In this episode of the BRITE Ideas podcast, the Brand Center’s faculty director, Prof. Bernd Schmitt, interviews David Aaker (Vice-Chair of Prophet) one of the seminal thinkers on brand management within both academia and corporate strategy. The dialog is centered around an updated 2nd edition of David’s book Aaker on Branding: The Playbook to Build Strong Brands which was released this month. 

David discusses the historical shift of strategy from a focus purely on market share and price promotions in the 20th century to an understanding of the value of brand that began in the 1990s. He highlights the power of brand resonance in consumer’s minds, how it offers differentiation from competitors, and how he helped push to incorporate loyalty as a part of management strategy rather than thinking of it as merely an outcome. 

In today’s setting, David notes the deeper challenges of communicating brand stories and gaining public trust alongside the need to both manage the impacts of disruptive innovation and the necessity to harness it to drive growth. Amid rapid change it’s important to refresh oneself on the fundamentals. Enjoy!