Massively disappointing.

Many of the examples of successful brands are no longer with us.
Many of the predictions of what will succeed or fail have turned out wrong.
Many of the examples to illustrate laws are contradictory.

For example, in one law we are told company ABCD failed because it did X, and in the next law we are given the story of company EFG who succeeded because it did that self same X!

A deeply flawed book with little to recommend it, I feel.

Dated

This book is in need of some severe updating. The internet portion was unbearable.

Dated but some useful ideas

The first half of the book provides some interesting principles in brand dilution and product expansion. The second half, which focuses on branding in the internet era, did not age well. For example, the book predicts Amazon's expansion outside of selling books will end as a folly. I'd recommend skipping this one and read "Positioning" or "22 Immutable Laws of Marketing" instead.

I was surprisingly interested in this little book. I read a dated version, but the principles of focusing on a singular idea when branding seemed so simple even though no one really followed it. The American impulse is to expand but the authors recommend a separate brand over expanding into uncharted territory. here are the gems:
own a word
be specific with that word choice
a brand is most golden when it's the first to do something
logos are best designed horizontally
competition (choice) increases demand and demand increases competition
I suppose I can proceed with branding myself now.

Quite outdated to be helpful for modern brands. Many of the brands discussed as dying are still around today. Some good information is included in this book but overall I don't feel this was helpful for small businesses- the book is entirely written in regards to multinational corporations with multiple brand umbrellas.

Some of out date information but really good concepts.