How Brands Grow
by Byron Sharp, Jenni Romaniuk · first published 2010
75% recommend25% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Evidence-based overview of how marketing works at the aggregate level, drawing on decades of Ehrenberg-Bass research; suits marketers and anyone wanting the math behind brand growth.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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The Ehrenberg Bass Institute has quantitative marketing/advertising/brand results going back to the 50s. If you're interested in the math, I recommend checking out How Brands Grow by EBI director, Byron Sharp. [1] http://www.marketingscience.info [2] http://www.amazon.com/How-Brands-Grow-What-Marketers/dp/0195...
on “Ads work by cultural imprinting, not emotional inception” ↗Do read How Brands Grow by Byron Sharp as a somewhat dissenting, at least opiniated read on branding and marketing.
on “Ask HN: What are the best textbooks in your field of expertise?” ↗…will focus on one small piece (like positioning, or value propositions) but without understanding how these pieces sit into the wider whole it's hard to put them to really effective use. Byron Sharp's How Brands Grow is also a great book from one of the world's leading marketing professors, and aims to lay out some iron laws about buying behaviour. Byron is quite a spiky and contrarian personality, which makes the…
on “I helped reposition a database product that went on to make $1B in revenue” ↗How Brands Grow by Byron Sharp is the most compelling overview I have come across about how marketing works at the aggregate level. Despite its flaws, Thinking Fast and Slow is a good companion piece inasmuch as it sheds…
on “Ask HN: Which books do you consider real gems in your field of work/study?” ↗Competing against luck by Clayton Christensen, how brands grow by Byron Sharp
on “Ask HN: How to learn marketing and sales as a solo entrepreneur?” ↗…aesthetics and that’s hurting effectiveness. https://whyisthisinteresting.substack.com/p/why-is-this-inte... A few books if you want more on commercials and mass advertising: - https://www.amazon.com/How-Brands-Grow-What-Marketers/dp/151... - https://www.amazon.com/Anatomy-Humbug-Think-Differently-Adve... - https://www.amazon.com/Seducing-Subconscious-Psychology-Emot...
on “Ask HN: Have TV ads changed?” ↗> We suggest marketers focus less on trying to predict consumer choices with great accuracy and more on how the information environment affects the choice of their products. Similar to the thesis of How Brands Grow by Byron Sharp
on “ML is not that good at predicting consumers' choices” ↗…queries. I would suggest getting a base level of understanding the core marketing science that exists. For this I would suggest reading anything from the Ehrenberg Bass Institute. In particular the book How Brands Grow, it's a bit dry, but very approachable. https://www.amazon.com/How-Brands-Grow-What-Marketers/dp/019...
on “Ask HN How do I learn marketing?” ↗