Digital Branding by Daniel Rowles is exactly the digital marketing book I would write. It's current, relevant, very practical, honest, and topical. Perhaps a little too much so. I can see some "old-timers" being intimidated by the practices Rowles demands.

The book is divided in three parts. The first is an introduction to digital branding with some great definitions. This is where the "love" count started early. Yes, most digital communications about a brand don't directly include the brand. Yes, it needs to be measurable. And my favorite, verbatim, "brand awareness is a phrase that is often used to justify digital activity that doesn't have clear objectives". I'm not telling which early project I worked on where this was a common management line.

Digital Branding's value is in the second part: The Digital Toolkit. It's practical and realistic, suggesting free tools, and acknowledging the top end of the market, like Google Analytics Enterprise. Intermixed are case studies and advice, with gems like only doing something if you have something to say, and that social media is essentially PR.

Part three, Strategy and Measurement, is the weakest, but only in parts. The strategy chapter is less tangible fluff. This is made up in the next chapter. Analytics describes useful reports in Google Analytics. I love (yes, love count was high) the reminder that a high bounce rate isn't bad if the customer got what they needed.

Who is Digital Branding For?

I think my annotation here was perfect: "Am I loving this because it reinforces my ideas and it's actually too basic? Who is this for?"

It's detailed enough for experienced digital marketers, but clear enough for marketers new to digital, or even non-marketers. Of course, the newer you are the more you'll get from Digital Branding, but I picked up some tools from the kit and a couple of tips.

This book isn't release until April, but I recommend it. In fact, I'm buying a copy. My ARC was produced too early for all the tables to be included.