Brad VanAuken's publications, articles and media appearances related to his role as a brand strategy expert.

1. Brad VanAuken
Publications & Media Appearances

2. Biography
Brad VanAuken is president and founder of BrandForward, Inc., a brand strategy consultancy with clients throughout the world. Previously, Brad was the
vice president of marketing for Element K (now Skillsoft), a leading e-learning company and director of brand management and marketing for Hallmark
Cards, Inc. During his tenure as Hallmark’s chief brand advocate, Hallmark rose to 4th in the EquiTrend national quality brand ranking and Hallmark
received the Brand Management of the Year award.
Recognized as one of the world’s leading experts on brand management and marketing, Brad is a much sought-after speaker and writer. He has been
interviewed by ADWEEK, CNN, Entrepreneur magazine, Forbes magazine, Fox News, HLN, Investor’s Business Daily, NPR and The Bloomberg Money Show.
Brad has served as an expert witness on brands in federal court. He was an adjunct professor of marketing at Avila University and RIT and has been a
guest lecturer at many universities including Harvard, Stanford and Northwestern.
He wrote the best-selling brand book Brand Aid, which many business schools use to teach brand management. He authors
www.BrandingStrategySource.com, a blog that has been repeatedly recognized as a Top 100 Branding Blog by feedspot, a leading RSS reader. In 2008 and
2009, Invesp identified him as one of the top 100 marketers. Brad has a BS degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from Harvard
Business School.
Interesting facts about Brad VanAuken:
• Brad is an oil painting student and an art collector.
• Brad has published a book of aphorisms (Life: An Unfolding) and a deck of cards with inspirational quotations (Life’s Wisdom Cards).
• Brad teaches a course entitled “Discovering your Truth, Living your Truth.”
• Brad loves to read and has a personal library of over 6,000 books, mostly non-fiction, on a wide variety of topics.
• To keep in shape, Brad swims, skis, kayaks, sails, scuba dives, hikes and lifts weights.
• Brad loves wine.
• Brad is an avid gardener.

3. Books
• VanAuken, Brad, 2002, The Brand Management Checklist: Proven
Tools & Techniques for Creating Winning Brands Kogan Page, London
• VanAuken, Brad, 2003, Brand Aid: An Easy Reference Guide To Solving
Your Toughest Branding Problems and Strengthening Your Market
Position AMACOM, New York (republished in Japanese, Korean and
Russian)
• VanAuken, Brad, 2008, Branding Jaico Books, Mumbai
• VanAuken, Brad, 2014, Brand Aid: A Quick Reference Guide to Solving
Your Branding Problems and Strengthening Your Market Position
AMACOM, New York

4. Published Articles
• VanAuken, Brad “Brand Aid” Chief Executive China January 2006, p. 56-58
• VanAuken, Brad “Branding.com: brand building on the internet” Admap
October 2001, p. 21-25.
• VanAuken, Brad “Branding.com: Building and leveraging brands online” The
Advertiser, October/November 2000, p. 70-76.
• VanAuken, Brad “Branding from the Inside Out” Ad Council of Rochester
Academy: Enhancing Professional Know-How (SM)
• VanAuken, Brad “Building a global brand” GlobeTrade’s Borderbuster e-
newsletter, November 2003.
• VanAuken, Brad “Building a Global Brand” Empresario (Republic of
Panama)

5. Published Articles (cont.)
• VanAuken, Brad “Creating Brand Insistence – how and why?” Kansas City
Marketing News November/December 1999 p. 1
• VanAuken, Brad “Developing the brand building organization” The Journal
of Brand Management Volume Seven Number Four, pp. 281-290.
• VanAuken, Brad “Dot-coms lack brand recognition” The Kansas City Star
Tuesday, June 13, 2000, p. D12.
• VanAuken, Brad “Sprint is a better name than WorldCom” The Kansas City
Star Tuesday, October 19, 1999 p. D20
• VanAuken, Brad “The 15 Most Important Things to Know About Building
Winning Brands” www.allaboutbranding.com, also reprinted by Institute of
Chartered Financial Analysts of India (ICFAI) www.icfai.org.
• VanAuken, Brad “Understanding Branding” Ad Council of Rochester
Academy: Enhancing Professional Know-How (SM): Branding p. 1-3

