Management fads come and go in the blink of an eye, but branding is here to stay. Closely watched by the stock market and obsessed over by the biggest companies, brand identity is the one indisputable source of sustainable competitive advantage, the vital key to customer loyalty. David Aaker is widely recognised as the leading expert in this burgeoning field. Now he prepares managers for the next wave of the brand revolution. With coauthor Erich Joachimsthaler, Aaker takes brand management to the next level - strategic brand leadership. Required reading for every marketing manager is the authors' conceptualisation of 'brand architecture' - how multiple brands relate to each other - and their insights into the ever-changing area of Internet branding. Full of impeccable, intelligent guidance, Brand Leadershipis the visionary key to business success in the future.

Most business models are transactional. They are focused on a specific exchange. They match riders with drivers, sellers with buyers, hosts with travelers. They thrive on enormous scale, huge distribution networks, and brand recognition. But then along comes a rival that is small, nimble, and doesn't care much about its brand, and it either rushes past you or mows you down. In The Interaction Field, branding expert and author Erich Joachimsthaler explains that the only way to survive and thrive in this environment is through the Interaction Field model. An interaction field company is organized to generate, facilitate, and benefit from interactions. It's focused on data exchange among multiple people and groups-from customers and shareholders, but also from those you wouldn't expect to be in the mix: suppliers, software developers, regulators and even competitors. And everyone in the field works together to solve big, industry-wide problems. This new mindset is broader, more inclusive, more focused on problem-solving, shared wealth, and social benefit. The future is going to be about creating value for everyone, and businesses that solve immediate challenges of people today and also the major social and economic challenges of the future are the ones that will survive and grow.

A dozen management fads have come and gone in the past decade, but brand equity, first explored by David Aaker in the late 1980s, has exploded in importance. Recognized by "Brandweek" as "the dean of the brand-equity movement," Aaker now prepares managers for the next level of the brand revolution -- brand leadership.

For the first time, Aaker and coauthor Erich Joachimsthaler describe how the emerging paradigm of strategic brand leadership is replacing the classic, tactically oriented brand management system pioneered by Procter & Gamble. This fundamental shift involves nothing less than a revolution in organizational structure, systems, and culture -- as the authors demonstrate with hundreds of case studies from companies such as Polo Ralph Lauren, Virgin Airlines, Adidas, GE, Marriott, IBM, McDonald's, Maggi, and Swatch. This immensely readable book provides the brand management team with the capability to:

• Create and elaborate brand identities (what should the brand stand for)

• Use the brand relationship spectrum, a powerful tool to harness subbrands and endorsed brands to form brand architectures that create clarity, synergy and leveraged assets

• Identify the customer "sweet spot" and the driving idea that will move brand-building efforts beyond advertising to break out of the clutter

• Use the Internet and sponsorship to make brands resources work more effectively

• Address the four imperatives of global brand management

Like David Aaker's two previous bestselling books, "Brand Leadership" will be essential reading for line executives and brand managers in market-driven firms worldwide.