Book Review: The 11 Immutable Laws of Internet Branding

The 11 Immutable Laws of Internet Branding
by Al Ries and Laura Ries
HarperBusiness, 2000
Hardcover, 175 pages

Here's a book I'll be mulling over for some time. Though it's primarily focused on larger companies hoping to build national Internet brand recognition, some of the "immutable" laws apply to smaller businesses. But I'm not sure these laws really ARE immutable. In fact, I question many of them.

1. The Law of Either/Or asserts that the Internet should be viewed as an entirely new business, starting from scratch, not just a new medium through which an existing business will be communicating it's message. Well, maybe. Though some of the strongest Internet brands, such as Amazon.com and eBay.com are Web-only companies, I think there's a big place for brick-and-mortar businesses to go online and establish their brands there, too. We're still early in the game.

2. The Law of Interactivity contends that a website must be interactive in order to succeed. That interactivity is not just selecting from a menu, but typing in instructions and having the site deliver the information in the form you requested it. That's an ideal, but I'm not convinced it's essential for success.

3. The Law of the Common Name argues that common names such as Art.com or Advertising.com are poor brands. I'm not so sure I agree. After all, ArtUFrame.com doubled its sales the month after it acquired art.com.

4. The Law of the Proper Name asserts that proper names are to be preferred to generic names. This is the flip side of "immutable" law #3 that is unconvincing. But the authors give great advice on selecting a name. They suggest that the best names will follow most of these eight principles: (1) short, (2) simple, (3) suggestive of the category, (4) unique, (5) alliterative, (6) speakable, (7) shocking, and (8) personalized.

5. The Law of Singularity affirms that, whereas in the "real world" there is room for a number two brand, on the Internet there is room for only one. Smaller businesses must be niche players, but they too must be number one in their chosen niche. I'm not sure I agree with this one either; it's just too early to tell.

6. The Law of Advertising concludes that advertising off the Net will be a lot bigger than advertising on the Net. Maybe so, but I think this is oversimplified; its examples are primarily banner ads, while e-mail marketing is scarcely mentioned.

7. The Law of Globalism claims that the Internet will demolish all barriers, all boundaries, and all borders. Here's a law I agree with.

8. The Law of Time contends that the brand that is first into the prospect's mind has the advantage, not necessarily the first into the marketplace. I would agree with that one, too.

9. The Law of Vanity says that you shouldn't try to include more and more categories under a single brand. This is the same argument against "brand extension" that Ries and Trout put forth in The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing in 1994. Ries and Ries counsel the reader to keep the original brand focused, and instead, launch a new brand. Thus Amazon's move to be a department store while it is associated in the prospect's mind with books and CDs is risky. So is Yahoo's move to place every kind of service under its brand name. Perhaps so. I deliberately followed this advice when I launched my successful new Doctor Ebiz^TM brand http://doctorebiz.com rather than trying to extend the Web Marketing Today® brand. I think the authors touch on an important point here.

10. The Law of Divergence goes against the current obsession with technologies such as the telephone, TV, and PC converging. Rather, say the authors, technologies diverge into PCs, PDAs, minicomputers, mainframes, laptops, etc. Therefore, they continue, Internet brands built on "you can get it all done here at this single site," all-in-one services, are going against the laws of nature. Maybe, but I doubt whether this observation should qualify as one of Internet branding's 11 immutable laws.

11. The Law of Transformation says that the Internet will transform all aspects of our lives. Examples are paper directories, paper catalogs, full color brochures, the telephone industry, classified ads in newspapers, post office mail volume, financial services, and parcel delivery. Agreed. Internet retailing will focus on price while "outernet" retailing will focus on service. Yes, but I'm not sure that theory qualifies as an immutable law either.

The 11 Immutable Laws of Internet Branding is surely provocative, and I know I'll be mentally testing its theories for months in the future. But I come away with the feeling that the authors aren't really immersed in the e-business world, that they are seeing the Internet through an older set of glasses. I think the book is well worth reading, but a critical reading. And certainly don't expect to find "immutability" here.