Further Reading & Listening

By no means is The Bullhearted Brand meant to be an end-all, be-all. It scratches the surface on some topics that take years to master. I encourage readers to continue the journey of education and knowledge building through as many resources as possible. To encourage that and point you in the right direction, I’ve compiled this list of additional books and resources so you can continue the charge.

Books & Websites

Grits & Grids / A daily collection of branding and design work for the food, beverage, and hospitality space

Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action / A pivotal, profound book on brand strategy by Simon Sinek

What Great Brands Do: The Seven Brand-Building Principles That Separate the Best from the Rest / Denise Lee Yohn dives into the seven principles of great brands and brand building in this book

Fusion: How Integrating Brand and Culture Powers the Worlds Greatest Companies / Denise Lee Yohn covers the merger of culture and brand strategy with great ideas on activating it in your own brand

Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life Without Losing Its Soul / Howard Shultz unfurls his journey and the journey of Starbucks in this profound account that gives a peek behind the curtain. 

Archetypes in Branding / This workbook by Margaret Hartwell is a fantastic resource for a high-level understanding of archetypes. It also includes archetype cards that are invaluable tools for brand strategy

The Hero and The Outlaw: Building Extraordinary Brands Through the Power of Archetypes / For a deep understanding of archetypes, this book by Margaret Mark and Carol Pearson is second to none.

Contagious: Why Things Catch On / Why does one trend catch on and another die-off? What drives the latest craze? Author Jonah Berger taps psychology and science to identify the principles that make things contagious

Storyscaping: Stop Creating Ads, Start Creating Worlds / A brilliant book by Gaston Legorburu that covers developing brand stories and how they fuel better advertising.

Designing Brand Identity: An Essential Guide for the Whole Branding Team

Alina Wheeler has multiple editions of this text, each one better than the next. It is essential reading and understanding for anyone who creates identities

Selling Eating: Restaurant Marketing Beyond the Word Delicious / Charlie Hopper unpacks how to advertise restaurant brands and their food in a way that’s driven by more than hunger and thirst

Differentiate or Die: Survival in Our Era of Killer Competition / This pivotal book by Jack Trout dives into effective differentiation in order to stay competitive in today’s world. Despite being over twenty years old, the thinking and theory still ring true.

Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind / Al Ries and Jack Trout’s legendary book on how to position brands for success.

Zag: The Number One Strategy of High-Performance Brands / A small text by Marty Neumeier focused on doing things differently than everyone else and why that works

The Brand Gap: How To Bridge The Gap Between Business Strategy and Design / Marty Neumeier connects the dots between strategy and how it manifests visually

Don’t Call It That: A Workbook for Naming Your Product, Business, or Brand / Professional friend, Eli Altman, lays the groundwork and path for successful brand naming

Podcasts

Restaurant Strategy / Chip Klose, friend and marketing magician hosts this podcast that includes interviews with industry vets, as well as monologues.

Forktales / A weekly podcast with restaurant and hospitality leaders hosted by yours truly, Joseph Szala.

Cutting Onions / Renowned operations maverick, Bobby Shaw, tackles the restaurant industry’s challenges and trends on this wonderful podcast.

Multiply Your Success / Host Tom DuFore lays out how to increase your success through franchising.

QSR Uncut / From the editor of QSR magazine, this weekly podcast covers hottest trends and news in the industry with host Danny Klein.