Reviews
"Anyone with a professional interest or involvement in brand management should read this book."-Anthony Di Benedetto, Professor of Marketing, Temple University, Journal of Consumer Marketing, "Haig, a marketing consultant, is one of a new breed of writers producing marketing primers for the hyphenated age of e-marketing. This type of work is characterized by breezily written snippets of success or failure as either encouragement or admonition for the practitioner or for a new category of reader: the business voyeur. Thus these works are written in a readable and appealing format, as e-business fables. Examining 'the 100 biggest branding mistakes of all time, ' Haig organizes these 100 "failures" into ten types, each with its own moral and admonition. These types include classic failures (e.g., New Coke), idea failures (e.g., R.J. Reynolds' smokeless cigarettes), extension failures (e.g., Harley Davidson perfume), culture failures (e.g., Kelloggs in India), and technology failures (e.g., Pets.com). The idea behind this work is that with knowledge these failures can be avoided, but this reviewer regards it as akin to Monday morning quarterbacking in its validity as an activity. None of this takes away the schadenfreude of this well-written, quick read. Useful more as a cultural artifact than classroom text, this book could serve as supplementary reading for advanced marketing courses and for business voyeurs who like a good read. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers; upper-division undergraduate and graduate students; and practitioners." -- S. A. Schulman, CUNY Kingsborough Community College, "Haig, a marketing consultant, is one of a new breed of writers producing marketing primers for the hyphenated age of e-marketing. This type of work is characterized by breezily written snippets of success or failure as either encouragement or admonition for the practitioner or for a new category of reader: the business voyeur. Thus these works are written in a readable and appealing format, as e-business fables. Examining 'the 100 biggest branding mistakes of all time, ' Haig organizes these 100 "failures" into ten types, each with its own moral and admonition. These types include classic failures (e.g., New Coke), idea failures (e.g., R.J. Reynolds' smokeless cigarettes), extension failures (e.g., Harley Davidson perfume), culture failures (e.g., Kelloggs in India), and technology failures (e.g., Pets.com). The idea behind this work is that with knowledge these failures can be avoided, but this reviewer regards it as akin to Monday morning quarterbacking in its validity as an activity. None of this takes away the schadenfreude of this well-written, quick read. Useful more as a cultural artifact than classroom text, this book could serve as supplementary reading for advanced marketing courses and for business voyeurs who like a good read. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers; upper-division undergraduate and graduate students; and practitioners." -- S. A. Schulman, CUNY Kingsborough Community College "Brand Failures is a fascinating and witty compendium of 'how not to' advice that can help businesses of all sizes learn from the mistakes of others."--Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh, PA, ""Haig, a marketing consultant, is one of a new breed of writers producing marketing primers for the hyphenated age of e-marketing. This type of work is characterized by breezily written snippets of success or failure as either encouragement or admonition for the practitioner or for a new category of reader: the business voyeur. Thus these works are written in a readable and appealing format, as e-business fables. Examining 'the 100 biggest branding mistakes of all time, ' Haig organizes these 100 ""failures"" into ten types, each with its own moral and admonition. These types include classic failures (e.g., New Coke), idea failures (e.g., R.J. Reynolds' smokeless cigarettes), extension failures (e.g., Harley Davidson perfume), culture failures (e.g., Kelloggs in India), and technology failures (e.g., Pets.com). The idea behind this work is that with knowledge these failures can be avoided, but this reviewer regards it as akin to Monday morning quarterbacking in its validity as an activity. None of this takes away the schadenfreude of this well-written, quick read. Useful more as a cultural artifact than classroom text, this book could serve as supplementary reading for advanced marketing courses and for business voyeurs who like a good read. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers; upper-division undergraduate and graduate students; and practitioners."" -- S. A. Schulman, CUNY Kingsborough Community College, "Anyone with a professional interest or involvement in brand management should read this book." Anthony Di Benedetto, Professor of Marketing, Temple University, Journal of Consumer Marketing 'You learn more from failure than you can from success. Matt Haig's new book is a goldmine of helpful how-not-to advice which you ignore at your own peril.' LAURA RIES, President, Ries & Ries, marketing strategists, and bestselling co-author of The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR and The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding 'I thought the book was terrific. Brings together the business lessons from all the infamous brand disasters from the Ford Edsel and New Coke to today's Andersen and Enron. A must-buy for marketers.' PETER DOYLE, Professor of Marketing & Strategic Management, Warwick Business School, University of Warwick 'If you are responsible for your brand, read this book. It might just be the best investment that you will ever make!' SHAUN SMITH, Senior Vice President of Forum, a division of FT Knowledge, and author of Uncommon Practice 'Every marketer will read this with both pleasure and profit. Some of the stories are really enjoyable but the lessons are deadly serious. Read it, enjoy it, learn from it.' PATRICK BARWISE, Professor of Management and Marketing, London Business School 'I highly recommend his book to everyone responsible for brand creation, development and management.' DR PAUL TEMPORAL, Brand Strategy Consultant, Singapore (www.brandingasia.com) and author of Advanced Brand Management 'makes entertaining reading, but its message is serious and provides a valuable checklist of lessons learned.' Marketing 'Splendid advice' The Daily Focus (Korea) 'Read it' Sports Today (Korea)
