The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding
By Al Ries and Laura Ries, HarperCollins, New York, 1998,
ISBN 0-88730-937-2
Review by: G. Mark Towhey
I was first attracted to this book after reading a short blurb advertising the keynote speech that father-daughter team Al and Laura Ries were scheduled to give at the 1999 PRSA national conference. What caught my eye was the statement, out of the mouths of bonafide popular gurus of marketing, that public relations builds successful new brand – not advertising.
Could I have read correctly?
Yes.
Following the successful formula of 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, also co-authored by Al Ries, this book outlines a number of solid, sensible rules of thumb for building strong brands. I say "a number" of rules of thumb, rather than "22" because there aren’t really 22 rules here. Rather, the authors have sub-divided a number of concepts to allow them to claim kinship to the previous 22 Laws bestseller. They accomplish this by stating, restating, and re-restating many of the same ideas with only slightly differing words. How many times can you say the same thing? 22 times, it seems.
Nonetheless, 22 Immutable Laws of Branding is a quick and enjoyable read. It provides valuable insight, supported by brief illustrative case studies, into what works and what doesn’t work in the field of modern branding. Branding, the new silver-bullet of the marketing set, is all about influencing audience perceptions. As such, it is must-know stuff for every practitioner of strategic influence, corporate communication or public relations.
Packaged into short chapters (one per law) averaging 8 – 10 pages each, the book codifies such concepts as: The Law of Publicity, The Law of the Word, The Law of Quality, The Law of Extensions, etc. In the Law of Publicity, the authors say:
The birth of a brand is achieved with publicity, not advertising.
Building brand leaders with better, fresher (advertising)? We think not. Most marketers confuse brand building with brand maintenance. While a hefty advertising budget might be needed to maintain high-flying brands like McDonald’s and Coca-Cola, advertising agencies won’t get a new brand off the ground. …p. 25
Today, brands are born, not made. A new brand must be capable of generating favorable publicity in the media or it won’t have a chance in the marketplace. … p. 27
Another very useful insight for strategic influencers, and media relations experts, is the concept that it is always better to be first than best. In the Law of Credentials (and pretty much most of the other laws, too – how many times can you say the same thing?), the authors point to consumer and media skepticism about most product claims. Every product claims to be better, faster, longer-lasting, etc. No one believes any such superlatives. The only claim that can be established credibly, according to the authors, is leadership.
Leadership is the most direct way to establish the credentials of a brand. Coca-Cola, Hertz, Heinz, Visa, and Kodak all have credentials because they are widely perceived to be the leading brands in their categories. When you don’t have the leading brand, your best strategy is to create a new category in which you can claim leadership. … p. 50
A Recommended Read
Are there really 22 Laws in The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding by Al and Laura Ries? No. Is it an excellent primer with lots of good, useful insight for corporate communicators, public relations practitioners and anyone interested in achieving strategic influence? Absolutely.
