Managing Brand: A Contemporary Perspective takes a fresh new look at brand management and strategy and the pivotal role of branding in today's business environment. Written for students of branding at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, this book provides students with an incisive account of how successful brands are created, built and managed. Clear and comprehensive coverage examines the naming, design and packaging of a brand, how brand images and messages are created, and the theory of positioning brands in the market. The text also tackles how to successfully extend brands and manage brand portfolios, and sustain brands throughout their life cycle. Informed by the latest research and developments in branding, this textbook also has an emphasis on the managerial, corporate and strategic decisions facing today's brand manager, including: brand equity- what brands are worth to companies and how they can be valued; building brands and building the business- how brands contribute the success of corporations and companies; how branding has moved out of marketing and up the corporate agenda, becoming a strategic issue that concerns senior managers and business leaders; and the role of brands in building corporate reputation- harnessing the power of social marketing and facing the challenges of ethical, environmental, and socially responsible branding.