Endorsements

How a company decides to behave becomes how that brand shows up in the marketplace.  In this book, Denise Lee Yohn enlightens the reader with an essential map for how to become a brand that earns the right to customer-driven growth.

Jeanne Bliss

President, CustomerBliss; Author, Chief Customer Officer 2.0: How to Build Your Customer-Driven Growth Engine

I love good information backed up with real life case studies. Denise Lee Yohn’s gift of storytelling and insightful analysis make Extraordinary Experiences an inspiring and immediately actionable read.

Shep Hyken

Customer service expert and New York Times bestselling author of The Amazement Revolution

If you want a shortcut in your goal to improve customer loyalty, start with Denise Lee Yohn. What Great Brands Do is a practical guide to providing an exceptional brand experience. In Extraordinary Experiences, Denise builds on her earlier work, sharing strategies and actions for creating a cherished brand.

Skip Pritchard

President & CEO, OCLC, Leadership Insights blogger at skipprichard.com

Denise has done it again! Extraordinary Experiences is a deep dive into how some of today’s truly great companies are building their brands to better engage customers while improving their bottom lines, and how any business owner or marketing executive can do the same. Chock-full of powerful insights and information you won’t find anywhere else, Extraordinary Experiences is an essential addition to your brand-building toolbox.

Peter Economy

The Leadership Guy on INC.COM

Denise Lee Yohn’s Extraordinary Experiences should be required reading for all CEOs.  It sheds new light on how to achieve the kind of brand leadership that everyone — from customers to employees to investors — wants a piece of.

Ted Coiné

CMO of Meddle.it and author of A World Gone Social: How Companies Must Adapt to Survive

Timely and chock full of relevant examples, Extraordinary Experiences is a must-read for anyone who wants to use first-class customer experience as a competitive differentiator. Highly recommended!

Jay Baer

digital marketing keynote speaker and emcee, Author of New York Times best seller Youtility, and President of marketing consultancy Convince & Convert

Engaging and informative, this succinct book sheds important insight on the operational value of a company’s brand and shows how it can take an organization from good to great.

Publishers Weekly

The “very interesting” book shows how “stores use every touchpoint to build customer loyalty and life time value.”

Jason Goldberg

SVP, Commerce & Content at Razorfish, and Co-Host of the Jason & Scot Show

Denise Lee Yohn hit a home run with her first book, What Great Brands Do. Now she’s written FUSION and it is just as provocative. Denise proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that great companies are powered by brand-culture fusion. I highly recommend this book!

Ken Blanchard

coauthor of The New One Minute Manager® and coeditor of Servant Leadership in Action

Denise Lee Yohn is back with another breakthrough! Her first book, What Great Brands Do, challenged us to think differently about brand-building. Now FUSION cracks the code on culture-building and reveals how outstanding companies use their corporate cultures as a competitive advantage. It’s a must-read!

Verne Harnish

Founder Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) and Author of Scaling Up (Rockefeller Habits 2.0)

Denise Lee Yohn is America’s leading expert on brand-building, and she has an uncanny knack for pulling the curtain back on the strategies that enable today’s most-successful companies to consistently produce market-leading results. In her latest book, FUSION, Yohn takes readers on a remarkably insightful journey to the power that can be unleashed in any organization when brand and culture are fused together as one. If you’re an executive or leader who wants to take your organization to the very top, then you owe it to yourself to read this book and then share the lessons you learn with your team.

Peter Economy

The Leadership Guy on Inc.com

Brand strategist Denise Lee Yohn’s new book, FUSION, tackles one of the most important and surprising aspects of a strong brand: company culture. Yohn builds a compelling case that will make leaders everywhere want to achieve brand-culture fusion. Highly-recommended!

Skip Prichard

President & CEO, OCLC, Inc., Author of The Book of Mistakes, and Leadership Insights blogger at www.skipprichard.com

I have spent a lifetime creating and building brands, all based on Ideas-based leadership cultures. Fusion explains it all. Bravo Denise.

