Book Summary Preview:
Brand Storm

The Big Idea

The Internet is just the beginning of the Information Age, the gateway to the new Human economy. Brand Storm explores the future of business in a very meaningful, hopeful, creative, and visual way. This is a business book that reads like a life plan. Divided into three main parts: Ideas, Actions, and Dreams, Brand Storm aims to inspire, to reach out and touch our emotions as well as our reason. Brands, dreams, and values should be integrated into your life so you live and breathe customers. People should be at the heart of every thing you do. Boring old companies that do not recognize the power of their customers are dinosaurs and will meet their inevitable extinction. The communication and technology we have today democratize the economy into “one vote, one voice” per consumer. These are just the baby steps toward a future where the brand becomes very personal. Any betrayal of a customer’s trust means she will have her revenge. Heed the Brand Storm message and be warned.

The Brand Storm Wishbone
What is a wishbone? A plain English blueprint for the success of your idea.

Vision — Business success in the new human economy, through mutual trust
Dream — To be the first truly engaging, enjoyable, and accessible business book
Purpose — To help you, the customers, establish economically viable and sustainable trust with your customers
Promise — To enhance your future business prospects in an enjoyable and memorable way
Approach — To illuminate the future, to make ideas actionable, to inspire you to want to live your own dreams
Strategy — To ignite you to take positive action by appealing to your emotions as well as your reason, to help you implement Brand Storm through a dedicated web site, to encourage dialogue between you and the author and other readers to create an ongoing and shared experience
Tactics — Make it fun, simple, visual, dynamic, and doable.

“The only difference between being a child reading an adventure book and being an adult in the 21st century is that the child can put the book down, and you can’t”

The Seven Ages of Man

We have entered the age of ideas. “One man one voice” is the cry of democracy on the Internet. The network gives us universal rights of suffrage and those who lose in the service of the customer will lose by the millions.

With the Internet, the customer has the right of reply. How many e-mails have you received written by angry customers who are out looking for revenge? Some are out for blood. The service in most places you go to is less than satisfactory.

Power is placed in the hands of the people and because of such great power companies should be scrambling to satisfy and delight, woo and win the love of every customer’s heart. The global audience is a cruel one. The Internet is the cornerstone of consumer democracy with “one customer one voice”.

Expect customers to express their views loudly.
Word of mouth will be the new advertising.
Treat behavioral transparency as a way of life.
Stop thinking how the Internet can help you and start thinking about delighting your customers.
The Internet isn’t about companies; it’s about enfranchised customers. . . . . . .