The new Kotler is on the market.
Book Description
As products become increasingly similar, companies are turning to branding as a way to create a preference for their offerings. Branding has been the essential factor in the success of such well-known consumer goods as Coca Cola, McDonald?'s, Kodak, and Mercedes. Now is the time for more industrial companies to start using branding in a sophisticated way. Industrial companies such as Caterpillar, DuPont?, Siemens, and G.E. have pioneered the way. But industrial companies must understand that the impact of branding goes far beyond building names for a set of offerings. Branding is about promising that the company's offering will create and deliver a certain level of performance. The promise behind the brand becomes the motivating force for all the activities of the company and its partners.
Our book is one of the first to thoroughly examine the art and science of branding industrial products. We provide the concepts, the theory, and dozens of cases illustrating the successful branding of industrial goods.
First articles and reviews:
Attach:Indianews.pdf Attach:b2bnews.pdf
Title of the Month Absatzwirtschaft Germany Attach:titleofthemonth.pdf
Here are some frequently asked questions FaQ:
Here are some comments about the book:
Folks:
Just received my copy of B2B Brand Management - what a beautiful piece of work!
Thank you for this advancement to our practice!
Ralph A. Oliva
Executive Director, Institute for the Study of Business Markets Professor of Marketing, Smeal College of Business, Penn State www.isbm.org
BOOK REVIEW
"Why Brands Rule" ("Business Today" (India) via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge?) B2B BRAND MANAGEMENT October 10, 2006]
When it comes to marketing, there's no name bigger than Philip Kotler. The Kellogg School professor has a formidable reputation, built on the fact that an entire generation of marketers has grown up reading his books on the subject at various B-schools. So, is it possible that Kotler still has something to say about marketing that he already hasn't? It turns out, he has. In this book, co-authored with Germany's Pforzheim University professor Waldemar Pfoertsch, Kotler makes a case for brand management in business-to-business (b2b) marketing as well. Those who've read Kotler's textbook Marketing Management will recall that his revisions over the year have included b2b marketing, but this is his first book devoted entirely to the topic.
The core proposition in the book is that in the new globalised world "being known" rather than "being one of many" is the need of the hour. "Customers for everything from specialty steel to software now face an overwhelming number of potential suppliers. Too many to know them all, let alone to check them out thoroughly..." The authors say that companies that once measured their worth in terms of tangibles such as factories, inventory and cash have to revise their point of view and embrace branding.
How does branding help in overcoming these challenges? The authors offer a huge list-it helps with differentiation (and, hence, premium) in product categories that are highly undifferentiated; creates brand loyalty, as it helps companies transition from a transaction-based selling model to one that is relationship-based; and assures future business. And all this, ultimately, leads to increased sales. There are enough examples in the b2c space of companies with strong brands benefitting not only from higher margins but also from higher sales volumes. Toyota, Nokia, Starbucks and Nike are just some of them. But there aren't too many examples that come to mind from the b2b space. Sure, there are marketers like Intel, GE, and Caterpillar that realised the advantages of b2b branding early on in their lives. For most other b2b marketers, though, branding is a superfluous exercise. After all, the argument goes, the business buyer is much more sophisticated than the retail consumer. The former is more eager to look at your costing, product performance and service than the badge on the box.
That, however, is changing, say the authors. Proliferation of similar products, increasing complexity of customer needs (moving from stand-alone products to solutions), and high price pressures will force b2b marketers to focus on brand building. If you are a b2b marketer already thinking along those lines, then this book is the weightiest corroboration you could have asked for.
Also posted under: http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2006/10/10/1962772.htm Copyright 2006 Technology Marketing Corporation (TMC) - All rights reserved
In Chicago's BtoB? Magazine: "B2B Brand Management" by Philip Kotler and Waldemar Pfoertsch. Hardcover: 357 pages, Springer. The authors provide the concepts, theory and dozens of cases illustrating the successful branding of industrial goods.
