What do you think?
Rate this book
The Fortune Cookie Principle: The 20 Keys to a Great Brand Story and Why Your Business Needs One
It's not how good you are. It's how well you tell your story.
The most successful brands in the world don’t behave like commodities and neither should you. A great brand story will make you stand out, increase brand awareness, create customer loyalty and power profits. Isn't it time to gave your customers a story to tell? 'The Fortune Cookie Principle' will show you how.
Big corporations might have huge budgets but you’ve got a story. Your story isn't just what you tell people. It's what they believe about you based on the signals your brand sends. The Fortune Cookie Principle is a brand building framework and communication strategy consisting of 20 keys that enable you to begin telling your brand’s story from the inside out. It’s the foundation upon which you can differentiate your brand and make emotional connections with the kind of clients and customers you want to serve.
The most successful brands in the world don’t behave like commodities and neither should you. A great brand story will make you stand out, increase brand awareness, create customer loyalty and power profits. Isn't it time to gave your customers a story to tell? 'The Fortune Cookie Principle' will show you how.
Big corporations might have huge budgets but you’ve got a story. Your story isn't just what you tell people. It's what they believe about you based on the signals your brand sends. The Fortune Cookie Principle is a brand building framework and communication strategy consisting of 20 keys that enable you to begin telling your brand’s story from the inside out. It’s the foundation upon which you can differentiate your brand and make emotional connections with the kind of clients and customers you want to serve.
202 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 11, 2013
174 people are currently reading
948 people want to read
About the author
Bernadette Jiwa
16 books219 followersBernadette Jiwa is an Irish Australian writer and story skills teacher. For ten years, she successfully published award-winning non-fiction books before embracing the freedom of fiction.
Her Dublin novels, THE MAKING OF HER and EVERY SHADE OF LOVE, were published in 2022 and 2025.
Her Dublin novels, THE MAKING OF HER and EVERY SHADE OF LOVE, were published in 2022 and 2025.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
April 10, 2015
I don't have a beef with this book really. I just feel like the writing doesn't go into why companies work enough to make it believable. I feel bad for saying that but its just how I feel. It's a little like looking at a busy Nando's and saying, they're busy because of some arbitrary fact. Like perhaps, the the staff smile. "The staff smile, therefore, Nando's is sucessful."
Without really breaking down the business and understanding why it's really working, and providing evidence to support it, its hard to understand what the contributing factors to success are. You need to get to the heart of this. I think from memory psychologists call this the 'Fundamental Attribution Error.' I feel like the observations in this book about success, or a good story of a brand, or a good company, aren't really contributing factors, but just one of many. Perhaps they matter. Perhaps they don't. But just observing them, and noting them down because they support your point, if they aren't contributing factors, I feel like the book can be a little misleading.
The writing is crisp, and I suspect for people who don't read a lot of business books, this is probably a great read. It will feel positive to read, but I feel like for the most part, the book doesn't go deep enough into the stories of success, and will leave people will a false sense of importance on very minor points. Some matter. Some don't. But there isn't enough depth to work out which ones are which.
Having said that, most of the example organisations in the book, are indeed, successful. So i'm not trying to talk smack about the companies in it, I just feel like the book makes a claim, then finds a minor point, and re-arranges the observations to further backup the point, without providing real evidence.
Maybe it sounds like I'm splitting hairs, and I hate to review this book in comparison to another, but for sake of an alternative, I want to use Malcolm Gladwell to point something out.
I find Gladwell will take a very minor thing, and go deep on it. Providing polarising views around the points, looking at evidence, finding support, looking at facts, counter arguments. Then, when your presented with an observation, you feel well informed. So, you feel like your opinion is justified. I feel like this would have helped.
I would have loved to see, instead of Jiwa talking an inch deep and a mile wide on 8,000 different stories, why not just pick one? Why not just pick one story, and REALLY go deep on it. make the same claims, but give people real evidence, and perhaps, alternative views, and let people make up their own minds on if its a contributing factor. She's got great examples in here, I just feel like there wasn't enough done to make the evidence compelling.
I'd love to see her tackle one very specific idea, and write a book about it.
Without really breaking down the business and understanding why it's really working, and providing evidence to support it, its hard to understand what the contributing factors to success are. You need to get to the heart of this. I think from memory psychologists call this the 'Fundamental Attribution Error.' I feel like the observations in this book about success, or a good story of a brand, or a good company, aren't really contributing factors, but just one of many. Perhaps they matter. Perhaps they don't. But just observing them, and noting them down because they support your point, if they aren't contributing factors, I feel like the book can be a little misleading.
The writing is crisp, and I suspect for people who don't read a lot of business books, this is probably a great read. It will feel positive to read, but I feel like for the most part, the book doesn't go deep enough into the stories of success, and will leave people will a false sense of importance on very minor points. Some matter. Some don't. But there isn't enough depth to work out which ones are which.
