A fun and humorous introductory book, written in Stephen Brown’s entertaining and highly distinctive style, that introduces curious readers to the key components of brands and helps them to begin to make sense of them – what they are, what they do, why and how – using plenty of examples and references drawn from a wide range brands such as Amazon, Apple, Google, Gucci, Nike, Nintendo, Starbucks, Swatch and The Worst Hotel in the World. With 3, 000 branding books published each year, why would you (or your students) want to read Brands & Branding? Here are seven reasons why: It’s introductory, aimed at undergraduate students or postgrads without a bachelor degree in business and assumes nothing more than readers’ awareness of high profile brands such as Coca-Cola, Microsoft and Chanel It’s indicative, focusing on the basics and thus being a more reliable revision aid than Lucozade It’s immersive, taking readers on a journey and, working on the assumption that they have smartphones or tablet computers to hand, the print text links to images, articles and academic publications to give emphasis and context where appropriate. It’s inclusive, considering articles and reports but also blogs, novels, newspapers, reviews, social media and other sources It’s irreverent – branding is not always a deadly serious business! It’s intimate, Stephen speaks to you directly and together you will pick your way through the sometimes weird and unfailingly wonderful world of brands and branding using examples rather than abstract ideas to illustrate points. It’s inspirational, celebrating the curious and successful stories of brands from Cillit Bang to Cacharel Suitable for first and second year marketing or advertising students, and for those new to or interested in branding and who are keen to know more.