the subject of urban myths –myths such as it lasts forever (it has a shelf life of 25 days), contains a chemical used in embalming fluid (ridiculous!), and isn’t baked (it is). It’s the Hostess Twinkie, celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. And it has hit upon some hard times as consumers turn to healthier snacks and as many perceive the ladyfinger-shaped sponge cake with vanilla filling as, well, junk food laden with calories (160 in each) and saturated fats. It hasn’t helped that Interstate Bakeries Corp., its parent company, has been under bankruptcy protection since last September.
