R.E.D. Marketing: The Three Ingredients of Leading Brands

by Greg Creed, Ken Muench

Create breakthrough marketing campaigns by harnessing the power of R.E.D. a transparent and flexible methodology straight from marketing powerhouse Yum! Brands. Sidestep the marketing books, courses, and even TED talks that offer hypothetical explanations that sound sensible and embrace the proven, systematic approach of R.E.D. Marketing, which the recent CEO and current CMO of Yum! Brands applied to lead Taco Bell and KFC to double digit growth. This book, filled with simple frameworks and engaging stories, will help everyone in your company understand what really works for driving sustainable brand growth and business success. In 2011, Greg Creed had just been elevated from President to CEO of Taco Bell, a brand in deep distress at the time. It was on his shoulders to turn things around quickly along with co-author and CMO, Ken Muench. Together, they developed the R.E.D (Relevance, Ease, Distinctiveness) method. It’s simple methodology does not require complicated terms and a PhD to understand, it’s actually quite simple—marketing works in three very different By combining actual examples from Yum! and other recognizable brands of every size around the world with the latest findings in marketing, neuroscience, and behavioral economics, and the author’s own experience marketing three different brands across 120 countries, your brand can set and achieve a truly breakthrough marketing campaign utilizing R.E.D Marketing .

Genres: Nonfiction, Business

288 pages, Hardcover

Published June 8, 2021

Reviews

[Jonas Becker · Rating 2 out of 5]

The content itself seemed pretty useful at first glance. However, the backgrounds of the authors makes me question the authenticity of their proposed strategy. Yum Brands is known for lagging behind on its sustainability efforts as pointed out by many NGOs these days.
Do I really want to take advice on how to cover up problematic sourcing practices and animal welfare issues with "leading brand" marketing from the authors? Not really. However, I will give it two stars for the benefit of the doubt since I've not read the whole way through.

[Slomimo Kaveze · Rating 1 out of 5]

Corporate social responsibility is important for any brand. I'll stick to books written by authors with ethics.

[Alexandria Beck · Rating 1 out of 5]

I would like to propose a 4th ingredient for leading brands: transparency. This is something that Yum! Brands lacks and a reason why I won't be buying this book.

[Juliana Carrero · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book contains so much insight that is unfortunately undermined by the authors' connection to animal cruelty at Yum! Brands. They talk about relevance and yet are out of touch with the new global standards for animal welfare.

[Ellie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was excited to get my hands on this book. I ended up returning it after learning that Yum! Brands is involved in an animal cruelty scandal and that the author, Ken Muench, is helping Yum skirt this important issue. This is not the sort of person I want to learn from.

[Marianne Macdonald · Rating 1 out of 5]

The latest findings in marketing, neuroscience, and behavioral economics are of interest to me, but I stopped reading when I found out that Ken Muench is the Chief Marketing Officer for Yum! Brands. Yum! is a company is embroiled in an animal cruelty scandal. Their leadership are totally ignoring their caring customers, over 158,000 of whom have asked Yum! to stop being involved in the extreme animal cruelty of caging hens for eggs. Where is the CSR of Yum? Missing in action it seems. So I wouldn't credit Mr Muench for being able to give good advice on helping your branding.

[Ajvo Krajc · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book speaks of being relevant to culture, yet the company the author represents is the exact opposite as it continues to allow archaic animal welfare practices in its supply chain.

[Giovanni García-Fenech · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite the obvious lack of a good editor (or an editor at all?), R.E.D. Marketing makes a compelling case for using a three-pronged strategy to market commodities. The three parts are Relevance (is it relevant to culture and the marketplace?), Ease (is it easy to recall and access?), and Distinctiveness (does it stand out from the competition in an ownable way?).

As the authors dissect these concepts and illustrate them with entertaining real-life examples, they also knock down a lot of sacred cows. Forget marketer-favorite principles like emotional connection, purpose, segmentation, etc. They go as far as writing, “Don’t worry too much about understanding a consumer deeply, and don’t fret endlessly about what every nuance of their motivation for buying your product might be. It’s a red herring. After all, none of us know what we want. Humans are a mess of conflicting desires and shameful longings.”

Even if the examples they use are far from the work you do (they are from mine!), the essential concepts transfer, and the book offers a lot to think about. Just brace yourself for a lot of redundancies (like reading about their company’s origin story four times in close succession)—the ideas you’ll find in these pages will make the meandering journey worthwhile.

[Riley Brodal · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was interesting and definitely was helpful. I appreciated the specific brand/ad examples when explaining the strategies. I felt like it was a brag to what Yum is doing most of the book which is fine but the examples helped solidify that the advice maybe works?

[Jennifer Hunter · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found the authors hypocritical. They mention that marketing must be relevant to the current culture, yet Ken and other leaders at his company (Yum! Brands) aren't keeping up with modern times through Yum's continued use of outdated battery cages.

[Pori Piromsan · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book speaks of being relevant to culture, yet the company the author represents is the exact opposite as it continues to allow archaic animal welfare practices in its supply chain.

[Tiina Vuolle · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was looking forward reading this book but after I learned that Yum! Brands is supporting animal cruelty and the author, Ken Muench, is trying to hide this, I decided to pick up another book.

