Thanks for NetGalley for the ARC

Super short book may be good for people new to branding but didn’t offer much insight. I did take an idea about customer gifts from the book and plan to try it out, but otherwise it feels like a magazine article read vs a book on branding.

I am not a business owner or someone that is concerned with brand development every day. I am, however, interested in developing my own personal brand more and making sure I develop an authentic story for myself. While I am not the target audience for the book, I found it useful to listen to. I can see gaps in the branding of other businesses and how it contributes to problems. I can also see how many people assume they accomplish effective branding, even though it is out of their skill set. This is a valuable audiobook if you are a business owner and want to improve your brand image and overall an interesting read even if you don't have a brand you are working on developing.

I was excited to pick up this book as it was a book marketed to entrepreneurs and small businesses. It is obvious that the author has lots of experience and is passionate about sharing it. What stood out the most for me were the seven potholes. It is a relatively quick read and engaging book. Would have preferred more small business examples but did find the ones included very thoughtfully put together.

The narrator was not for me. He was seemed a bit over the top.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #GreenleafAudio for the opportunity to share my thoughts on the story.

Happy Reading!

This audiobook, Brand ON!, was deeply off-putting, thanks to its over-the-top narration and the author’s ego-driven tone. Put those two together and it was a major eye-roll.

The content is shockingly light, and while the introduction proudly boasts that it wasn’t written by AI, I couldn’t help thinking a tool like ChatGPT might have delivered better results. With thoughtful prompting, AI could easily prioritize empathy, professionalism and relatable examples (unlike the misalignment case study about “serving fish at a chicken restaurant”).

As a marketer with 25+ years of experience, I found zero actionable insights here. Save your time—I’d never recommend this to clients.

Marketing and branding can sometimes have a mysterious intangible air about it. This authors draws back the curtain and takes you behind the scenes to show and explain how to strengthen your company with a consistent brand. It’s an easy and refreshing read with lots of stories and anecdotes to help understand the fundamental concepts. It doesn’t feel like your typical stale business book.