Book excerpt: This book is for anyone with a brand.It is a book about future-proofing your brand's identity. It will help you set up a long-term strategy to build Distinctive Assets, and tell you what you need to do to protect them.Do you want to get better at branding?You'll learn which strategies and actions work, as well as which ones don't, to help you take advantage of opportunities and avoid minefields.Building Distinctive Brand Assets is for anyone with a brand logo, font or colour scheme, and is essential reading for those who have wondered if (or have been told) it's time for a change. Readers will learn how to set up a long-term strategy to build a strong brand identity, and how to make use of knowledge, metrics and management systems in order to build and protect a brand's Distinctive Assets.Building Distinctive Brand Assets is divided into three sections that capture the processes involved in brand asset creation, implementation and ongoing management. The first section is focuses on strategy, and covers how Distinctive Assets are created and their role in a broader brand equity building. The second section covers measurement approaches, and how to use and interpret key metrics. The third section delves into the strengths and weaknesses of different types of assets and introduces the idea of a Distinctive Asset palette. This section also outlines how to set up a Distinctive Asset management system to provide an early warning system to identify potential threats before they evolve into major issues.