FusionBranding is a textbook look into the future of business branding.Written by a branding futurist, this book can be read on several levels,depending on how deep the reader wants to dig into the subject. The author points out that branding has become increasingly important, while at the same time, increasingly more difficult to generate. Fusion branding is not about products in isolation, but the whole sales and support infrastructureýgoing beyond the bounds of the company to these pipeline and even to the customers' reactions to the company's products and their support infrastructure.

This is a must read for business students and entrepreneurs. It is cogent and complete. It emphasizes the customer viewpoint interactions with them. We rated this book four hearts.
-- Bob Spears
Heartland Reviews

I'm sure Nick Wreden's new text 'Fusion Branding: How to Forge Your Brand for the Future' will stir up considerable feeling in the branding community, writes Ian McGregor, creative director at Proximity London.

There is nothing radical in his central premise that successful businesses of the future must focus on the nurturing of customer relationships. The contention will arise from how relationships are nurtured.

As the title suggests, Wreden forecasts that successful brands of the future will have moved away from dated branding tactics and base their strategies on personalising their relationship with the customer.

Wreden writes: "A brand's power doesn't stem from the number of ads or press releases. It derives from an emotional, even mystical, attachment between a purchaser and a company... a brand is a multidimensional accumulation of positive experiences resulting from performance, usability, value and the recognition of peers. Brand building is based on what's always been important. Trust. Commitment. Loyalty. Respect. Satisfaction. In a word, a brand represents a bond."

What may be difficult for some readers to accept are Wreden's 10 core principles that, he says, represent the new face of branding. These principles are mainly concerned with pursuing operational excellence and accountability. Herein lies the contention; there is very little credence given to the role of establishing the personality of a brand -- normally the remit of Branding consultants, marketing departments and advertising agencies. Wreden's core principle number one is: "Brands are built by organisations and supply chains, not by marketing departments". Hmmm. I've always thought that to create a bond with the customer a brand must clearly communicate its values and benefits and that marketing departments have a hand in that.

Wreden uses a wealth of examples to illustrate his ideas, which make this text all the more engaging and thought provoking. His understanding of the issues and his perspective on the role of new media adds an interesting angle. The book is finely structured, presents compelling arguments and summarises each chapter with a useful "Takeout" section of questions for consideration. It will make interesting reading for anyone charged with enhancing or maintaining the corporate bottom line in sales and market share.

A small gripe, however, would be that some of the brands used as examples in the book, lend an overtly American viewpoint that contradict Wreden's core principle eight: "Brands require an international perspective". He states "See Buick, think safety". Well, not from where I'm sitting Mr Wreden, for me it's "See Buick, think gas guzzler".

This book offers a lot of insight into the future of successful business. It contains invaluable suggestions and advice for both existing companies as well as new businesses. This is one of the few books that are written with a focus on the future, providing the reader with numerous innovative ideas and strategies. This guide will undoubtfully be useful to businessmen and students alike. Highly recommended!

How do you turn a small business into big business?

Answers vary from hiring great talent to inspiring innovation to superlative customer service. While all those factors play a vital role in growth, this book argues that the key force in propelling start-ups from bedrooms to boardrooms is customer equity.

According to Wreden, customer equity is "the value that a customer brings to an organization in terms of sales, profits and intangibles, like referral sales, over the lifetime of a relationship." Customer equity is built on the premise that existing customers are much more valuable than new customers.

Everyone knows that existing customers are most valuable, yet few firms follow through with actions. About 80%-90% of sales and marketing budgets are devoted to customer acquisition, not retention. According to the consulting firm Bain & Co., fewer than 20% of firms track retention.

FusionBranding argues that focusing a business on customer equity pays multiple dividends. First, it increases branding and other accountability by, for example, pinpointing whether marketing campaigns are generating short-term sales without creating long-term customer value. Customer equity also focuses an organization on retention, especially if sales and other compensation are tied to that benchmark. Loyal customers lead to word-of-mouth, the most effective form of branding. Finally, and most important, loyal customers are more profitable. FusionBranding cites well-publicized studies that indicate that a retention increase of only 5% results in a lifetime profit increase of 95%.

Branding is important even for small firms. But too many firms see branding only from the perspective of advertising and public relations. (As an advertising and PR agency executive, I run into this perspective all the time.) While ads and PR are absolutely essential to branding in the mass economy, Wreden believes they are less important in today's customer economy. Because customers - not companies - define brands today, he argues that better branding and other paybacks come from emphasizing customer equity, accountability and operational excellence running from the supply chain to the customer.

Accountability starts with benchmarks that are clearly measureable, not intangibles like "creativity," "awareness" or even satisfaction. The most crucial benchmark is customer equity, but other benchmarks can include responsiveness, percent of revenue from new products and even employee retention. Benchmarks must also be from the customer's perspective. This is part of what Wreden calls "doing business on customer terms." In short, it's not about the ad featuring my company and my products but about the relationship my company fosters with you.

Wreden believes the coming demand economy will spark another wave in branding. Then, the emphasis will be on immediacy, reach and personalization. Immediacy places an even premium on responsiveness. Companies will be able to reach customers through a variety of media, but have to be prepared for customers to reach them at all times, and have to be prepared for accuracy and completeness during each contact. Almost all products will be personalized in the demand economy.

Interestingly, he also examines the challenges of the demand economy, such as dynamic pricing. Unlike other marketing books, which dismiss pricing with a standardized comment about "brands enable premium pricing," FusionBranding devotes attention to pricing techniques and their relationship to customer value. Dynamic pricing, where prices change in real-time according to supply and demand, will present a lot of challenges to businesses seeking to understand all their process costs as well as current market conditions.

Most branding books have little relevance to small businesses, especially those involved in selling to other businesses, because the authors focus on large consumer firms with big budgets. But Wreden has purposely oriented his book toward the practicalities of business, such as ensuring an effective distribution channel and incorporating the right technologies. At almost 400 pages, FusionBranding is not a quick read, but it is most definitely a worthwhile one for any small business that wants to be a bigger business which means everyone.

I knew nothing about branding or advertising before reading FUSION BRANDING. Further research has shown me what a great resource Fusion Branding is for anyone who wishes to understand these topics. It was interesting and thought provoking, yet easy to read. Having had very little knowledge on which to base an opinion, I did not realize Fusion Branding's true value until after I had read several more books on similar topics. Nick Wreden really understands which elements are essential for creating a successful brand and inspiring a faithful customer. I'm looking forward to his next book!