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When everybody zigs, zag,' says Marty Neumeier in this fresh view of brand strategy. ZAG follows the ultra-clear 'whiteboard overview' style of the author s first book, THE BRAND GAP, but drills deeper into the question of how brands can harness the power of differentiation. The author argues that in an extremely cluttered marketplace, traditional differentiation is no longer enough today companies need radical differentiation to create lasting value for their shareholders and customers. How I Came To Read This Book: This is the sequel to Marty Neumeier's first book - 'The Brand Gap' that I picked up at the same time as TBG.The Plot: In The Brand Gap, Marty Neumeier covers five key areas to better branding - one of which his differentiation. Zag focuses on differentiation, or finding your 'zag', the way you differ yourself from everyone else in the market, therefore owning (or at least coming in second) within your market. If you're not #1 or #2, Neumeier advises you to find a w How I Came To Read This Book: This is the sequel to Marty Neumeier's first book - 'The Brand Gap' that I picked up at the same time as TBG.The Plot: In The Brand Gap, Marty Neumeier covers five key areas to better branding - one of which his differentiation. Zag focuses on differentiation, or finding your 'zag', the way you differ yourself from everyone else in the market, therefore owning (or at least coming in second) within your market.

If you're not #1 or #2, Neumeier advises you to find a way to zag your brand to redefine your existing or create a new category. Using a fictional example throughout to demonstrate the 17 principles/steps to zagging, the books principles are less of a general overview, and more of actual instructions that small business owners can rock out on.The Good & The Bad: I actually dug this book more than The Brand Gap (which is very very good) because the micro level of its principles seemed much easier to apply and follow than the sweeping overview found in TBG. It also felt a little more feasible and relatable, even for the small business owner, while students and industry professionals can still learn plenty. On the downside, the book regurgitated some of the information found in TBG, making this already pretty lite book even fluffier. In general though, the 17-point checklist and associated exercises made this an excellent, palatable read.The Bottom Line: A great companion to The Brand Gap.Anything Memorable?: My boss spied a copy of Zag on my desk and was delighted to find out about its existence, and literally stole it (despite the fact it takes an hour to read) for several months before I wrangled it back from him.50-Book Challenge?: Book #43 in 2007. To my Goodreads friends this isn't a glitch in the system-I really just finished reading this book!

Granted it was about 156 pages with large type and some pictures, but it's a book, I finished it, and it counts. Zag is Marty Neumeier's follow up to The Brand Gap, though they don't have to be read in sequence (as I'm hoping to start TBG next week). I found the book easy to understand, and full of nuggets of wisdom and advice. As I'm leading a team at work to rebrand the organization this was ti To my Goodreads friends this isn't a glitch in the system-I really just finished reading this book! Granted it was about 156 pages with large type and some pictures, but it's a book, I finished it, and it counts. Zag is Marty Neumeier's follow up to The Brand Gap, though they don't have to be read in sequence (as I'm hoping to start TBG next week).

I found the book easy to understand, and full of nuggets of wisdom and advice. As I'm leading a team at work to rebrand the organization this was timely and very helpful. This short presentation-book (how it called by author) guides you into branding strategy, also brings you a basic understanding how innovation and 'think different'(by apple inc.) principle can moving you forward through the redundancy on the market and helps you to create a great business with strong branding vision. Through the book, you'll see how to create a brand on the example of wine company through the 18 principles of making 'Zag'.

Zag Marty Neumeier

This book is the great introduction into business for e This short presentation-book (how it called by author) guides you into branding strategy, also brings you a basic understanding how innovation and 'think different'(by apple inc.) principle can moving you forward through the redundancy on the market and helps you to create a great business with strong branding vision. Through the book, you'll see how to create a brand on the example of wine company through the 18 principles of making 'Zag'. This book is the great introduction into business for entrepreneurs! One of the most refreshing brand/ad books I have read. Right away the author tells you he wrote this book to have a lot of content concentrated down into a quick read and he delivered. The book was really written for creatives that want to understand more about the strategy of branding and positioning.

It is told through the example of a wine company and uses simple analogies and staccato illustrations to pull the entire read off with aplomb. But more importantly, due to the way it was construct One of the most refreshing brand/ad books I have read. Right away the author tells you he wrote this book to have a lot of content concentrated down into a quick read and he delivered. The book was really written for creatives that want to understand more about the strategy of branding and positioning. It is told through the example of a wine company and uses simple analogies and staccato illustrations to pull the entire read off with aplomb. But more importantly, due to the way it was constructed, all of the lessons stick with you because they are memorable.

Brand

Why zig when you can zag? Zag doesn't seem like much of a solution, does it? But that's the premise of this book. Do you want your brand to stand out, then you should zag when everyone else is zigging. This book is about branding,and how you can make your brand stand out. Meier starts right out be defining the new definition of brand for us: 'It's not a company's logo or advertising.

