Reviewed by: Joe Schenker

The author works for Ogilvy PR and has an award-winning blog (rohitbhargava.typepad.com), so one can assume he knows the business. He has written an easy-to-read book where the 300 pages slip by -- I read it in one session.

As the title suggests, he looks at brands in terms of their personality (or lack of it). Bhargava explains that in the old days, corporations got away with being faceless. Indeed, people didn't expect them to respond in any way. Run a major ad campaign on TV and you had a captive audience who lets you shout the advertising message at them. As we all know, those days are over, and the author makes the case that brands need to have personality and be authentic.

The first half of the book is full of case histories, but as it is written in an entertaining manner and used to illustrate a point, it is no hardship to read. You can skip it and go straight to the nitty-gritty in the second half where Bhargava explains why personality matters and how the reader can inject this magic ingredient into his product or service. Many of the suggestions/tips are the same as you would read in any "how to do it" marketing book but, as has been said before, the author presents this in an accessible, readable manner. In my opinion, this is a good book to read on the next business trip. It may get you to take a second look at your current brand personality or lack of it.