Married to the Brand: Why Consumers Bond With Some Brands for Life

Companies spend millions of dollars every year trying to court consumers. They invest in flashy advertising, celebrity endorsements, loyalty programs, Web sites . . . you name it. And they spend millions more trying to build their businesses through elaborate "relationship management" software.

The result? Most marketers still aren't emotionally connecting with consumers.

Sure, their strategies may draw raves, and their ads may win impressive awards at Cannes. They may even raise their brand awareness. But too often, they fail to build enduring brand relationships. Put another way: Many marketers are great at wooing a "first date" with consumers -- yet lousy at creating a lasting marriage between buyer and brand.

Married to the Brand tells the story of what makes profitable brand relationships work -- through the eyes of the consumer, not the marketer. Packed with stories and compelling discoveries from a worldwide consumer database, this book explores why people bond with some brands and not others.

Emotions aren't simply warm, fluffy concepts. According to Married to the Brand, which draws on 60 years of Gallup Organization research into consumer psychology, emotional connections can be measured and managed. Married to the Brand shows you how. This is a must-read for profit-obsessed marketers everywhere -- from the boardroom, where strategies are formulated, to the front lines, where employees "live" the brand every day.

About the Author

William J. McEwen, Ph.D., is a Global Practice Leader at The Gallup Organization, where he consults with major clients on brand communications and brand equity management. Before joining Gallup, he spent 25 years in senior planning and account management positions with leading advertising agencies, including McCann-Erickson, FCB, and D'Arcy. Dr. McEwen's brand experience ranges from snack foods and beer to computers and business banking. He received a doctorate from Michigan State University and was a tenured faculty member at the University of Connecticut. Dr. McEwen lives in Newport Beach, California.

Online Resources

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Additional Insights

	Unleash Your Brand Ambassadors
	Marketers: Don't Ignore Your Company's Employees
	Can This Brand Marriage Be Saved?
	Merger Myopia
	Getting Emotional About Brands
	Can Advertising Still Contribute?
	Building a Brand Relationship
	Outsourcing the Brand
	Building Brand Differentiation

Book Excerpts

	Problems, Problems, Problems
	What Measuring Customer Engagement Reveals
	What Great Brands Do Differently
	Building a Brand Marriage That Lasts

Reviews

"Married to the Brand illuminates the fact that great brands are built upon strong customer relationships. The Gallup customer engagement measures are a leading-edge method to quantify customer feelings and emotions, which are the foundation for a healthy brand marriage."

Simon Cooper, President and Chief Operating Officer, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C.

"Married to the Brand provides a great strategic framework to measure and manage one of a company's greatest strategic assets: the relationship between a brand and its consumers."

Lynda Firey-Oldroyd, Vice President, Consumer Insights, Gap Inc.

"Married to the Brand highlights a critical truth that today's marketers must understand and embrace: The link between a customer and a brand is at its very foundation emotional. This book is essential reading for anyone seeking to build sustainably profitable, category-dominating brand relationships."

Mike Wells,Vice President,Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc.

"McEwen looks into the psychology of the brand experience from the consumer's viewpoint, where it takes a total package of feel-good emotions to create lasting relationships. . . . McEwen brings clarity to a subject often filled with cacophonous noise."

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