Why do Coke, Nike, and Apple inspire so much loyalty among consumers? Laurence Vincent explains how smart marketing professionals can emulate these companies to build lasting brand allegiance.

Coke, Martha Stewart, Ralph Lauren, and Hallmark engender tremendous devotion, sometimes almost a cult following, among consumers. To create this kind of loyalty, these brands express consistent values and ''stories'' and, in the process, claim a unique niche in the marketplace. These most successful brands have fine-tuned their stories, building a legacy that attracts steadfast fans, creates tremendous visibility, and underscores enormous profit potential.

Author Laurence Vincent has been a keen observer and frontline player in developing the brand stories of many outstanding companies. In Legendary Brands: Unleashing the Power of Storytelling to Create a Winning Marketing Strategy, he explores:

• The four essential elements that support a successful branding effort

• Ways consumers bond with a particular brand and create a unique culture around a product

• How the best brands tell their stories in ways beyond television spots or space ads-through product placements and sponsorships, among other tactics

• Special problems and anomalies in building a legacy, including a discussion of public and charitable causes, political brands, and public personalities

• Innovative research tools that reveal attitudes and feelings about products that traditional research methods (focus groups, for example) overlook

• What leading marketers do when a brand becomes irrelevant or damaged-how they revive and position their brands in fresh and exciting ways

More than a discussion of theory, Legendary Brands is also a prescriptive guide that outlines how to apply the theory to specific brand issues. This book presents readers with plenty of no-nonsense interviews with leading brand managers, creative directors, and other experts. From their frank comments, readers will learn new ways to approach specific marketing problems, as well as innovative solutions to untangle an assortment of thorny branding issues.