Books: "Accidental Branding" by David Vinjamuri

David Vinjamuri's new book, "Accidental Branding: How Ordinary People Build Extraordinary Brands," kicks off SWOM's program to feature discussions of new books that are relevant to word of mouth.

David is adjunct professor of marketing at NYU and president of ThirdWay, Inc. David has over 15 years of corporate experience, half of which was at Johnson & Johnson and Coca-Cola in brand management and marketing.

David and his publisher, Wiley, have supplied SWOMies with a downloadable chapter of the book (in PDF form). Take a read and offer up any comments or questions.

Excerpted with permission of the publisher John Wiley & Sons, Inc. from Accidental Branding. Copyright (c) 2008 by David Vinjamuri.

Tags: accidental branding, books, david vinjamuri

Attachments:

Chapter 2 (David Vinjamuri).pdf, 78 KB

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by David Vinjamuri on April 10, 2008 at 2:16pm: Hi Rob,

I called the book accidental branding because every brand that I wrote about starts with a fortuitous accident. And because it's the kind of accident that all of us - I mean everyone - has experienced. Where we are doing something, a product we're using (or the lack of one) annoys us and we get the inspiration for something better. The book helps answer the question "what if you actually acted on that inspiration?"

The point was not to suggest "oops, I just built a hundred million dollar brand" but rather to learn where entrepreneurs take the brands after the accident and then to see how similar the road can be for very different brands.

dv; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jeannie Walters on April 10, 2008 at 4:14pm: I love the idea of building the myth. We preach about how the best thing is to become part of someone's life, not something they see as outside of it. Customer experience issues are incredibly challenging and yet fun at the same time, which is why I think entrepreneurs are so incredible at them!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Mike Johnson on April 18, 2008 at 12:05pm: I would love to get a free copy of David Vinjamuri's book Accidental Branding.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by David Vinjamuri on April 28, 2008 at 4:22pm: Hi All,

Just wanted to let you know that Ben and Jackie have picked winners ... if you've received an e-mail from Jackie please respond to her or I will not have your address to send your copy of Accidental Branding.

Best!! David V.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by David Vinjamuri on April 29, 2008 at 10:27pm: As of this writing (nearly midnight on Tuesday, April 29th), we are still lacking addresses from several book winners ... please comment here if you heard that you won a book but haven't given your address.

dv; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Laurie Brown on April 30, 2008 at 7:18am: wished I won a book..but I don't think I did...; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by David Vinjamuri on April 30, 2008 at 10:01am: stay tuned ... if not all the winners claim their prizes I might do a quick "lightning round" here on Monday for the remaining books; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Sheryl Tuttle on April 30, 2008 at 8:21am: Hi David - I received word that I'd won a book and just yesterday sent my address information to Jackie Huba. I so look forward to reading your book! Thank you! -Sheryl; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by David Vinjamuri on April 30, 2008 at 10:00am: Thanks Sheryl. Jackie did send your info to me. I'm waiting for a bunch of UPS labels which I should have on Monday then I'll sign and send out the books.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by David Vinjamuri on May 5, 2008 at 3:29pm: Okay everyone, lightning round here.

I have 3 books that were not claimed.

First three people to put their names below mine here and then e-mail me their addresses - david (at) brandtrainers.com - will get them.

dv; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Sheryl Tuttle on July 14, 2008 at 8:57pm: I was one of the lucky winners of David Vinjamuri's book, "Accidental Branding: How Ordinary People Build Extraordinary Brands." Now that I've read the book, I wanted to come back to this discussion to share my thoughts - you know, give it some WOM!

What hooked me is David's fantastic Chapter 2, offered as a free pdf download here. But what is equally gratifying is the seven remaining chapters, each detailing a success story that supports the six rules described in Chapter 2. These are case studies of familiar/well-known brands like J. Peterman, craigslist, Burt’s Bees, and more. One of the best aspects of this book is its easy readability. This book isn’t dry textbook style, but rather reads almost biographical. David really gets in to what makes these entrepreneurs tick, and presents it in an enjoyable manner.

While I'm not sure I have come away with insight that will necessarily take my career to its next level, I do think that the information introduced is plausible and practical, and I recommend this book to anyone interested in marketing or branding.

Thanks David for a great read and terrific insight into what makes an extraordinary brand!; ▶ Reply to This