Having said that, most of the example organisations in the book, are indeed, successful. So i'm not trying to talk smack about the companies in it, I just feel like the book makes a claim, then finds a minor point, and re-arranges the observations to further backup the point, without providing real evidence.
Maybe it sounds like I'm splitting hairs, and I hate to review this book in comparison to another, but for sake of an alternative, I want to use Malcolm Gladwell to point something out.
I find Gladwell will take a very minor thing, and go deep on it. Providing polarising views around the points, looking at evidence, finding support, looking at facts, counter arguments. Then, when your presented with an observation, you feel well informed. So, you feel like your opinion is justified. I feel like this would have helped.
I would have loved to see, instead of Jiwa talking an inch deep and a mile wide on 8,000 different stories, why not just pick one? Why not just pick one story, and REALLY go deep on it. make the same claims, but give people real evidence, and perhaps, alternative views, and let people make up their own minds on if its a contributing factor. She's got great examples in here, I just feel like there wasn't enough done to make the evidence compelling.
I'd love to see her tackle one very specific idea, and write a book about it.
February 14, 2020
Most companies fall into the trap of thinking that the product they are selling is confined to the physical aspect of the goods while it is the experience, lifestyle, or in other words the core value you are providing the market with that makes your customers tick
June 1, 2017
There are many better written and better formatted books that cover the topics Jiwa goes over. I was disappointed and pretty uninspired. I finished the book not remembering what "the fortune cookie principle" actually is, but I remember when I was at that part that it seemed like a stretch.
June 12, 2016
An important book that looks at 'new marketing' at a time when people are easier to reach, but much harder to engage.
Bernadette expands on the concept of 'real marketing' which needs to be built into what we do and why we do it to create a deeper impact, and leave a lasting impression that's 'as powerful as a smile.'
Fantastic guidance on how to build a brand rather than selling a commodity, and the importance of telling stories that mean something to our customers - in our vision, values, products and services, people, delivery, content, design, actions, customer services and so on.
Each section ends with 'Questions for you' that encourage us to consider how we can integrate real marketing into all aspects of our business. 'It's not how good you are; it's how well you tell your story' and how you change how customers feel about themselves.
Bernadette expands on the concept of 'real marketing' which needs to be built into what we do and why we do it to create a deeper impact, and leave a lasting impression that's 'as powerful as a smile.'
Fantastic guidance on how to build a brand rather than selling a commodity, and the importance of telling stories that mean something to our customers - in our vision, values, products and services, people, delivery, content, design, actions, customer services and so on.
Each section ends with 'Questions for you' that encourage us to consider how we can integrate real marketing into all aspects of our business. 'It's not how good you are; it's how well you tell your story' and how you change how customers feel about themselves.
June 16, 2017
Required reading for marketers
With a fluid, rapid style, and relevant case studies, Jiwa makes her case convincingly. If I were still teaching, this would be required reading for my students.
With a fluid, rapid style, and relevant case studies, Jiwa makes her case convincingly. If I were still teaching, this would be required reading for my students.
January 14, 2021
This is a good overview of basic marketing ideas. It was exactly what I was looking for - a reminder of things I knew in an accessible earth-to-read format. I would recommend it to marketing professionals or solopreneurs with the caveat that it’s an introduction not a deep dive.
May 7, 2018
A great introductory book on viewing branding as story telling and why it matters to all business owners. The exercises are helpful. This book is not a comprehensive branding book.
August 7, 2018
To be honest, I'm still not sure that I totally understand or even agree with the title of the book. The author repeatedly mentioned how we buy a fortune cookie, but this may be a cultural difference since I believe she resides in Australia, because we certainly don't pay separately for a fortune cookie in America.
Leaving the title aside (because it's not really that bad either way, I suppose), I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It's wild for me to imagine these days, but Jiwa offers in the beginning a desire to help in a specific way, lays out what that way will look like, then actually delivers on it and ends at the very time the content has ended and not a moment longer. This is a small miracle for many modern books, especially business/leadership type ones.
There were plenty of communicable concepts for me to use and relate to my situation. A healthy dose of examples were given simply as illustrations rather than "you need to believe this is true only because it happened for this one business I'm telling you about." And I strangely enough found the questions at the end of the chapter to be incredibly helpful! I don't often pay any attention to those types of things because they feel like a way to add a few more pages and don't seem as intentional as the content of the chapter, but not the case here! It felt like I had a coach who gave insight and then turned to me with poignant questions of "So how does that affect the way you see ___ or do ___."
Quality book for anyone who wants to improve their business branding and story.
Leaving the title aside (because it's not really that bad either way, I suppose), I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It's wild for me to imagine these days, but Jiwa offers in the beginning a desire to help in a specific way, lays out what that way will look like, then actually delivers on it and ends at the very time the content has ended and not a moment longer. This is a small miracle for many modern books, especially business/leadership type ones.