Kevin Roberts

author of Lovemarks

Everyone wants to their company to be a great place to work, but few really know how to create an outstanding corporate culture. Denise Lee Yohn takes you behind the scenes at some of the world’s greatest organizations and pulls the curtain back on the strategies that enable them to attract and motivate the best talent.

Tiffani Bova

Growth and Innovation Evangelist, Salesforce

Denise Lee Yohn’s extensive research, insightful analysis, and gift of storytelling make FUSION a practical and inspiring guide to building a great brand and a great culture.

Philip Kotler

S.C.Johnson & Son Distinguished Professor of International Marketing, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University

Denise is the first brand expert to bridge two powerful, yet apparently disconnected areas of business and management: Culture & Brand. With masterfulness, Denise explores the central relationship between the two of them, unveiling hidden connections and showing their full potential when managed consistently. FUSION is a history-making book, an essential read for every businessperson driving change.

Eduardo P. Braun

leadership expert and author of “People First Leadership"

Leaders everywhere are trying to build great brands, but few realize how powerfully brands are shaped by the cultures of their organizations. This compelling book shows how to connect the image you present to the outside world with the values and norms that operate inside your world of work.

Adam Grant

New York Times bestselling author of ORIGINALS, GIVE AND TAKE, and OPTION B with Sheryl Sandberg

Denise Lee Yohn’s FUSION should be on every business leader’s reading list this year.  It provides the much-needed antidote to the culture and leadership crisis corporate America is experiencing.

Marshall Goldsmith

The Thinkers 50 #1 Leadership Thinker in the World

This new way of looking at the relationship of the internal and external brands and culture is a relevant topic which Denise Lee Yohn has thoroughly explored. FUSION presents great ideas and examples that can provide any leader or company an opportunity to rethink the way they go to market.

Mark Levy

Former Global Head of Employee Experience, Airbnb

Denise is a natural giver in her talks – she shares rich content generously, with humor and heart.

Denise is awesome on stage – a real dynamic presence.

A perspective we usually don’t hear but desperately need to.

Her authentic communication style and connection with the audience was immediate.

She ranks among the very best speakers I’ve encountered.

Denise really took the time to understand our organization and our challenges. Her presentation was insightful and included many actionable tips for our teams.

Eugenio Caballero

CEO, Sigma Alimentos Mexico

Denise delivered an outstanding presentation to the 1000 participants to the STIMA Congress in Brussels. She translated her vision on what great brands do into ready-to-use tools and made her methodology very actionable.

Jean Cornet

Senior Director Deloitte / President, STIMA Congress

One of the best experts in this domain.  Her authentic communication style and connection with the audience was immediate and she captivated their attention for the entire duration of her presentation.

Geneviève Fortier

SVP, McKesson Canada

What you said was so practical, so implementable – not blue sky, rather a blue print on what to do.

Mike Todaro

Managing Director, AAPNetwork

“You were our highest rated speaker as people loved the handouts, the stories and the passion with which you spoke.”

Jay Walter

EO, Australia

Our goal for conferences and events is to ‘engage, enlighten and entertain,’ and boy, did Denise deliver on all three!

Chris Rowe

Director of Marketing Services, Strategic Market Alliance

“You really are helping us get to the next level as a corporation and I’m excited for that and deeply appreciative.”

John Cochrane

President and CEO, Human Good

“I appreciate all the work you put into your keynote. It was an amazing fit with our strategy and such a timely message.”

Michelle Suzuki

CMO, RizePoint

“Denise hit the ground running and never let up.”

Mara Ferguson

Keynote Liaison, ZingTrain/Zingerman's

“You were the highlight of the day!  All the feedback that I’ve heard can be summed up in one word: PERFECT! Right message, right time and very well delivered.”

Dawn Murray

Director, Export Development Canada

Denise captured the attention of the audience with her empathy, deep knowledge of the subject and intense communication.

Roberto Meir

CEO, Grupo Padrao

Wow – you were amazing!!  Such a practical and powerful message and presentation.

Verne Harnish

CEO, Gazelles

You took the time to make connections back to our Coaches day-to-day realities and everyone is still talking about how valuable (and fun!) it was.

