The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding Paperback – September 1, 2002

I’ve completed reading "The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding" and "Positioning". Both books are among the most thought-provoking works I’ve encountered on brand strategy.While reading "The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding", I found the chapter on the Law of Divergence to be somewhat disconnected from modern branding realities. According to the book, categories tend to diverge as markets evolve, and convergence often results in brand dilution or failure. Yet, Amazon and the iPhone are two of the most successful brands today — both of which appear to contradict that claim. After some reflection, I believe the real issue isn’t about convergence versus divergence. Instead, it’s about branding strategy. My Conclusion: If a brand already holds a dominant position in one market, it can successfully expand into an adjacent or broader market — even one that appears to be a convergence or line extension — by creating and owning a new category in the prospect’s mind, especially when no dominant player yet exists in that space.Case in Point: iPhoneThe iPhone merged multiple functions — music player, video player, phone, social media, browser etc. — which on the surface seems to violate the Law of Divergence. But Apple didn’t market it as a mash-up of old categories. Instead, it positioned the iPhone as a breakthrough product in a new category: smartphones. At the time, there was no dominant smartphone brand in the minds of consumers. Apple claimed that space and won.Case in Point: AmazonAmazon began with a focused, divergent position as the world’s largest online bookstore. Over time, it expanded to sell electronics, clothing, groceries, and more. According to a strict interpretation of divergence theory, this kind of expansion under a single brand should have weakened its identity. But it didn’t — because no other brand had claimed leadership in e-commerce. Amazon filled that gap and successfully repositioned itself as “the everything store,” leading a new category: online commerce.Final Thought:So, the key isn’t convergence or divergence alone. It’s about category creation, brand leadership, and timing. When a brand can reposition itself into a new category and occupy a leadership position in the customer’s mind — even if it combines previously separate functions — it can still win.Great books! These books transformed me into a new addict of positioning and branding.

Man, what a true gem of a book there is when it comes to branding and core principles needed to build a great business. The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding and 11 Laws of Internet Branding is definitely a foundational book that any entrepreneur or aspiring entrepreneur must read along their journey. Al and Laura Ries do a great job of analyzing and simply explaining what it is that makes great brands stand out from generic ones. They highlight concepts and ideas that I hadn’t even thought of when it comes to certain brands and why I support some and not others.Not only does The 22 Immutable Laws provide great insight, but it is such an EASY read as well. I’m so surprised at how quickly I’ve been able to read and finish this book. That just goes to show the writing skill that Al and Laura possess along with their branding expertise. Very great book that will definitely be read again and again throughout my business and entrepreneurial journey. Highly recommend to any and all!

The book is easy to read and jammed packed with valuable information about branding. I gained a lot of clarity about brand positioning. There are some extras at the end of the book too!

This book is a must read for anyone with responsibilities in branding because it gives some great advice and guidlines to get your mind muscles working. My biggest problem with the book is that they take an anti-extension position, which is dead on, but they don't recognize that brand managers don't live in a perfect world and sometimes find themselves in situations where they HAVE to extend the brand or find a new job. Don't look back, but that's Al and Laura sawing off the branch that you're standing on. There's absolutely no guidance in this book that would give you some reasonable rules to follow in the event that you have little choice but to brand extend.The most recent example that shatters their immutable law about brand extending weakening a brand is the Apple iPod. Everybody is aware that the iPod is an Apple product. Apple didn't have the first MP3 player in the industry. Instead, Apple had a frame of reference built into their brand, as well as a point of difference (the strongest branding tool there is).While there are a lot of examples of failed brand extensions, there are also a lot of examples of successful ones. There is a fundamental science behind what makes a brand extension work so that it re-inforces the parent brand, rather than acts parasitically. The weakness of this book is that it tries to present the last word on the subject without acknowledging the successes on other side of the coin.I would give this book 3 1/2 stars if I could, but since I can't, I'll round up to 4 based on the easy style of this book, as it presents some powerful concepts in an conversational and easy to grasp way that includes a lot of brain fodder to stew on.