6. Articles in which Brad VanAuken Received
Substantial Mentions
• Albany Times Union, N.Y. “UAlbany grabs for a world within reach: School rolls out
a new marketing slogan intended to highlight its strengths” April 15, 2008
• Anderle, Megan “Why Uber’s bad behavior will eventually hurt its bottom line”
TechPageOnline.Dell.com December 22, 2014
• Andruss, Paula “Secrets of the 10 Most-Trusted Brands” Entrepreneur March 20,
2012
• Bernstein, Leandra “After Inauguration, Ivanka Trump’s brand reports ‘best
performing weeks’ ever” http://13wham.com/news/nation-world/ivanka-
trumps-brand March 8, 2017
• Bigham Bernstel, Janet “Inner Branding” (cover story) ABA Bank Marketing April
2003, pp. 14-19
• Boas, Gary “Marketing in the Context of the Anti-Corporate Movement”
BrandEra.com March 30th, 2001

7. Articles in which Brad VanAuken Received
Substantial Mentions (cont.)
• Braiker, Brian “Branding Bin Laden: How Osama's death will affect the al-Qaeda
name”Adweek, May 3, 2011
• Brown, Karen A. and Richard Ettenson and Nancy Lea Hyer “Why Every Project Needs a
Brand (and How to Create One” MIT Sloan Management Review, June 22, 2011
• Buss, Dale “Traditional Greeting Cards Struggle to Remain Relevant” CPG Matters
http://www.cpgmatters.com/In-StoreMarketing0620.html June 2020
• Butler, Nancy “Using store brand to stand out in the crowd” (cover story) Sleep Savvy,
January/February 2004
• California Park & Recreation Society “building the brand: a cprs initiative” www.cprs.com,
June 2008
• Coleman, Murray “Brand Names Give Companies an Edge as They Go Online” Investor’s
Business Daily Friday, June 16, 2000, p. A4
• Chao, Mary “Element K boosts marketing” Democrat & Chronicle (Rochester, NY)
Tuesday, October 17, 2000 p. 10D

8. Articles in which Brad VanAuken Received
Substantial Mentions (cont.)
• Cheminne “Manufacturer Branding” BEDtimes
• Conn, Lowell “Old Dogs Learning New Tricks” Canadian Underwriter Vol. 66, No.
11, November 1999 pp. 12-15
• Davis, Scott “Brand It!” US Business Review, August 2001, cover story
• Davis, Scott “Corporate Branding: Making the brand the strategic ‘driver’ for the
entire organization” www.gtamarketing.com
• Donnelly, Tim “How to Maintain Brand Consistency Across Product Lines” Inc.,
https://www.inc.com/guides/2010/11/how-to-maintain-brand-consistency-
across-product-lines.html
• Dougherty, Nate “Expert aids non-profits with their rebranding: Brad VanAuken
worked globally marketing for firms such as Hallmark” Rochester Business Journal
Volume 31, Number 48, February 26, 2016 p. 8
• Dworkin, Andy “Adding to the swoosh” The Oregonian Sunday, October 17, 1999

9. Articles in which Brad VanAuken Received
Substantial Mentions (cont.)
• Emmons, Garry and Julia Hanna and Dan Morrell “Who Are We?” HBS
Alumni Bulletin, September 2013 p.38
• Gertzen, Jason “Madison firm helps uncover villains hiding on the Web”
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, September 21, 2002
• Hajewski, Doris “Strong’s new owners must decide: What’s in a name?”
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, May 25, 2004
• Hansel, Mark “Going (John Deere) green” The Republic (Columbus, Indiana)
August 31, 2014
• Harrison, Andrew “The Seeker” worthwhile, September/October 2005 pp.
48-51
• Hiers, Fred “Holidays a boon for charity” Ocala StarBanner Saturday,
November 15, 2014

10. Articles in which Brad VanAuken Received
Substantial Mentions (cont.)
• Higgins, Dan “Upstate chain feeds its mystique with food” Times Union (Albany,
NY) Sunday, November 20, 2005
• Keck, Kristi “Obama’s weapon: A dose of homecoming king charm” CNN.com, July
30, 2009
• Krell, Eric “Branding Together: By Including employees in branding initiatives
before they are launched, you can insure that everyone is on message.” HR
Magazine, October 2006, vol. 51, no. 10, pp. 49-54 (cover story)
• IMCA Newsletter, “VanAuken Tells How To Build ‘Brand Insistence’ At New York
Seminar” p. 3,7
• Jacob, Smriti “Marketing challenge, IPO doubts face Element K” Rochester
Business Journal, December 22, 2000, p. 5
• Jensen, David G. “Successful Recruitment Branding” www.adsumo.com, 9/03/04.

