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Way back when I was starting Flatland Manifesto, I read a lot of marketing books. I didn’t read a lot of branding books and I definitely regret that decision.

A co-worker of mine recommended Schley’s Why Johnny Can’t Brand and I’m really glad she did.

The book is centered around the DSI. The Dominant Selling Idea as a means to discover, define and promote your brand. Using examples from long lasting and new upstart brands, Schley walks you through the steps of understanding the DSI, examining your company to discover it’s DSI and then figuring out how best to communicate your DSI.

Three things really stood out to me while reading the book:
- Anything and everything can (and should) be branded if you want to be successful.
- The best brands promote themselves as being #1 in a given category. And it’s OK to invent a category that you can be #1 in.
- The DSI needs to be at the core of everything you do. Not just in marketing product, but also in how you make the product.

The one regret I have for this book is that it’s borrowed. This is the book that you like to keep in your top drawer. The exercises in the second half of the book are great for not only examinging large brand strategies, but also how you communicate objectives internally. Needless to say, after reading this book, I’m getting a copy for my own library.

If you run a business, no matter how small, you need to read this book. And if you are thinking of launching a business, you probably want to read this before you kick things off. While the brand giants are represented, the best examples in the book are from the little companie that defined their own specialty and owned it.