There were plenty of communicable concepts for me to use and relate to my situation. A healthy dose of examples were given simply as illustrations rather than "you need to believe this is true only because it happened for this one business I'm telling you about." And I strangely enough found the questions at the end of the chapter to be incredibly helpful! I don't often pay any attention to those types of things because they feel like a way to add a few more pages and don't seem as intentional as the content of the chapter, but not the case here! It felt like I had a coach who gave insight and then turned to me with poignant questions of "So how does that affect the way you see ___ or do ___."
Quality book for anyone who wants to improve their business branding and story.
April 13, 2024
Sometimes the difference between 3/4/5 stars for non-fiction books is all in the timing. Is the reader ready for what the book is about, or the level that it deals with a particular topic? This book had been in my Kindle library for a few months but because I'm right in the thick of the challenging and messy work of redefining a homegrown services business, the time was right! I found it to be a real page turner (I'll admit it feels weird to write that about non-fiction!), immensely practical, packed full of helpful examples and case studies, and definitely a book I'm looking forward to going over for a second time as a guided workbook.
I've read plenty of 2 and 3 star reviews on here and agree with some of their comments, but because of where I'm at right now at this point in time, I wasn't looking for a deep dive. This is not a hard read and it does skip over some things lightly, but there are still a lot of great takeaways.
For me this was more of a 'helpful reminder' book rather than a 'conversion' book that presented a completely different way of looking at the world. Maybe I loved it because I found it reassuring and helpful. 🤷🏻♀️
I've read plenty of 2 and 3 star reviews on here and agree with some of their comments, but because of where I'm at right now at this point in time, I wasn't looking for a deep dive. This is not a hard read and it does skip over some things lightly, but there are still a lot of great takeaways.
For me this was more of a 'helpful reminder' book rather than a 'conversion' book that presented a completely different way of looking at the world. Maybe I loved it because I found it reassuring and helpful. 🤷🏻♀️
January 22, 2020
Eye opening from the very beginning “Marketers spend most of their time trying to sell the cookie, when they should really be trying to sell the fortune”.
A good deal similar to “Start With Why” by Simon Sinek.
A sort of mashup of business stories greatest hits as well as a few you might not have heard.
Much more focused on the What and the “Why” rather than the “How”.
While 80% of this will not be new for those who regularly read business and marketing books, there is still a valuable 20%.
And it might be very valuable for those who are new to business and marketing literature. But they would be better off reading “David and Goliath” by Gladwell or “Start with Why” by Sinek.
A good deal similar to “Start With Why” by Simon Sinek.
A sort of mashup of business stories greatest hits as well as a few you might not have heard.
Much more focused on the What and the “Why” rather than the “How”.
While 80% of this will not be new for those who regularly read business and marketing books, there is still a valuable 20%.
And it might be very valuable for those who are new to business and marketing literature. But they would be better off reading “David and Goliath” by Gladwell or “Start with Why” by Sinek.
February 6, 2020
Un libro-compitino che si esaurisce con la metafora del titolo. Un saggio assolutamente basilare, direi per principianti, che tratta lo storytelling in modo superficiale. 20 aspetti che un brand deve tenere in considerazione, più uno: dal nome ai testi, dal posizionamento alle recensioni. Tanti esempi e casi aziendali, ma a parte questo... molto poco. Libro assolutamente dimenticabile.
September 12, 2017
Good book about really deep thinking about your organization's brand.
What universal problems are you addressing?
Who stands to benefit from your solution?
How are those problems otherwise solved?
What if those problems aren't solved?
How are you spreading the word?
Etcetera.
Recommend
What universal problems are you addressing?
Who stands to benefit from your solution?
How are those problems otherwise solved?
What if those problems aren't solved?
How are you spreading the word?
Etcetera.
Recommend
December 30, 2018
Good. If you need to sell something read it
We all need to sell something. The story is essential that makes up a large part of your brand. Jd
We all need to sell something. The story is essential that makes up a large part of your brand. Jd
May 3, 2019
Bernadette provide big, creative and easy to apply ideas to enhance your marketing efforts.
Very much worth the read.
Very much worth the read.
August 12, 2019
You've got to love Bernadette's writing
February 23, 2020
Pretty good book about branding & storytelling. Nothing is particularly mind blowing, but a good summary overall. It's an entertaining read, though I don't think anything was all that memorable.
June 25, 2020
Well, when I saw Seth Godin endorsing, I knew I was in for a treat. I wasn't. Nothing novel, nothing interesting. Normal.
August 16, 2020
I don't know that I'd read it front to back again, but it's a great short book on all that brands and stories are.
December 26, 2021
Simple concepts in aggregate that are important components of a good business but many other books exist that dive deeper into the specific subject matter.