11. Articles in which Brad VanAuken Received
Substantial Mentions (cont.)
• Longo, Susan C. CPA “Brand Management Equals Reputation Management”
(based on an interview with Brad VanAuken) www.cpa2biz.com, June 2003
• McCall, Kimberly L., “Branding on a Budget: An Interview With Brad
VanAuken” www.marketingprofs.com, February 10, 2004
• Merrill, Ann “Grocery shoppers getting no-frills choices” Star Tribune
(Minneapolis-St. Paul), July 25, 2003
• Myler, Larry “The Single Most Important Brand Differentiator You Will Ever
Have” Forbes, November 29, 2017
• Nelles, Barbara “Brand-building tools for 2008” (cover story) SleepSaavy,
July/August 2008
• Okudera, Atsushi “Brand Power” (cover story) Asahi Shimbub, (Japanese
Daily), October 22, 2019.

12. Articles in which Brad VanAuken Received
Substantial Mentions (cont.)
• Parry, Marc, “UAlbany undertakes extreme makeover” Times Union
(Albany, NY), January 4, 2008
• Rafferty, Rebecca, “George Eastman House announces new name, logo,
website” City Newspaper, October 6, 2015
• Reliant Energy “When You Are the Brand, What Do People See?,” Your
Houston Business
• Reuters “Brand Images Face Dangers in Cyberspace”
www.radiohorizon.com, August 25, 2000
• Robinson, Mandrillius, “A landmark moment, BYOG now a trademarked
slogan” Greenville Online, November 27, 2015
• Roggio, Armando, “Ecommerce Know-How: Avoid the Last Click Effect”
http://www.practicalecommerce.com/Ecommerce-Know-How-Avoid-The-
Last-Click-Effect

13. Articles in which Brad VanAuken Received
Substantial Mentions (cont.)
• Russian Federation marketing magazine March 2003
• Russo, Ed “In the cards: Eugene artist seeks her fortune in new line of
greeting cards” The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR) August 5, 2001, pp.
1D and 8D
• Spevak, Jeff “Eastman House Now Eastman Museum” Democrat &
Chronicle, October 6, 2015
• Taylor, Aaron and Jen Sterling “Why Professional Services Brands
Matter” Professional Marketing, September 2008
• Tirado, Michelle “Stacking Up I-Brands” Feb. 14, 2000
• Travis, Lisa “Branding Enterprise Learning,” CLO, October 2004

14. Articles in which Brad VanAuken Received
Substantial Mentions (cont.)
• Travis, Lisa “Four Keys to Building Your Brand” FastForward e-
Newsletter, July/August 2004
• Troy, Kathryn “The name is everything (corporate branding)” Across
the Board Sept/1998 p. 55
• Wenske, Paul “Dot-coms lack brand recognition” The Kansas City Star
D12
• Williams, Jane Beauty Times March 2000
• Numerous masters and doctoral theses

15. Books in which Brad VanAuken is Quoted
• Bivins, Thomas, Mixed Media: Moral Distinctions in Advertising, Public
Relations, and Journalism
• Calkins, Tim, Alice Tybout, and Philip Kotler, Kellogg on Branding: The
Marketing Faculty of The Kellogg School of Management
• Cause Communications, Communications Toolkit: A guide to
navigating communications for the nonprofit world
• Chapman, Carol and Suzanne Tulien, Brand DNA: Uncover Your
Organization’s Code for Competitive Advantage
• Darby, Mark, Alliance Brand: Fulfilling the Promise of Partnering
• Davis, Scott, Brand Asset Management for the 21st Century

16. Books in which Brad VanAuken is Quoted (cont.)
• Elkeles, Tamar and Jack J. Phillips, PhD, The Chief Learning Officer: Driving Value Within a
Changing Organization Through Learning and Development (Improving Human
Performance)
• Hanna, Jeanette and Alan Middleton, Ikonica: A Field Guide to Canada's Brandscape
• Knapp, Dwane E., The Brand Mindset: How Companies Like Starbucks, Whirlpool, and
Hallmark Became Genuine Brands and Other Secrets of Branding Success
• McCall, Kimberly L., Sell it, Baby! Marketing Angel’s 37 Down-to-Earth & Practical How-
To’s on Marketing, Branding & Sales
• Patterson, Michael, It’s a Brand New Game: How Barcelona, Beckham and Big Business
have dynamically transformed soccer in the 21st Century
• Schmitt, Bernd, Experiential Marketing: How to Get Customers to Sense, Feel, Think, Act,
and Relate to Your Company and Brands
• Schmitt, Bernd H. and David L. Rogers, Handbook on Brand and Experience Management

17. Media Interviews
• Brad VanAuken on Branding, The Bloomberg Money Show, July 22, 2003
• Brad VanAuken on Branding, Mangan, Ernst and Rankin Wealth Management Show,
WWDB-Radio, Philadelphia, August 15, 2003
• WROC, CBS (television) – Rochester, NY – Wake Up Rochester, August 31, 2005
• Citi FM et al (radio and television), April 20-21, 2009, July 26, 2012 Accra, Ghana
• FOX Business (television), Product Placement, October 29, 2009
• Business RadioX, BrandMoney show with Bill Jachthuber, The Importance of FOCUS in a
Tough Economy, March 20, 2012
• It’s About Money, The Greater Rochester Area Brand, Penfield TV, December 30, 2012
• Donald Trump Spends Nearly $1 Million to Get People to Wear His Hat, It’s All About
Politics, Peter Overby, NPR, November 2, 2015
• Avanti Entrepreneur Radio Show with David Mammano, WOKR 1310, January 24, 2018

18. Blog Posts
• www.brandingstrategysource.com (hundreds of articles)
• www.brandstrategyinsider.com (hundreds of articles)
• www.adhub.com (over one hundred articles)
• https://medium.com (dozens of articles)
• www.allaboutbranding..com
• www.marketingprofs.com

19. Scholarly Papers in which Brad VanAuken is Quoted
• 155 different papers

20. Colleges & Universities at which Brad has Lectured
• Avila University
• Harvard University
• Indiana University - South Bend
• Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
• Saunders College of Business, RIT
• Simon Business School, University of Rochester
• Stanford University
• Tecnológico de Monterrey
• University of Connecticut
• University of Ghana, Legon
• University of Kansas
• University of Missouri, Kansas City

21. Cities in which Brad has Presented
Accra, Ghana Brooklyn, NY Detroit, MI Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Akron, OH Brussels, Belgium Dubai, UAE Las Vegas, NV
Albany, NY Buffalo, NY East Hanover, NJ Louisville, KY
Almaty, Kazakhstan Calgary, AB Fort Lauderdale, FL Marina Del Rey, CA
Appleton, WI Canandaigua, NY Geneva, NY Memphis, TN
Atlanta, GA Charleston, SC Glen Raven, NC Miami Beach, FL
Austin, TX Charlotte, NC Hartford, CT Milan, Italy
Baltimore, MD Chicago, IL Indianapolis, IN Minneapolis, MN
Bangkok, Thailand Cincinnati, OH Jakarta, Indonesia Morristown, NJ
Barcelona, Spain Cleveland, OH Kansas City, MO Moscow, Russian
Federation
Basel, Switzerland Columbia, SC Kiev, Ukraine Monterrey, Mexico
Bogota, Columbia Columbus, OH Knoxville, TN Muscatine, IA
Boston, MA Des Moines, IA Kona Cost, Hawaii Napa, CA

22. Cities in which Brad has Presented (cont.)
Nashville, TN Raleigh, NC Sioux Falls, SD
New York, NY Rochester, NY Singapore
Oak Ridge, TN Saint Louis, MO South Bend, IN
Oakland, CA San Antonio, TX Tampa, FL
Omaha, NE San Diego, CA Toronto, ON
Orlando, FL San Francisco, CA Troy, NY
Parsippany, NJ San Juan, Puerto Rico Vancouver, BC
Pittsburgh, PA San Rafael, CA Vienna, Austria
Palo Alto, CA Santa Clara, CA Washington, DC
Pleasanton, CA Santa Fe, NM Zurich, Switzerland
Punta Cana, Dominican Republic Scottsdale, AZ

23. Business Schools that have Assigned Brad’s
Books as Course Material
• More than 24 globally

24. Honors & Recognitions
• Brand Management of the Year Award from Sales and Marketing
Executives International
• Top 100 Marketer from Invesp
• Top 100 Branding Blog from Feedspot
• Brand Aid is #31 of best-selling branding books of all time from
BookAuthority