Breakthrough Branding: How Smart Entrepreneurs and Intrapreneurs Transform a Small Idea into a Big Brand

Description

Even the smallest idea can have BIG impact when positioned correctly. Breakthrough Branding shows entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs, and small businesses alike the secrets to transforming a brainstorm into big bucks. From the grassroots growth of beverage brands like Red Bull, Honest Tea, and Innocent, to the exploding growth of digital brands like Twitter, Weibo, and Groupon; from the cult appeal of stores like Forever 21, to the success of virtual retailers like Zappos - successful companies of all types and sizes begin with three things: ambition, a winning idea, and a brand strategy. Branding expert Catherine Kaputa uses dozens of international brand histories to demonstrate what makes a brand thrive, and provides you with the tools to do the same. Learn how to define your audience, create a standout personality, and position yourself as superior to the competition - all by utilizing the power of branding! Packed with thoughtful reader exercises and filled with leading-edge social media strategies, Breakthrough Branding teaches novice start-ups to seasoned professionals how to leverage their assets to create a successful business.

Catherine Kaputa is a branding strategist, speaker, award-winning author and the founder of SelfBrand, a personal branding and development company. From Madison Avenue to Wall Street to the Halls of Academe to founding her own company, SelfBrand, Catherine perfected her ability to brand products, companies and places. She learned brand strategy under Ali Ries and Jack Trout at Trout & Ries Advertising. She led the 'I Love New York' campaign at Wells, Rich, Greene. For over ten years, she was senior SVP Director of Branding at Shearson Lehman Brothers and Citi Smith Barney. And she taught a course in branding at NYU's Stern School of Business. For more information about SelfBrand and Catherine's work, please visit www.selfbrand.com!

"Whether you're dying to launch your own company, or are more of a reluctant entrepreneur, you face the imperative to build your brand. Catherine Kaputa has made this challenge her personal and professional study, and in this book she shares secrets worth many times the cost of admission. Now go forth and brand!" Daniel H. Pink, author of DRIVE and A WHOLE NEW MIND "Anything that Catherine writes is worth reading. She was one of my best mentees on the subject of "Positioning" and now she's an expert on building brands. She won't steer you wrong." Jack Trout, Marketing Strategist, Author of Trout on Strategy "If you aim to be an entrepreneur and already have a big idea, but you never studied marketing and branding, this book will give you a running start. Catherine is a superb coach and her book delivers a wonderful collection of marketing steps and real world entrepreneur success stories." Philip Kotler, Professor of Marketing, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University "If there's one thing you've just got to know about -- but is tough to learn about -- it's branding. Catherina Kaputa tells you what you must know in this valuable book. Read it before your competitors do." Jay Conrad Levinson, Author, "Guerrilla Marketing" series of books