Ruth Dinora Cornejo

Customer Experience, Ford Motor Company

World class. Even over Zoom you could see Denise’s expertise and feel her passion for the work of building great brands.

Cammie Dunaway

Chief Marketing Officer, Duolingo

Denise is a natural giver in her talks – she shares rich content generously, with humor and heart.

Denise is awesome on stage – a real dynamic presence.

A perspective we usually don’t hear but desperately need to.

Her authentic communication style and connection with the audience was immediate.

She ranks among the very best speakers I’ve encountered.

The best speaker ever…Thank you for opening our eyes!

Joe Dominiak

Managing Partner & EVP, Skyline Chili

Thank you for a great keynote to close our event – It was a huge hit!

Stephanie Glassford, CMP

Event Manager, RE/MAX INTEGRA OA

Denise’s presentation was thought-provoking, powerful, and challenged our sales team to think and understand the secrets behind great brands.

Bernadette Van Osdal

SVP, Triad Retail Media and eBay Advertising

Thought provoking and focused.  I highly recommend Denise to anyone who wants to better understand the value of great brands and how they can be cultivated in any organizational setting.

Curt Swindoll

EVP Strategy, Pursuant

Denise’s incredible pre-work, on behalf of her audience, enabled her to hook the attendees from the start of the session and keep us focused with rapt attention throughout.

Jeff Lindeman

Senior Director, Talent & Engagement, San Diego International Airport

Your talk provided us with a framework as to how to operationalize our brand to achieve our Billion Dollar vision!

Stephanie Gallo

E&J Gallo Winery

Nothing short of amazing in front of a very passionate and outspoken audience.  She was fabulous!

Emily McNulty

Owner, Moxi Events

Best speaker of the day… a fresh perspective.

Mike Fox

Director, Global Vertical Marketing, Facebook

You were truly a hit with our clients from top travel companies…and our offices and staff really took it to heart and truly enjoyed your presentations and workshops.

Jenny Adams

CEO, Discover the World

Your presentation was engaging, insightful and added great value to our event.

Edmond Walters

Founder and CEO, eMoney Advisor

Your presentation was superb and provided a great depth of valuable insights.  Your charismatic and knowledgeable way of providing information made the session that much more enjoyable.

Christina de Vaca

Director, Master of Science in Executive Leadership, University of San Diego

Denise’s keynote took our customer summit to new heights. She did her research, hit all of the points we’d discussed, and used provocative insights and examples. Her talk was inspiring and informative – worth every penny!

Ken Romley

President and CEO, Zift Solutions

Our attendees, who are owners of fast casual restaurants, learned a lot about social marketing from Denise. She’s a dynamic and engaging speaker and really tailored her presentations to our audience. Attendees left fired up!

Cherryh Butler

Conference Producer, Fast Casual Executive Summit

We were privileged to have Denise serve as a panel member for our Brand Strategy breakouts. Her experience and insights were amazing and helped to make the conference a huge success. She is brilliant and entertaining – able to point out a unique twist or opportunity on what might otherwise be a very clinical case analysis.

Mark G. Anderson

Conference Producer, Business Growth Conference, coordinated jointly by the Harvard Business School Alumni Association and Marshall School of Business Alumni Association

Many thanks to you for your contribution to Dine America, I thought your talk was informative, interesting, and entertaining. I received a lot of compliments, and hope you did too!

Sam Oches

Editor, QSR Magazine

Denise Yohn gave a stimulating talk to my Brand Management class at UCSD’s Rady School of Management. Students had great feedback about her practical techniques for clarifying brand essence and enjoyed learning that successful brands usually operate in transcendent emotional space. We hope to welcome her back again soon!

Tina Klein

Rady School of Management, University of California, San Diego

Denise outlined a detailed roadmap for retailers for building their brands.   In today’s intensively competitive retailing environment, the various concepts such as the brand platform and tools such as the brand touchpoint wheel that Denise covered in her presentation represent timely and important to retailers, big and small.

Rajan Varadarajan

Distinguished Professor of Marketing and Ford Chair in Marketing & E-Commerce, Mays Business School at Texas A&M University, The Retailing Summit

Denise is awesome onstage – a real dynamic presence.  She brought insightful comments and a lot of energy to the session.

