Warriors on the High Wire: The Balancing Act of Brand Leadership in the 20th Century

The brand must be at the heart of an organization if it is to succeed, but very often companies fail to understand the importance of this maxim. Based on interviews with 50 CEOs and key decision-makers, Fiona Gilmore distils the essence of many of our top brands. Top CEOs such as Michael Eisner of Disney and Chris Gent of Vodafone, discuss the issues that are crucial to their success. They reveal:* How companies can create brand architecture to maximize competitive advantage.* Why the role of the brand is of fundamental importance in the age of e-commerce, to protect the franchise of the established players and to open the market to newcomers.* Why service brands are critical for much of twenty-first-century business. The mantra of organizational excellence, customer service and product innovation is not enough. Organizations have to find ways to involve the service deliverers in their brand.* How companies should deal with acquisitions. Acquisitions create untidy portfolios, and todays mega, cross-border deals create problems that are so complex that they can lead to a paralysis of indecision. Even the greatest brands sometimes lose their way and stumble. Fiona Gilmore reveals how and why this happens and offers insights and ideas that can be applied to any business – no matter what size – to achieve outstanding success in the new economy.* With a gallery of star contributors and a global approach, this is a much bigger book than just Brand Warriors mark II* Fiona Gilmore has an enviable reputation in the brand architecture field.