Brand Expert, Prophet Leader David Aaker Authors New E-Book Extending Thinking on Brand Relevance

SAN FRANCISCO, April 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Noted branding authority and Prophet vice chairman David Aaker continues to advance the dialog on brand relevance with a provocative new title now available, "Three Threats to Brand Relevance."

The book is Aaker's first e-book, being published as part of the Jossey-Bass Short Format series. The title extends the premise of his last full-length book, "Brand Relevance: Making Competitors Irrelevant," published in 2011. His new work offers a guide for confronting threats to brand relevance when they emerge and offers strategies to keep them at bay.

"Threats to brand relevance are always lurking," Aaker writes. "Your brand is virtually never immune from the risk of fading instead of being energized, or being damaged instead of strengthened."

The threats that he explores are:

1. A decline in category or subcategory relevance, where people no longer want to buy what you're making despite its quality and loyal customer base.
2. The loss of energy relevance. When the brand lacks energy it doesn't come to mind as quickly as other, more visible brands. This can create perceptions that it's locked in the past and suitable for an older generation.
3. An emerging "reason not to buy," such as a perceived quality problem or association with an unacceptable business policy.

"Three Threats" is available April 22, priced at $3.99 through Wiley/Jossey-Bass and Amazon.com. It will also be available through Prophet.

Aaker has long been a leading and award-winning thinker on brand and marketing issues. He is Professor Emeritus at the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, and an advisor to Dentsu, a major Japanese advertising agency.  He also consults exclusively for clients of Prophet, a leading brand and marketing consultancy. Aaker has written over 15 books and hundreds of articles, and is an enthusiastic blogger and Tweets as @DavidAaker.

Prophet is a strategic brand and marketing consultancy with offices around the world. It helps companies win by delivering inspired and actionable ideas. Prophet has worked with leading brands such as BMW, Cisco, GE, McDonald's, Johnson & Johnson and Zurich Financial on a broad scope of projects in its areas of expertise: brand, marketing, innovation, design, digital and analytics.

Media contact: Sally Saville Hodge, Hodge Media Strategies, 773-325-9282, [email protected]

SOURCE Prophet