Branding is possibly the most powerful commercial and cultural force on the planet. Robert Jones discusses the vast variety of brands, and why we still fall for them even as we are becoming more brand-aware. Looking at the philosophy and story behind brands, he considers how they work their magic, and what the future for brands might be.

• 1: The branding of everything


• 2: The complex thing called 'brand'


• 3: Five versions of branding


• 4: How branding works


• 5: The big business of branding


• 6: The art and science of branding


• 7: The good and bad in branding


• 8: The death and life of branding


• References


• Further Reading


• Index

Robert Jones is a strategist at Wolff Olins, one of the world's leading branding consultancies, and visiting professor at the University of East Anglia, where he teaches a unique postgraduate course on brand leadership. At Wolff Olins, he has helped build brands like Barclays, National Trust, Oxfam, Tesco, and Virgin. Robert also created a free online course, The Secret Power of Brands, for FutureLearn and is on the editorial board of the Journal of Brand Management.