Obsessed

Building a Brand People Love from Day One

By: Emily Heyward

Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan

Length: 5 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

The 2020 Porchlight Marketing and Sales Book of the Year

The cofounder and chief branding officer of Red Antler, the branding and marketing company for startups and new ventures, explains how hot new brands like Casper, Allbirds, Sweetgreen, and Everlane build devoted fan followings right out of the gate.

We're in the midst of a startup revolution, with new brands popping up every day, taking over our Instagram feeds, and vying for our affection. Every category is up for grabs, and traditional brands are seeing their businesses erode as hundreds of small companies encroach on their territory, each hoping to become the next runaway success. But it's not enough to have a great idea or a cool logo.

Emily Heyward founded Red Antler, the Brooklyn-based brand and marketing company, to help entrepreneurs embed brand as a driver of business success from the beginning. In Obsessed, Heyward outlines the new principles of what it takes to build and launch a brand that has people queuing up to buy it on opening day. She takes you behind the scenes of the creation of some of today's hottest new brands, showing you:

• How Casper was able to upend the mattress industry by building a beloved brand where none had existed before
• How the dating app Hinge won a fanatical user base and great word-of-mouth with the promise that the app was "designed to be deleted"
• Why luggage startup Away, now valued at $1.4 billion, could build their brand around love of travel by launching with just one product - a hard-shell carry-on suitcase - rather than a whole range of luggage offerings.

Whether you're starting a new business, launching a new product line, or looking to refresh a brand for a new generation of customers, Obsessed shows you why the old rules of brand-building no longer apply and what really works for today's customers.

©2020 Emily Heyward (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Clear, useful and refreshingly honest, this is a practical manual on how modern marketing actually works. Buy a copy for everyone on your team." (Seth Godin, author of This Is Marketing)

"A lucid and engaging playbook on why 'brand' is the most fundamental, human, and engaging element of any great venture - why it’s the business DNA, and not just the representation of it. Obsessed keeps you anchored to the raison d'etre!" (David Bell, cofounder and president of Idea Farm Ventures)

"I look to invest in companies with promising new models, and a focus on brand that starts with a true understanding of the consumer. Emily Heyward's book is a fascinating look into how branding really works, and why it matters." (Kirsten Green, founding partner of Forerunner Ventures)

Fabulous insights on branding a company!

Truly enjoyed this comprehensive yet birdseye approach to brand building. The author clearly is an authority and establishes that by a wealth of knowledge in the space.

Absolutely obsessed with "Obsessed"!

Engaging from start to finish with an authentic voice and experiences that show you how to create a brand with vision and purpose. 🙌

Stories of branding wins and fails

Not bad. Could come off as a big commercial, but I found the stories of branding/advertising blunders and wins of various startups interesting. Especially for would-be entrepreneurs. Some useful ideas, but far from a comprehensive how to.

Invaluable insight

Loved this book - It's an incredibly insightful look at the foundational thinking required for building a great brand. Highly recommend it.

Needs more Business to Business brand examples

Fantastic branding book. I loved the recent useful examples of Brands.

However, this book is entirely Business to Consumer (B2C) brand focused and I can’t recall any examples she gave of Business to Business (B2B).

And the audiobook version desperately needs a PDF download of the brands discussed. I spent a good 10 minutes trying to google for “Snow” only to eventually find the name of the brand was spelled “Snowe.”

A favorite!!!

I’m obsessed!! One of my favorite books!!!
Sooo good! Hearing all of the back story’s behind brands and brand strategy was awesome!

Must read for marketers and founders

The narration almost put me to sleep and made listening almost unbearable. However it was still better than reading the book. For marketers and founders, very strategically sound and important principals. For “millennial” consumers, relatable brands. However, I couldn’t help but feel it was biased toward accepting the fact that these products were better just because they were marketed better.

Love the book

Amazing book about building a coherent brand!

The author has a lot of experience building amazing brands and shares it all!

repetitive and dull

I expected many insights and it turns out like description of many brands and their appeal

Was hopeful. Was disappointed.

Far too much virtual signalling drivel. I will never get that time back. I could have stopped listening to it after the first couple of chapters and gotten the same benefits.