Books Zag: The Number One Strategy of High-Performance Brands
Books and Publications Average Rating:

Rating: - Great thoughts, presented perfectly for busy people
You have to read Zag like you read the bible- it tells a great story but you often are better served not delving too deeply into the statements made by the author to support his points (i.e. the fact that 11 million people went to Europe in 2006 versus 8 million in 1964 as evidence of a shift in American society- though as a percent of the population it is almost no change at all in Americans traveling abroad).

Such is the nature of writing about a topic where 1) the author makes his money selling branding services; 2) he doesn't believe in hard numbers to prove points, harboring the predictable anti-research position that is both a great strength and weakness of this book and books like this (i.e. Blink). It also may be the most acceptable way to write a book that is not so dry and academic that nobody would want to read it.

But the story being told is a great one and it is really well told. Neumeier needs to get a lot of credit for presenting ideas simply (not simplistically) which many other authors would make very complicated. The book is also just really well thought out so that it is thoroughly enjoyable to read even as you get into some pretty important topics that others might get bogged down in jargon or overly long explanations. The book also gets high markst for not only discussing what a "zag" is but also showing you how you can get there if you follow his clearly outlined process.

So while the book is clearly a campaign for what he believes versus an objective look at branding, it is great read and I would recommend it for anyone working in marketing/branding that wants a refresher or reminder about what you should be thinking about in our ever-changing world.

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Rating: - ZAGGING
Excellent Book!
It is:
- Fun to read
- Openminding
It provides great practical ideas. You can apply the 17 steps to differentiation in your work place righ away.
I could not stop reading it.

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Rating: - Zag is Zagworthy
I purchased this book at the same time as the Brand Gap, being confident in the fact they'd both be helpful, well-written, yet densely packed tomes of information - and I was right!

Zag hones in on one element discussed in the Brand Gap - differentiation - and expands it into a 200-so page book. According to Neumeier, differentiation, or creating zag, is one of the most important elements of branding - and it needs to happen at every step of the way, from conception to naming to marketing.

The great thing about Zag is the way it presents the information - much like in the Brand Gap it follows a 'whiteboard', graphic-heavy, basic (but important) facts. This time around however, it pairs the basic format with a strong, easy-to-follow example through the faux development of an educational wine bar chain.

Neumeier then takes the reader through 17 steps (including some helpful exercises) you should take as a business owner, venture capitalist, or advertising professional when determining whether your product is zagworthy - or how to make it so it is.

In terms of why I gave the book 4 stars as opposed to 5...The last section of the book - once the 17 steps are completed and the wine bar is 'fully developed' - is a little bit dense/doesn't seem to flow as well as the rest of the book/series.

Also there is a decent amount of repetition between Zag and the Brand Gap, and I am hesitant in believing that people would pick up one without the other. Although it makes sense to reinforce the principles (and sell more books I'm sure) in some cases, it almost made it hard to differentiate some of the messages between the books, making me feel a bit cheated in that I paid money to read the same pages over.

I have a hunch Neumeier might take the 5 main principles found in The Brand gap and expand each of them into books like Zag did for differentiation - and I can't fault him for doing so. Zag is definitely an improvement on The Brand Gap in that it offers a focused "here's exactly what you can do" strategy, but it still remains general enough that virtually any level of professional (student, beginner, executive etc.) can sit down and walk away a couple of hours later feeling like they learned something.

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Rating: - Zag Zag Zigidy Zag de Zag
Knocked this one out in a single flight. Well written, easy to follow. Maybe a little too easy. Would have liked a little more meat. Consider this the Cliff's Notes to Differentiate or Die. Both great books, this is easier to digest. Neumeier is a brand genius, he gets it and he can present it well in a concise format.