The Ultimate Brand Champion – Hugh Hefner

Brand champions can be extremely powerful, and this week, I wrote an article that was published on the Yahoo! Advertising Blog about the ultimate brand champion – Hugh Hefner.

Here is a snippet from the article:

There is perhaps no other brand in the world which has been so closely aligned with a single person as Playboy has been with Hugh Hefner for over half a century. And there is no arguing the influence that a visible brand champion who truly lives and breathes a brand can have on the success (or failure) of that brand.

You can follow the link to learn more about brand champions and Hugh Hefner as the ultimate brand champion, and you can get my book, Building Brand Value the Playboy Way, for more information about branding lessons you can learn from Playboy.

Who do you think is the ultimate brand champion?  Leave a comment and share your thoughts!

Building Brand Value the Playboy Way – Now Available in Book Stores and Online

My new book, Building Brand Value the Playboy Way, was released this month through Palgrave Macmillan.  It’s available through online book sellers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Borders as well as in stores.

This was an incredibly interesting story to research and to tell.  You can read an excerpt here.

If you have a chance to read it, stop back by and let me know what you think or leave a review on Amazon and share your thoughts.

Sneak Peak – Building Brand Value the Playboy Way

KeySplash Creative President and CEO Susan Gunelius’ newest book, Building Brand Value the Playboy Way, will be released this month in the United Kingdom and in October in the United States.

You can read an excerpt of Building Brand Value the Playboy Way from the book’s Introduction on Entrepreneur.com.

When I started writing this book, I already viewed Hugh Hefner as the ultimate brand champion and brand guardian, and when I finished, that opinion had only grown stronger. Building Brand Value the Playboy Way was written for an academic and professional audience, and describes how one man’s idea to create a lifestyle magazine for men in the 1950s turned into one of the most recognized brands in the world. It’s a fascinating story that all branding and marketing students and professionals can learn from.

Building Brand Value the Playboy Way is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, and other book stores (both online and offline).