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

My bookshelf is full of marketing books, but RED Marketing has been able to achieve what the rest of them couldn't. It's actionable, evidence-based, and compelling. I truly felt like I was reading an interesting story rather than a marketing book (The case studies from Greg and Ken's exciting careers alone make the book worth it.) They've managed to take a notoriously convoluted discipline full of conflicting theories and transform it into a simple yet effective framework for growth.

[Shirley · Rating 5 out of 5]

(not sure why i never marked this as read in 2021)

One of the better marketing books out there!! RED Marketing is packed with actionable steps, engaging case studies, real-world examples, and a compelling narrative that makes it fun to read (which is hard to come by !). The book is largely categorized into the 3 main sections of RED (Relevance, Ease, Distinctiveness), and Greg and Ken do a great job at succinctly explaining how each pillar plays a role in brand building. The case studies in each section easily bring the concepts to life, making it quick to remember and understand.

Love that they're able to take such a complex topic and distill it (for the most part) down into a simple framework.

[Brad Blackman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of good ideas and jumping off points for discussions and ways to dig into how to improve your branding and marketing efforts. I’m not a huge fan of the brands they represent but I can appreciate the branding work they do.

(I see a lot of negative comments about the animal ethics of the authors parent company and I wonder how much they can do about that. Sometimes you gotta work with what you’ve got.)

Now I have a long list of more books to read thanks to the Further Reading section at the back.

[ONE BAD BANANA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! So I’m a new student of marketing. I’ve taken courses, read other books, but I’m still new to the field. I need foundational material, so I checked out this book, and I wasn’t disappointed. It’s simple, straightforward, and leads with practical advice.

Do I feel like a master marketer after this? No, it’s a book, not a master course, BUT, I do feel like it has incredible relevance to the field, and it shares its points with examples that actually help instead of confusing things (I’m looking at you, other popular marketing books).

Definitely check this one out!

[Faith Zinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was part of my final course for my masters program, a course focusing on consumer behavior psychology and psychological targeting as a marketing strategy. This may be one of the most useful books to tie together everything that I had read throughout my 2 year program. Not only was the tone of the book informal and easy to read, the examples, frameworks, diagrams and practice exercises sealed the deal. I find myself going back to this book to spark creativity in my career

[Natasha Ukolova · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid book full of interesting ideas and a slightly different way of looking at problems of brand and marketing. Very easy to read with a structured approach however, many examples revolve strictly around Yum! brands. While expected, would benefit from more diverse case set and proof of R.E.D. concept.

[Tabi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like most marketing books written by marketing executives, this book was working double time to sell themselves and their products as well. A lot of your information could be taken in simply by looking at the cover and knowing what the acronym stands for. I did enjoy the case studies and ways companies have learned to rethink what they're doing to increase customer service and satisfaction.

[Rafik Farouk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read about building marketing knowledge, and branding. It was easy to read and understand. Some chapters were more relating then others, but over all, great experience and new knowledge was learned.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think the haters of this book are really just haters of the Yum brand. I thought this book was incredible. Fresh perspectives on segmentation, branding strategy, and using the four c’s with r.e.d. to pivot. I need a written copy to reference.

[Carly Holzner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely challenged some of my opinions in marketing. Would recommend!

[Cami · Rating 3 out of 5]

With a former Yum! CEO and CMO newly at the helm, this was a very worthwhile read

[MacKenzie Rathbun · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the most comprehensive guide to modern marketing I’ve ever read. This book should be given to every marketing, advertising, and public relations student in college.

[Jason Williamson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to read this for a class and didn’t hate it, so that’s a win I guess

[nas jab · Rating 4 out of 5]

if you want to sell anything, get this book.

[Simona Žeimytė · Rating 5 out of 5]

The new bible and I'm a preacher.

[Emily Suchanek · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you’ve ever wondered what makes a brand truly stick, then R.E.D. Marketing is the book you never knew you needed, but will end up wishing you’d read years ago. Greg Creed takes the complex world of marketing and distills it down into something beautifully simple: a recipe. The secret sauce? R.E.D. which stands for Relevance, Emotion, and Distinctiveness. You could almost hear Creed giving you a knowing look and saying, This is it. This is the key to unlocking brand success.

What I love about this book is that it doesn’t just throw theory at you. Instead, Creed who, as CEO of Yum! Brands, knows a thing or two about making brands work actually gets into the nitty-gritty of how these three elements come together to create something truly lasting. It’s not just about having a cool logo or a catchy slogan. It’s about making people feel something, and making sure that feeling doesn’t fade when the next shiny thing comes along.

But what’s interesting is how human this book feels, despite being so rooted in business. Creed doesn’t just talk about brands; he talks about people how they connect, how they react, and how the best brands understand the deeply emotional relationship we all have with what we consume. There’s an honesty to this book that’s rare in marketing literature, a kind of practical, no-nonsense clarity that makes even the most seasoned marketer sit up and take note.

Sure, it’s about brands, but it’s also about the way we, as consumers, make choices, trust, and build our own relationships with products and services. This is marketing for the emotionally intelligent and the strategically savvy.

If you’re looking to build something that lasts, then consider this your blueprint. A must-read for anyone who wants to understand what makes a brand tick and why some just have that thing that keeps us coming back for more.

[Darya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book on marketing strategy in FMCG sector. The good part of any marketing is the strategy of how you will implement and actions that will lead to the execution to the mail goal of growth of the business and increased brand awareness.