Rethinking Prestige Branding: Secrets of the Ueber-Brands Paperback – Illustrated, May 26, 2015

As a strategic planner working in beauty and fashion branding and marketing, this is basically the holy grail. These are the very topics I think about every day. This book provides a plethora of relevant examples and interesting new language that I can use to have the right conversations with my clients to move their brands forward. I often talk about the importance of brands and starting with the "WHY" as a key foundation to their purpose. I love the distinction Wolfgang gives for brands with this higher meaning and cultural significance - Ueber brands! These are brands that build a cult following and then live their dream and purpose through the right products, culture and experiences. I also always talk about the importance of storytelling. It is so true and clever how these writers have doubled clicked (metaphorically) on storytelling to drill in deeper on what it means for Ueber brands which is mythical storytelling. A brand myth is a more elevated and emotional way to bring the story to life, which in this day and age, is everything. The first time I read this book, it was about enjoying and understanding the big picture. Now, I need to go back through and do some old-school highlighting for practical usage and references. PS: If you are passionate about lifestyle and fashion brands, you will hopefully love the brilliant case studies because for me, they have chosen brands that I personally relate to and admire.

Reading this book is much like experiencing an ueberbrand as it unfolds before you page by page. Though technically a business book that educates the reader on strategy, case studies, and frameworks, the tonality and voice behind the content sounds like that of a friend (albeit, a more experienced, well-traveled friend) - with the right amount of tongue-in-cheek humor and ease to keep you properly engaged. The ample insights to take away manage to feel like they're served up as a nice treat with some amusing anecdotes that you'll want to retell at a cocktail party (and build your own social currency), in great contrast to typical business case studies. Most practically and uniquely, the book is able to meet its reader on all parts of the spectrum - offering a historical and cultural study on the evolution of branding in layman terms to those who may just be avid consumers as well as turn-key applications (down to the self-evaluative business questions) for brand practitioners. A keeper and must-read for the smart stories inside as well as a handy guide for business building for years to come.

This is an excellent brand strategy book to help people and companies create an Ueber-brand! The book has so many memorable brand examples that help reinforce the concepts and makes it easy to understand. Definitely a must-read for anyone interested in brand strategy!

This book has great insight into the world of prestige brands and selling them. The writers create an almost hypnotic style of copy that intrigues as much as the brands themselves. Even though this information is six or seven years old, it still has relevance to any brand on creating an illusive mystique that will push your product to the forefront. Remember, this is not the low level advertising style we usually see and hear in current offerings; this is very carefully predicated on someone who will spend the time to create something beautiful. Thoroughly enjoyed the experience this book provided.

demonstrated mythical storytelling very well! The case studies were very well explained-great insights about the world of luxury! You will never look at a marketing ad the same ever again !

We tend to think of luxurious, expensive products when considering something like an "Ueber-Brand", but this book demonstrates that expensive does not necessarily equate to a dedicated core of consumers. Instead, the book highlights how brands from a variety of industries and price points are able to rise above the competition and develop cult followings. The real-world brand examples are great and this book will push you to consider some things in a new light.

The authors suggest some fundamentals principles for brand elevation and provide multiple examples of how they are manifested across brands. Very interesting insights coupled with best-practice examples!

A fast read that is not only tremendously insightful but also fun! This book changed the way I think about elevating brands. The authors introduce an easy-to-follow brand elevation model that can be used to asses where a luxury brand stands and how to elevate its brand image in a way that is meaningful and lasting. Highly recommend this to creative and marketing professionals interested in not just luxury/prestige brands but branding in general.