Those things are controlled by the company. Instead, a brand is a customer's gut feeling about a product, service Why zig when you can zag? Zag doesn't seem like much of a solution, does it? But that's the premise of this book. Do you want your brand to stand out, then you should zag when everyone else is zigging.

This book is about branding,and how you can make your brand stand out. Meier starts right out be defining the new definition of brand for us: 'It's not a company's logo or advertising. Those things are controlled by the company. Instead, a brand is a customer's gut feeling about a product, service or company.' I work in a school system. My 'brand', or school, does what all schools do, we educate children.

But what's captured my imagination is this: How do we brand our school to compel parents to want us over any other school. Zag has some practical insights that can help.There are 17 checkpoints, or tools, that will help you define how you brand and market your unique business.

Here are a few of my favorites.Checkpoint 1: Define who you are. I loved the quirky exercise he uses to help us-write an obituary. 'What would you like posterity say about you? You'll find the answers are also the answers to the seminal questions: Who are you? Where does your passion lie? What gets you up in the morning?'

Checkpoint 2: What do you do? This should be captured in twelve words or less. Checkpoint 6: What makes you the 'only'? This is where the challenge for schools come in. We provide the same service to our customers - or do we? What sort of population does your school serve?

Do you have a clear vision of what you do, and does it involve passion and get people out of bed in the morning? Checkpoint 7: What should you add or subtract? This is a tough one because schools often don't get to choose what they add and subtract. How can we minimize the adding and subtracting from state and federal levels and get our 'brand' on track with our vision?Checkpoint 14: What do they (customers) experience. Do you have structures in play that invite and welcome parents in each and every contact they have with you?

Marty

Checkpoint 15: How do you earn their loyalty? Do our parents (customers) introduce new customers to our brand?Zag is packed full of practical advice for marketing a brand and would be a great conversation starter with your school staff.

I'm still puzzling over what makes my school 'product' unique from yours, and what that might mean for how we interact with parents, staff and media. I think schools get stuck in the status quo. We make several mistakes: we do business in the usual way; we hop on the latest trend, dropping that trend as soon as the new one comes around; or we might close schools and change configurations because of economic necessity. People are always saying that a school is not a business. I would argue that it is, but, it is a business with heart.

What if we took these practical branding checkpoints and applied them to our school or district? This would take us to the next level of creating a unique environment that attracted parents to our districts. It sounds an awful lot like the school improvement process, doesn't it? Somehow thought, Zag makes it much more fun and interesting. ZagMarty NeumeierPeachpit PressIn a previous book, The Brand Gap, Marty Neumeier explains how companies can bridge the gap between business strategy and customer experience, noting that brand-building isn’t a series of isolated activities; rather, it is a complete system in which five disciplines – differentiation, collaboration, innovation, validation, and cultivation – “combine to produce a sustainable competitive advantage. “ His intent in Zag “is to zoom in on differentiation to reveal the s ZagMarty NeumeierPeachpit PressIn a previous book, The Brand Gap, Marty Neumeier explains how companies can bridge the gap between business strategy and customer experience, noting that brand-building isn’t a series of isolated activities; rather, it is a complete system in which five disciplines – differentiation, collaboration, innovation, validation, and cultivation – “combine to produce a sustainable competitive advantage. “ His intent in Zag “is to zoom in on differentiation to reveal the system within the system.”Neumeier observes that the human mind deals with clutter the best way it can: by blocking it out.

As a result, “the newest barriers to competition are the mental walls that customers erect to keep out clutter. For the first time in history, the most powerful barriers to competition are not controlled by companies, but by customers. Those little boxes they build in their minds determine the boundaries of brands. Neumeier explains how to overcome these barriers with radical innovation – “the engine for a high performance brand” – that requires mastery of four disciplines:1. Finding your zag2.

Designing your zag3. Building your zag4. Renewing your zagEverything begins with identifying the zag. That is, offering something that combines the qualities of both good and different.

“When focus is paired with differentiation, supported by a trend, and surrounded by compelling communications, you have the basic ingredients of a zag.” It is truly remarkable how much substance and how many thought-provoking questions Neumeier provides within a narrative of less than 200 pages. With both rigor and eloquence, he explains how radical innovation can break through ever-increasing clutter in a competitive marketplace, whatever and wherever it may be.

Special note should also be made of the book’s production values. All of his core concepts, checklists, key points, observations, and recommendations are presented within a visually appealing context. The last time I checked, there are about 34,000 business books on the general subject of brands. Neumeier has written two of the most valuable among them. Zag: The Number One Strategy of High-Performance Brands is written as a whiteboard presentation, so it's fairly easy to read all at once or in small sections. It's packed with information and examples.

