From Ideas to Iconic Brands by Giles Lury: a review

We always read books that fall heavily on the scale of fiction to nonfiction. For nonfiction, we mostly feel safe around self help and motivational books and biography or autobiographies. But it is also not uncommon for us to be around everyday objects and places and think about their origin. What if, you have a non-fiction book that speaks to you about the origin of such places and things written in an almost story like format with a moral? Interesting. Isn't it? From Ideas to Iconic Brands by Giles Lury is heavily that very book. It has, as claimed, inspiring stories of 101 amazing brands that changed the world.

About the book- A cross between a business book and a story book, From Ideas to Iconic Brands is a collection of 101 accessible, enjoyable and revealing tales behind the creation of some of the world's greatest brands, including Mercedes, Apple, Disney, KFC, WWF, Guinness world records and Coca-Cola. The stories are arranged into sections covering brand Origins, brand naming and identity, marketing strategy, communication, Innovation, repositioning and renovation, with a moral at the end of every story. For each story, the author has drawn a marketing principle that can be applied to many brand and marketing challenges businesses face today. Packed with compelling anecdotes illustrating how to gain increased visibility, cultivate a loyal following and establish a reputation of being the best in the market, this book provides the reader with a fully equipped Toolbox for building a winning brand!

This book, written by the Executive chairman of The Value Engineers puts forth exactly what is claimed by them. As a contributor to marketing press, the author knows his job. The first thing that I would like to mention when I talk about the book is the fact that the book has been researched thoroughly with backup and a lot of time has been spent in writing and making the book. Collecting 101 stories isn't an easy job and kudos to the author for coming up with this book. The 101 stories in the book are divided into moral worthy ways under specific terms using which they became what they are, since the time they were founded.

The way the narration has been done in the book, doesn't make it seem like a business book at all. It feels like you are reading their own stories and learning something from your own brand. Also, for the reader who doesn't own a business of their own, this book serves as the best general knowledge book which makes you learn (and be able to boast to your friends for knowing) certain things about their favorite brand. Think about a Mercedes or a KFC!

Knowing their inner stories and the stories of how they were founded, you can immediately connect to the brands and that is something great about the book. At 335 pages, this doesn't seem like a huge and daunting book to read and you'll sail through it easily. Another thing that I loved about the book is the fact that after ending the stories there are a few pages that has a list of all the morals of the stories along with the brand name. A perfect read for entrepreneurs, I wouldn't be surprised if they make this book a part of the curriculum extra reads at B-schools any day soon.

The easy way with which the narration has been done makes this book all the more worth it. Lovely illustrations make it a wonder read. If I have to speak about the cons of the book then probably the only con that comes in my mind is the fact that not many Indian known brands are mentioned. While some, not so familiar brands to the Indian audience are mentioned. That apart, I would really recommend this book to the audience who wants to know about these brands and set up their own. Looking forward to more, this book for me is 4 out of 5.