Simon Middleton admits that the 30 days of the title might not mean an actual month. In fact, he suggests that it might take three months to work through the exercises presented here. The author claims that the brand building he discusses is relevant to all levels of marketing executive, from the novice launching their first business to an experienced marketing director.

But in truth, there is much more of relevance here for the first-timer. One exception is the chapter on brand positioning and defining a brand as positive or negative and weak or strong.

Elsewhere explanations of commonly confused concepts, such as strategy versus tactics, and more complex ideas such as morphological analysis make the book invaluable for anyone starting a business. It's impossible for Middleton to provide all the answers, but he lays out the right questions for anyone launching a brand.

His style is relaxed and informal, and he draws well on his contacts book to provide "expert views". Whether you'll have a successful brand in 30 days or three months as a result of reading this book is questionable. But it will help you along that path.