Markenidentitätsmodelle

Introduction

Brand identity as a shapeable leadership and management concept on one side, and brand image as a perceived concept of acceptance on the other, these are the two cornerstones of identity-based brand management, a school of thought that has prevailed since the mid to late 1990s. Bernd Radtke presents seven approaches to capturing and describing brand identity, namely those of Aaker, Bates, Burmann, Esch, Henrion, Ludlow & Schmidt, Kapferer, and McKinsey.

Each model is introduced in turn before Radtke runs them through a comparative evaluation built on five criteria. In his conclusion, he does not simply declare a winner. Instead, he proposes a modified model of his own, built from the strongest elements of the approaches he judges most convincing.

Review

Markenidentitätsmodelle by Bernd Radtke is a compact academic survey of the brand identity models that shaped marketing thinking through 2013. Published in Springer's essentials series, a format built for short, dense summaries rather than full-length books, it does exactly what that format promises: it maps a field that is otherwise scattered across dissertations and specialist journals into 93 tightly written pages.

A comparative anatomy of the field

The book's real contribution is structural rather than original. Radtke does not invent a new theory of brand identity, he catalogues the existing ones side by side, Aaker, Bates, Burmann, Esch, Henrion Ludlow & Schmidt, Kapferer, and McKinsey, and holds each up against the same five evaluation criteria. Comparative overviews like this are rare in branding literature, where most authors argue for their own framework rather than weighing it against the competition. That alone gives the book a reference value that outlasts its academic origin as an excerpt of Radtke's dissertation.

Dry, but hard to work around

The drawback is exactly what one would expect from a condensed scholarly text. There is no attempt to bring the models to life through real brand cases, no Apple, no Nike, no case study of any kind, only definitions, criteria, and comparative tables. Reading it is closer to studying for an exam than following an argument, and the tone never lifts beyond that. Because the survey stops at 2013, models developed since then are absent entirely, which dates the book more with every year that passes.

None of that makes it optional, though. Precise, side-by-side comparisons of brand identity models are genuinely scarce, and anyone trying to choose between Aaker's and Kapferer's thinking, for instance, will struggle to find a shorter path to that comparison anywhere else. The book earns its place on the shelf less through enjoyment than through the absence of a real alternative.

Strengths

The strength of Markenidentitätsmodelle lies entirely in its structure. Seven established models, one consistent set of evaluation criteria, and a final recommendation that is transparent about the trade-offs it makes. For students, brand managers, or consultants who need a fast, reliable orientation across the identity-based branding literature, this is close to the most efficient route available.

Limitations

The book's biggest limitation is accessibility. It is only available in German, which closes it off to international readers who would otherwise benefit from a comparative model overview like this. Its academic register and lack of illustrative brand examples also mean it rewards readers who already have some grounding in brand theory more than newcomers looking for an easy introduction. And, as a survey with a 2013 cutoff, it inevitably left out the model development of the past decade.

Overall assessment

Markenidentitätsmodelle is not a book to enjoy so much as a book to consult. It is dry, dated in its scope, and offers nothing in the way of real-world brand storytelling. But as one of the few sources that lines up the major brand identity models next to each other and judges them by the same yardstick, it fills a genuine gap in the literature.

For German-speaking readers working seriously with brand identity theory, it is close to unavoidable. For everyone else, the language barrier will likely be the deciding factor.