Buy the book at AMAZON Germany
http://www.amazon.de/exec/obidos/ASIN/3540253602/wwwpfoertscco-21/
Buy the book at AMAZON USA
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/3540253602/wwwpfoertscco-21/
Ingredient Branding at the ISBM conference in Chicago
see my presentation Attach:Inbranding.pdf
ISBM is the only world-wide organization that supports B2B marketing.
http://www.smeal.psu.edu/isbm/
Ingredient Branding
New publication available in German
Next events
Branding for industrial or B2B companies is the biggest challenge currently.
As we know, branding is the enemy of the unknown. Consumer companies know that and successful Business-to-Business companies should know that, too. Branding facilitates good companies' greater success in the heart of the decision makers. Branding creates the foundation for trusted relationships on the basis of solid products and profound communication.
As of yet, you can read more about this important subject only in German, in my book with Michael Schmid,
B2B Markenmanagement.
We have laid the basis for a solid understanding of Business-to-Business Brand Management. Branding concepts are shown here and illustrated with many German case studies. You may order the book through AMAZON: http://www.amazon.de/exec/obidos/ASIN/380063144X/wwwpfoertscco-21/
B2B Brand Management
Phil Kotler, Ines Michi, and I have brought the B2B branding topic to new heights. We developed a new framework and guiding principles for B2B branding.
Global case studies demonstrate the viability of our concept. The following success stories of B2B Branding are described: FedEx, Samsung, Cemex, IBM, Siemens, LANXESS, Lenovo, Tata Steel.
Beginning in 2006, the English version will be distributed through Springer Publishing; New York, Heidelberg.
Phil Kotler's profile: http://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/faculty/bio/Kotler.htm
.......
In my recent seminar at the Boston Business school and the St. Gallener Management Program, I presented on the following topics:
• International management • B2B Brand Management • Ingredient Branding and • Personal Branding
You may download my presentations here:
Attach:internationalmanagement.pdf
If you have further questions, do not hesitate to contact me at: mail:b2bbranding@email.de
More lectures:
New Management Topics
In the recent year the management challenges moved one, and some of the companies that could not follow were stranded or left behind. On my recent trip to the USA, I had many discussions with business leaders and academics. I also studied several books that are not well-know in Europe. I have synthesized these insights in the following presentations:
Good to Great from Jim Collins
This is the "Harry Potter" of business literature. More than two million copies have sold; you cannot miss this book. http://www.jimcollins.com/ Attach:Goodtogreat.pdf
"The Next Global Stage"
After becoming a successful entrepreneur in Japan, Kenichi Ohmae presented his newest book. I am a big fan of Kenichi, because he senses management issues long before the general public is aware of their importance. He wrote about globalization before 1990, he envisioned the power of the Internet in the mid-nineties, and now he invites us to understand the next global stage. Attach:Nextglobalstage.pdf
New leadership Concepts
One of my very successful classes at Pforzheim University is my Business Leadership course. I enjoy teaching this class, because there are principles that every future business leader and follower should know. There is also a great deficit in the European environment, and therefore there is a great need. The following presentation surveys the main aspects of the course, which will give you an idea of my approach to this interesting topic.
Strategic Approach to a Global Product Development
Please see the attached presentation and the case study on Procter & Gamble in Japan
Presentation Attach:GPDpresentation.pdf
Cast Study Attach:pgjapancase.pdf
Big news: new publication(in German):
B2B-Markenmanagement
Konzepte - Methoden - Fallbeispiele Pförtsch / Schmid
Order here:
http://www.amazon.de/exec/obidos/ASIN/380063144X/wwwpfoertscco-21
This is an important issue also in the English-speaking world; see http://www.brandchannel.com/start.asp?fa_id=261.
News for students:
Information about all of my current courses is available on the e-Learning platform of Pforzheim University; please feel free to check it out: http://elearning.fh-pforzheim.de.
My summer teaching assignment is again at UIC; information may be found under Portfolio.UIC.
For anyone interested in marketing, please come to the 12th Biennial World Marketing Congress. For more information, see http://www.ams-web.org.
