David Taylor 
Brand Vision 
How to Energize Your Team to Drive Business Growth

David Taylor’s third book lifts the lid on why so many brand
visioning projects end in failure: an overly theoretical and
complex approach he calls ‘strategy tourism’. By contrast, his
straightforward, no-nonsense programme will ensure that you end up
with an inspiring vision and a hands-on action plan to drive
growth.

Designed in a highly practical format, brandvision shows how to
lead your team on a step-by-step ‘visioning journey’ that builds
engagement, energy and alignment. Powerful tips, tools and tricks
help you start applying the principles to your business today:

* Searching for true insight: creating a springboard for
visioning by using different ‘insight catalysts’ that cover
consumers, markets and competition

* The visioning journey: creating a compelling brand purpose, a
big idea and a rallying call; combining product ‘sausage’ and
emotional ‘sizzle’

* Test-driving the vision: bringing the vision to life by
exploring it within your business and with consumers

* Brand-led business: translating the vision into a business
building mix that covers ‘hero product’ innovation, communication
and internal engagement

Thought-provoking and irreverent, brandvision demonstrates all
the dos and don’ts of brand visioning with many stories of success
(and screw-ups) including T-Mobile, Dove, Porsche, Absolut and
James Bond. It is an invaluable toolkit for anyone interested in
rethinking a brand vision – whatever its shape or size.

Table of Content

Warning: don’t read this book xi

Tools xi

brandgym network xi

brandgym.com xii

wheresthesausage.com xii

The Oscar Acceptance Speech xiii

Introduction: be a brand CEO, not a strategy tourist 1

We’re busy. Do we really need a vision? 1

Why so much strategy sucks 6

The strategy tourism guidebook 10

The T-Mobile story 15

Fits all sizes and shapes 26

Over to you 29

Checklist: Introduction 31

I. Search for True Insight 33

1. Create an insight springboard 37

Research-itis 37

Competition: what market are we really in? 38

Consumer: opening the door to your brand 42

Brand: look back, look forward 52

Company: where should we fish for growth? 56

Checklist 1: Create an insight springboard 58

II. The Visioning Journey 61

2. What are you going to fight for? 65

Bland not brand 66

The brand manifesto 67

Writing the story of your brand 69

Checklist 2: What are you going to fight for? 72

3. Where’s the sausage? 77

Brandicide 79

Back to why brands were born 84

The power of the product 85

Searching for truth 89

Sharpening the vision 95

Checklist 3: Where’s the sausage? 96

4. Sizzle that sells 101

Leave the ladder in the garage 101

Pasta sauce or Prada? 103

Selling your product story 106

The Geek Squad 109

Brand personality devices 113

Bringing your personality to life 115

Put some pizzaz in your personality 117

Checklist 4: Sizzle that sells 118

Handover 119

5. Big brand ideas beat brand essence 123

What’s the big idea? 123

Your brand story takes shape 127

Eureka moments 129

Checklist 5: Big brand ideas 129

III. Bring the Vision to Life 131

6. Test drive the vision 135

Consumers are not marketing directors 135

Think less, do more 135

Exploration has its limits 137

Bring your vision to life 141

Getting the most out of research 144

Time to sign up 147

Make it real 151

Checklist 6: Test drive the vision 153

IV. Brand-led Business 155

7. Beyond brandwashing to true engagement 159

Brandwashing 159

Focus on fundamentals 163

Step 1: Hire the right people and treat them right 164

Step 2: Make it easier to do the right thing 168

Step 3: Lead by example 171

Step 4: Sell the cake not the recipe 171

The 5-month itch 175

Checklist 7: Beyond brandwashing to true engagement 176

8. Create hero products 179

Kill the dwarves 179

Start close to home 181

i Pod: the hero of a new vision 187

Virtual venture capital 189

Elastic brands 190

Family ties 196

Checklist 8: Create hero products 199

9. Communicating without ego tripping 203

Brand ego tripping: the movie 203

Getting a killer mix 206

Design: The face of your new vision 211

Communication with cut-through 213

When you hit gold . . . 221

The Tyskie turnaround 224

Checklist 9: Communicating without ego tripping 230

Brand Vision to Action Toolkit 231

brandgym network 251

References 253

Index 255

About the author

David Taylor is Founder and Managing Partner of
thebrandgym, a network of brand coaches that helps teams
develop an inspiring vision and the action plans to turn it
into growth.

David was recently named by the CIM as one of the world’s 50
top marketing thinkers. He has worked with many acclaimed companies
including T-Mobile, Unilever, Kraft, the BBC and SAB Miller to help
them boost performance. He began in brand management with P&G
before completing an MBA at INSEAD, France. He then started and
successfully grew the Paris office of Added Value, Europe’s
leading marketing consultancy (now part of WPP).

David is the author of two previous books. His first,
thebrandgym, quickly became Amazon.co.uk’s
best-selling branding title; his sequel, brandstretch, was
the world’s first and only focused examination of brand
extension. He is a regular speaker at conferences and in the media,
having written for publications including The Guardian,
Marketing, Market Leader, Brand Strategy and Marketing
Business.