Branding is everybody's business these days. Everywhere you look, there's a book or a business owner promising to build your brand, reinvent your brand or add buzz to your brand. It's clear that any business bound for success has to understand branding and all that branding entails in today's world. That's why I'm turning my blog over to branding expert Lynn Parker today. She's recommending a branding book she says will help you outdo your competition, "Branding Like the Big Boys." Here's what she has to say about it:

Martin Thoma's new book--Branding Like the Big Boys--performs a neat trick: It's both sophisticated and simple. It's sophisticated in how it knows that branding is about walking your talk; it's simple in how it spells out how every organization--including the smallest businesses--can understand and apply branding principles.

In 157 breezy pages, Thoma covers Why Brand? What is Branding? How to Define Your Brand Promise, Naming, Logos, Taglines, Advertising, PR, Web, Measurement and Brand Leadership. Although that may seem like a lot of topics to fit into a small package, there is actionable insight on every page.

One of the most valuable parts of the book is the section Why Bother with Branding? In it, Thoma clearly identifies the commodity trap most small businesses fall into, and how branding can help you out of that trap. Says Thoma: "America's small businesses tend to lack personality . . . What single woman or man, dressing for a night out, would fail to bathe, would choose a drab, uncoordinated outfit and put on worn-out shoes? . . . People have an innate drive to express themselves; businesses don't. People know they have to put on and put out to attract dates or mates--their 'customers.' Businesses tend to think that if they create a product or service and just show up at the dance, they've done all they need."

And the antidote to commoditization? The discipline of defining and articulating your absolute uniqueness.

Branding Like the Big Boys is a must-read for any organization looking for that edge over the competition and a way out of price-driven marketing.

Thanks for the insight, Lynn!