The book is summarized into 'Take-Home Lessons' at its end, so you're able to give yourself a refresher. Although that might seem a little simplistic or even condescending, I thought it was helpful for making connections between different sections of the book.Zag begins with a discussion of why ad Zag: The Number One Strategy of High-Performance Brands is written as a whiteboard presentation, so it's fairly easy to read all at once or in small sections. It's packed with information and examples. The book is summarized into 'Take-Home Lessons' at its end, so you're able to give yourself a refresher. Although that might seem a little simplistic or even condescending, I thought it was helpful for making connections between different sections of the book.Zag begins with a discussion of why advertising and marketing are difficult in today's world: people are constantly bombarded with messages (try counting all of the advertisements you see and hear on your way to work, for example), and people no longer trust advertisements. Brands don't necessarily compete with each other as much as they compete with marketplace clutter.

To get around these barriers, brands today must have one simple, unique message. The book's moral: When others zig, zag. This book is refreshing because it doesn't contradict itself as much as many marketing and business books seem to do; it doesn't try to be all things to all people, and it argues against doing that with your brand. I could drone on about this book because I found it very interesting, but reading the book would be more interesting than reading my summary. A book that has been in my stack of 'to read' for quite a while and which I finally finished the week after I took a job as the Director of Marketing (and sales and growth) for a startup. So suddenly even more relevant and useful as a starting point for my own thinking about our brand and product and marketing strategy. The book is a good example of a print book that leverages print and design to make points - this would be a very different read in a digital form.

Elements of the book seem sligh A book that has been in my stack of 'to read' for quite a while and which I finally finished the week after I took a job as the Director of Marketing (and sales and growth) for a startup. So suddenly even more relevant and useful as a starting point for my own thinking about our brand and product and marketing strategy. The book is a good example of a print book that leverages print and design to make points - this would be a very different read in a digital form. Elements of the book seem slightly dated (a reference to Kodak attempting to build a digital photos business for example) but overall even being 6+ years old much of the advice and suggestions seem fresh and still highly relevant. Not a deep and overly complex read but well worth reading and thinking about if you are an entrepreneur, a marketer or a brand person at any size of a firm.

If you aren't it is still worth reading to better understand brands, marketing and true differentiation. Zag is a great read for every entrepreneur, marketer, executive and brand manager. You can tell the author, Marty Neumeier, genuinely cares about the topic and wants the reader to understand it.

Neumeier utilizes design to make the concepts easy to understand. The book is labeled as 'a whiteboard overview.'

I'd probably call it 'a workshop overview.' The book is presented in way similar to one-day intensive workshops. You explore the historical elements that make 'zagging' necessary. Then, you s Zag is a great read for every entrepreneur, marketer, executive and brand manager.

The Brand Gap By Marty Neumeier

You can tell the author, Marty Neumeier, genuinely cares about the topic and wants the reader to understand it. Neumeier utilizes design to make the concepts easy to understand. The book is labeled as 'a whiteboard overview.' I'd probably call it 'a workshop overview.' The book is presented in way similar to one-day intensive workshops. You explore the historical elements that make 'zagging' necessary. Then, you spend most of the time exploring Neumeier's model for defining, designing and renewing your 'zag.'

Like a handout for the presentation, the book contains charts and illustrations that accompany the text. It even ends with a chart recapping the model and a bulleted list of key takeaways. This book is 17-step program to discovering the heart of a brand, and it provides a peek into the practices of a leading branding expert. It's worth your time.

Marty Neumeier has one of the most concise writing styles. This book gives you a straightforward approach on how to think in the opposite direction of what your markets doing. Ultimately, if you follow Marty's advice he'll teach you how to zag.While reading this book, I suggest you have a notepad handy. Write down every question you come across and put that in a word document. Use the questions and bullet points in this book next time your business wants to build a strategy to differentiate your Marty Neumeier has one of the most concise writing styles.

This book gives you a straightforward approach on how to think in the opposite direction of what your markets doing. Ultimately, if you follow Marty's advice he'll teach you how to zag.While reading this book, I suggest you have a notepad handy. Write down every question you come across and put that in a word document. Use the questions and bullet points in this book next time your business wants to build a strategy to differentiate yourself from your competitors. I realized after reading Zag how much better anyone’s business or professional future could be if they just read this book.

Zag took me only about 2 hours to read, and the print is comfortably large. This little gem by Marty Neumeier is full of memorable graphics. I always wondered how the game “Rock, Paper, Scissors” works, and I can now apply the game to future plans. Perhaps using Zag’s 17-step roadmap, I’ll develop a new “zag” or two of my own. I realized after reading Zag how much better anyone’s business or professional future could be if they just read this book.

Zag took me only about 2 ½ hours to read, and the print is comfortably large. This little gem by Marty Neumeier is full of memorable graphics. I always wondered how the game “Rock, Paper, Scissors” works, and I can now apply the game to future plans. Emulex hba management. Perhaps using Zag’s 17-step roadmap, I’ll develop a new “zag” or two of my own.