August 12, 2023
obligatory to read .
January 6, 2025
This is my first book in 2025. It's an excellent book. I'll read it again if needed and I believe the fortune cookie approach may be applied to personal branding as well.
May 14, 2015
A few cool examples and stories, but not much more than that. It might help you to have one or two new ideas for your business, but there are other books which are more research-backed and give you more bang for the buck on that front.
I would suggest Blue Ocean Strategy: How To Create Uncontested Market Space And Make The Competition Irrelevant and Brainfluence: 100 Ways to Persuade and Convince Consumers with Neuromarketing, for example. Or maybe The Good Jobs Strategy: How the Smartest Companies Invest in Employees to Lower Costs and Boost Profits, which looks at similar issues from a treat-your-employee-well perspective and even has some examples that are also mentioned in Jiwa's book.
I would suggest Blue Ocean Strategy: How To Create Uncontested Market Space And Make The Competition Irrelevant and Brainfluence: 100 Ways to Persuade and Convince Consumers with Neuromarketing, for example. Or maybe The Good Jobs Strategy: How the Smartest Companies Invest in Employees to Lower Costs and Boost Profits, which looks at similar issues from a treat-your-employee-well perspective and even has some examples that are also mentioned in Jiwa's book.
September 25, 2015
Inspiring and thought-provoking
I highly recommend this book to anyone who has a business, is starting a business, or who is dreaming about a business.
The author relates through a myriad of examples how great companies, large and small, told the story of their brand.
It's about how you need to find out what your story is and develop ways to get your story out.
Most helpful are the questions at the end of each chapter. They will help you think properly about your story and how you might want to tell it.
I intend to use those questions to hone my own story about G-Men Productions. Then we are going to rebuild everything we have to tell that story. Because we are not telling our story yet and that is going to change.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who has a business, is starting a business, or who is dreaming about a business.
The author relates through a myriad of examples how great companies, large and small, told the story of their brand.
It's about how you need to find out what your story is and develop ways to get your story out.
Most helpful are the questions at the end of each chapter. They will help you think properly about your story and how you might want to tell it.
I intend to use those questions to hone my own story about G-Men Productions. Then we are going to rebuild everything we have to tell that story. Because we are not telling our story yet and that is going to change.
February 5, 2017
Great book for anyone who has a business, is considering starting a business, or works with businesses in a marketing capacity. The author shares many examples of how companies, large and small, tell the story of their brand. She also explains how important it is to have a clear vision and story in an age when advertising is less about traditional "ads" and more about social media and what people share about you. I really loved this book, a very quick read with interesting examples. Not a ton of details but that's the point--it's not the minute details that matter, it's how you make your customer feel.
January 4, 2016
The cookie is the product you sell. But what your customers are really after is the fortune, the feelings and emotions behind what your brand and products stands for. Is not marketing, is brand building though storytelling. Conceptualizing Storytelling as the synergy and momentum build in everything that touches your customer experience with your brand and the following stories of past customers that become ambassadors (or executioners) of your brand. Good read.
May 27, 2016
I read this book because it had a high recommendation from Seth Godin.
What you get out of this book will depend on what your objective is for reading it.
If you want to learn proven strategies for building a brand and telling your story this is not the book for you, or me, which is why I only gave it 3 stars.
If you want interesting examples of divergent paths brands took to build a personality you might find it more useful. Without the interesting ideas this book is a 1 or 2 star book.
What you get out of this book will depend on what your objective is for reading it.
If you want to learn proven strategies for building a brand and telling your story this is not the book for you, or me, which is why I only gave it 3 stars.
If you want interesting examples of divergent paths brands took to build a personality you might find it more useful. Without the interesting ideas this book is a 1 or 2 star book.
March 1, 2014
Truly brilliant book that simplifies marketing, brand and storytelling by using contemporary examples we can all associate with and understand. I love the questions at the end of each chapter which become a workbook to define your own brand story. Definitely one that has inspired some real action and results for us.
November 3, 2015
This book doesn't say anything new. It's not revolutionary. What it is is well organized, digestible, and engaging. The chapters are short and to the point, with questions at the end of each case chapter for you to work through in your own regarding your business. I just finished the book and plan on going back through to answer the questions next.
October 25, 2013
Anyone that has anything to do with a brand should read this. Especially people who have found themselves at the top of the org chart of a brand they didn't create. Your brands purpose isn't to make money, that's a result of telling your story. This book will help reorientate you back to why.
March 12, 2014
Incredible Branding Stories
This is how I describe this one. lots of takeaways from this book that really hit home for me in my upstart business. Definitely have to go back through it to make sure I'm implementing everything I've read. Great stuff here.
This is how I describe this one. lots of takeaways from this book that really hit home for me in my upstart business. Definitely have to go back through it to make sure I'm implementing everything I've read. Great stuff here.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews