Top Branding books recommended by experts

At MentorCruise, we are all about making the most out of the experience of others. As part of that, we've connected and asked dozens of experts and professionals about their favourite Branding books – and here are the answers.

Table of Contents

Fundamentals of Branding

Understanding the concepts of Branding starts with understanding the fundamentals. On your way to mastery, it's crucial for you to understand how certain concepts were derived, and why things work like they do. Starting with these resources is the best way to do so.

Building Strong Brands

The process of building a strong or famous brand involves critical thinking and analysis of all aspects of the brand to help deliver on the overall goal of the organisation. Brand positioning ensures that the brand is on the minds and hearts of consumers/customers all the time, and this can be done in many ways.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Hello, My Name Is Awesome: How to Create Brand Names That Stick

In this entertaining and engaging book, ace naming consultant Alexandra Watkins explains how anyone—even noncreative types—can create memorable and buzz-worthy brand names. No degree in linguistics required. The heart of the book is Watkins's proven SMILE and SCRATCH Test—two acronyms for what makes or breaks a name.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

How to Launch a Brand

This book will guide you through the steps necessary to build a brand from the ground up. Most entrepreneurs, even seasoned brand managers, launch first and then work on slowly transforming the new offering into a brand.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

The Hero and the Outlaw

A brand’s meaning―how it resonates in the public heart and mind―is a company’s most valuable competitive advantage. Yet, few companies really know how brand meaning works, how to manage it, and how to use brand meaning strategically. Written by best-selling author Carol S. Pearson (The Hero Within) and branding guru Margaret Mark, this groundbreaking book provides the illusive and compelling a…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

What's it about? This book is about discovering the power of purpose in work, leadership, and life, and how understanding the "WHY" behind our actions can inspire and motivate others to achieve greatness.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Branding: In Five and a Half Steps

In Branding, Johnson strips everyday brands down to their basic components, with case studies that enable us to understand why we select one product or service over another and allow us to comprehend how seemingly subtle influences can affect key life decisions.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Additional Branding Reading

These books are not required for you to learn Branding, but they are highly recommended for you to deepen your knowledge.

Identity Designed: The Definitive Guide to Visual Branding

Written by best-selling writer and renowned designer David Airey, Identity Designed formalizes the process and the benefits of brand identity design and includes a substantial collection of high-caliber projects from a variety of the world's most talented design studios.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Book of Branding - a guide to creating brand identity for startups and beyond

Book of Branding is an essential addition to the startup toolkit—a guide designed for entrepreneurs, founders, designers, brand creators and anyone seeking to decode the complicated world of brand identity design.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

How Brands Grow: What Marketers Don't Know

How Brands Grow: what marketers don't know is based on decades of research that has progressively uncovered scientific laws about buying and brand performance. This book is the first to present these laws in context, and explore their meaning and marketing applications.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

This list is curated by MentorCruise and can include Amazon affiliate links. Have any other suggestions? Add here.

Augment your Branding books

There is no better source of accountability and motivation than having a personal mentor. What used to be impossible to find is now just two clicks away! All mentors are vetted & hands-on!

Only 2 Spots Left

Do you feel overlooked? Do you believe you could perform at a higher level if you were given the opportunity? And yet, you are surrounded by incompetent managers who have been promoted above their capabilities? Nothing frustrates me more than this situation. To think they're not seeing your potential, that …

$330 / month

Only 3 Spots Left

I've been a business leader and coach since 2013 when I left a successful career at American Express to found my own business. I've always been fascinated by the way people behave, both alone and in groups, and I ventured deeply into this subject by designing, building and operating loyalty …

$60 / month

Only 5 Spots Left

As a Product Engineer with proven success securing over 100 software engineering and business analysis interviews and multiple offers at top companies like TomTom, Bol.com, Booking.com, Deloitte, Tesla, and Amazon. I know exactly what it takes to make aspiring Software Engineers and Business Analysts stand out. My mentees learn practical …

$150 / month

Only 2 Spots Left

Hello there! I'm Tiziana, currently serving as Chief of Staff at one of the fastest-growing tech companies in the world. With over 7 years of experience in hypergrowth startups, I've gained valuable expertise in various areas, including hiring top talent (conducting over 200 interviews and making 30+ hires), scaling sales …

$150 / month

Only 5 Spots Left

Product roles are changing fast—don’t get left behind. AI is reshaping product roles, and as a Product Manager or Designer, you’re probably wondering: How do I position myself for this shift? What skills do I need to stay relevant? How do I transition into Growth or AI leadership? PMs & …

$70 / month


I'm a former IBM & eBay executive who advises B2B leaders on finding and fixing what’s blocking revenue, whether it’s strategy that’s misaligned, messaging that falls flat, or teams pulling in opposite directions. When what got you here isn’t enough and growth stalls, I help you use buyer psychology to …

$240 / month

Browse all Branding mentors

Still not convinced?
Don’t just take our word for it

We’ve already delivered 1-on-1 mentorship to thousands of students, professionals, managers and executives. Even better, they’ve left an average rating of 4.9 out of 5 for our mentors.

Find a Branding mentor
  • "Naz is an amazing person and a wonderful mentor. She is supportive and knowledgeable with extensive practical experience. Having been a manager at Netflix, she also knows a ton about working with teams at scale. Highly recommended."

  • "Brandon has been supporting me with a software engineering job hunt and has provided amazing value with his industry knowledge, tips unique to my situation and support as I prepared for my interviews and applications."

  • "Sandrina helped me improve as an engineer. Looking back, I took a huge step, beyond my expectations."