Product Description

Praise for Accidental Branding

"I've fallen in love with Accidental Branding. It is my favorite business book for 2008!"
--Diane K. Danielson, TopShelf Reading Picks Blogger, Entrepreneur.com CEO, Downtown Women's Club and coauthor of The Savvy Gal's Guide to Online Networking (or What Would Jane Austen Do?)

"The central idea of this book is nothing short of brilliant. Not that you can start a business like Burt's Bees in your basement, but that even experts can learn a lesson from the accidental marketers. Great stuff."
--Seth Godin, author of Meatball Sundae

"Accidental Branding is a gift from a master storyteller. Vinjamuri has an extensive knowledge of brands and a keen nose for great stories."
--Scott WilliamsChief Marketing Officer, Morgans Hotel Group

"Accidental Branding is a wake-up call for budding entrepreneurs who think a great brand is only about market research."
--Eve TahminciogluMSNBC.com's YourBiz blogger, author of From the Sandbox to the Corner Office

"Vinjamuri tells stories to get us to think differently about familiar brands.A great read!"
--Dawn KiernanDirector of Marketing, American Express

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #42779 in Books
• Published on: 2008-03-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

From Publishers Weekly
The stories of acclaimed entrepreneurs like John Peterman (J. Peterman) and Gert Boyle (Columbia Sportswear), whose brands generate a cult-like loyalty from consumers, give this book a lively flavor that goes down better than any list of dry strategies. Author Vinjamuri—a marketing professor at New York University and the founder of a marketing training company—reports that every brand I wanted to write about started with some fortuitous accident visited upon perfectionists who sweat every detail. Gary Erickson, creator of the Clif Bar, is one such perfectionist; a long-distance cyclist disgusted with foul-tasting energy bars, he invented his own bar, more delicious and nutritious than any of its competitors. Another example is Roxanne Quimby, who was living in a tent in Maine with her five-year-old twin daughters when Burt Shavitz, a beekeeper, picked her up hitchhiking and inspired her Burt's Bees brand. Luck and good timing played a role for these businesspeople, but their success ultimately stemmed from an ability to think like their own consumer. Despite a tendency to digress, Vinjamuri has a similar understanding of his readers. The chapter he dedicates to his own conclusions is thoughtful enough, but not nearly as compelling as the stories of the entrepreneurs themselves. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
The stories of acclaimed entrepreneurs like John Peterman (J. Peterman) and Gert Boyle (Columbia Sportswear), whose brands generate a cult-like loyalty from consumers, give this book a lively flavor that goes down better than any list of dry strategies. Author Vinjamuri—a marketing professor at New York University and the founder of a marketing training company—reports that “every brand I wanted to write about started with some fortuitous accident” visited upon perfectionists who “sweat every detail.” Gary Erickson, creator of the Clif Bar, is one such perfectionist; a long-distance cyclist disgusted with foul-tasting energy bars, he invented his own bar, more delicious and nutritious than any of its competitors. Another example is Roxanne Quimby, who was living in a tent in Maine with her five-year-old twin daughters when Burt Shavitz, a beekeeper, picked her up hitchhiking and inspired her Burt's Bees brand. Luck and good timing played a role for these businesspeople, but their success ultimately stemmed from an “ability to think like their own consumer.” Despite a tendency to digress, Vinjamuri has a similar understanding of his readers. The chapter he dedicates to his own conclusions is thoughtful enough, but not nearly as compelling as the stories of the entrepreneurs themselves. (Apr.) (Publishers Weekly, February 8, 2008)

From the Inside Flap

This book discusses the phenomenal success of some very real people. They built some of the biggest and best-known consumer brands in the world—and they did it without any experience in marketing or branding. How did they achieve such profound success in such a super-competitive environment in which most new businesses fail? Accidental Branding explores this question by telling the personal stories of eight remarkable entrepreneurs.

Accidental brands are those brands that don't come from corporate headquarters but instead from ordinary, hardworking people with good ideas and a willingness to trust their instincts over the established rules of brand building. In Accidental Branding, marketing expert David Vinjamuri reveals how each of these entrepreneurs broke some of the same conventions of marketing—and became stronger for it. They beat established brands by doing things differently and doing them with passion.

With Vinjamuri as your guide, you'll meet John Peterman of the legendary J. Peterman catalog; Craig Newmark, founder of the online classified site craigslist.org; Gary Erickson, inventor of the Clif Bar; Myriam Zaoui and Eric Malka, founders of The Art of Shaving stores; "Mother" Gert Boyle of Columbia Sportswear; Julie Aigner-Clark, founder of Baby Einstein; and Roxanne Quimby of Burt's Bees.

Accidental Branding reveals the new rules of renegade brand building that all eight of these inspiring entrepreneurs instinctively followed. They didn't go to business school to learn how to succeed. They didn't bother with consumer testing; they were the consumers—just like the rest of us. Read their stories and discover what it takes to grow a business and turn a brand into a household name.

It's not always the marketing experts and corporate MBAs who build world-changing businesses. Sometimes it's people like Craig, Julie, Roxanne—or even you. If you're a small business owner, a future entrepreneur, or even a corporate marketer looking to build a more authentic brand, Accidental Branding offers an inside look at some of the world's best and least likely brand leaders.

Customer Reviews

great read and very inspirational
I like to learn about things, so non-fiction in general appeals to me. A real winner, though, is one that is actually fun to read in itself. Accidental Branding is one of those books. It is a great read - full of stories that are engaging and really interested me. I found it very inspiring and informative. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a book that gives detailed case studies on real companies and how they've turned a good idea into amazing businesses.

Enthusiastic read
I found this book to be just the motivation I needed to move forward with my business. It took less than two hours to read the entire book. I was able to relate the stories to my own life and business. I found the book fascinating and exciting! Great for any new business owner.

Tips to becoming extraordinary
In Accidental Branding, David profiles the leaders of several companies whose brands took off seemingly out of nowhere and succeeded in different, but amazing ways. The people he profiles include Gary Erickson of Clif Bar, Julie Clark of Baby Einstein, Roxanne Quimby of Burt's Bees, John Peterman who created the J. Peterman brand and Craig Newmark who founded Craigslist. David qualifies an Accidental Brand as one that passes three tests:

1. An individual who is not trained in marketing must create the brand.
2. This individual must experience the problem that the brand solves.
3. The individual must control the brand for at least 10 years.

The great news for all of us is we can create a great brand regardless of whether we came from a wealthy family or attended an Ivy League university. Some of the people profiled did not even go to college.

To take an idea and make something great requires determination and focused intention. The people profiled in Accidental Branding offer great examples of how anyone can, by following sound principles, create something great. I highly recommend you add Accidental Branding to your reading list.