The Past and the Future of Branding

David Aaker is the world’s leading brand strategist, having created the most recognized brand strategy model, written 18 books, and helped countless companies develop successful approaches to brand equity management. Join us as he shares the progression of his career and the evolution of his thinking regarding the real sources of brand value. A successful brand, he says, needs energy, differentiation, and engagement. Managers must think long-term about their brands, and use brand equity strategies to resist the pressure to make reactive, short-term adjustments. Take a listen to learn why disruptive innovation is essential to survive and thrive in our fast-changing world. Bonus tip: Learn the reason Professor Aaker considers Brand Portfolio Analysis to be his single most important book.

"You shouldn't look to see what you're passionate about, you should look to see what you're good at and what people value." David Aaker

About Marketing Legends

Marketing Legends, a series in the WVU Marketing Communications Today podcast, features marketing thinkers, innovators, practitioners and founders — legends of the marketing world — who will talk about their careers and share their wisdom with the marketers of today.

About our Guest

David Aaker
Vice Chairman of Prophet and Professor Emeritus, BerkeleyHaas School of Business

David Aaker is the Vice Chairman of Prophet and Professor Emeritus at the BerkeleyHaas School of Business. He is the winner of five career awards including the NYAMA Marketing Hall of Fame. He has published over 120 articles and 18 books that have sold well over 1 million copies and been translated into 18 languages. They include Managing Brand Equity, Building Strong Brands, Aaker on Branding, Creating Signature Stories, Owning Game-Changing Subcategories and The Future of Purpose-Driven Branding. The first two of these have received over 45,000 citations. Sometimes called the Father of modern branding, he was named one of the top five most important marketing/business gurus in 2007 and won awards for the best article in the California Management Review and the Journal of Marketing (twice).

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Meet the Hosts

Cyndi W. Greenglass is a founding partner and president at Livingston Strategies, a data-informed, strategic consulting firm that helps clients develop, execute, and measure their customer communications with a close focus on results. Cyndi has razor-sharp strategic skills matched by impeccable on-the-ground savvy and tactical abilities. She is an Adjunct Instructor in the Data Marketing Communications online master's degree program from West Virginia University.

Greenglass has twice been named into the Top 100 Influential BTB Marketers by Crain’s BtoB Magazine and was the 2012 CADM Chicago Direct Marketer of the Year. She is a member of the Board of Advisors for BRAND United and has taught, trained and presented at over 50 conferences throughout the world.

Ruth P. Stevens consults on customer acquisition and retention, for business-to-business clients. Ruth serves on the boards of directors of the HIMMS Media Group, and the Business Information Industry Association. She is a trustee of Princeton-In-Asia, past chair of the Business-to-Business Council of the DMA, and past president of the Direct Marketing Club of New York.

Ruth was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in Business Marketing by Crain’s BtoB magazine, and one of 20 Women to Watch by the Sales Lead Management Association. She serves as a mentor to fledgling companies at the ERA business accelerator in New York City.

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