Anam Alpenia

Conference Producer, Red Herring North America

We wanted someone who could stretch our thinking. The attendees were blown away by her presentation. We were very pleased with the depth of her experience and her ability to easily communicate that to a broad audience base.

Sabrina Brown

Conference Producer, Canadian Tourism Commission Board of Advisors Annual Retreat

Yohn knows exactly what it takes to raise a brand to the top and keep it there. Here she shares techniques that can elevate a brand to icon status.  Yohn’s book is helpful reading for executives and managers at all levels, and it will guide the next generation of great brands.

Publisher's Weekly

What Great Brands Do is well-written and insightful… This is a book worth reading over and over.

Verne Harnish

Founder and CEO of Gazelles, Founder of Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO), Author of Scaling Up

I read your book and my entire company now hears about your teaching every single week. Thank you Thank you. We are on our way to making Vocalink a great company thanks to you!

Amelia Gomez

CEO, Vocalink Global – www.vocalink.net

With her finger on the pulse of today’s competitive business landscape, Denise Lee Yohn knows more than most how to create, sustain, and leverage a great brand. Her writing style coaches readers in a warm and conversational way as she offers up-to-the-minute advice, inspiring examples of organizations who have done it right, and cautionary tales of some who haven’t.  If you care about building your brand to grow your business, you can’t afford not to read What Great Brands Do by Denise Lee Yohn.

Ken Blanchard

Coauthor of The One Minute Manager^® and TrustWorks!

Every leader—from CEOs and CMOs to start-up entrepreneurs—will find Denise’s seven brand building principles inspirational and immediately useful. I wish Denise had written What Great Brands Do five years earlier—I would have made it required reading for all P&G brand builders!

Jim Stengel

Former Global Marketing Officer, P&G, and author of Grow

Denise Lee Yohn beautifully highlights some of the most beloved brands and how they’ve separated themselves from the rest by creating an emotional connection between the organization and its stakeholders.  When employees, vendors, customers, and the community feel like a part of the brand, that’s when the magic happens.

Kip Tindell

Chairman and CEO, The Container Store

The Internet has resulted in an explosion of options for consumers and never before have brands and branding been more vital to future of a commercial enterprise. Denise Lee Yohn has bottled the elixir of brands and the magic behind brands in this book.

Om Malik

Founder, GigaOM

What Great Brands Do is a must-read for leaders who want a fascinating brand. This book is smart, with insider knowledge, and reads beautifully. What I like most is the fresh perspective that Denise Lee Yohn brings to the table – she’s definitely someone to keep a close eye on.

Sally Hogshead

Author, How the World Sees You: Discover your Highest Value through the Science of Fascination

The seven brand-building principles of What Great Brands Do represent a provocative view of branding. You will look at brand-building with new eyes.

David Aaker

Vice-Chairman, Prophet and author of Brand Relevance

Chock full of provocative insights, compelling case studies, and practical tools, What Great Brands Do demystifies the brand-building process and shows business leaders how to revitalize and strengthen their brands.

John Gerzema

Executive Chairman, BAV Consulting, and Coauthor, New York Times bestseller The Athena Doctrine and The Brand Bubble

If, like me, you’ve never been a ‘brand person,’ let Denise Lee Yohn be your guide in building your brand into your business. Follow her principles, embrace her tools, and execute through every single thing you do. As she taught me, that’s what great brands do.

B. Joseph Pine II

Coauthor, The Experience Economy and Authenticity

While brands have become increasingly complex and challenging to manage, Denise has done a terrific job of breaking down what matters in building brands that don’t just thrive, but win.

Scott Davis

Chief Growth Officer, Prophet, and author of Building the Brand-Driven Business

“Denise brought clarity to the Sprouts brand and enabled leaders to have thoughtful discussions around our core values and how we preserve them as we grow. As a result we’re seeing renewed enthusiasm among team members at all levels of the company and have a clear brand roadmap guiding our business that will remain relevant for years to come.”

Doug Sanders

CEO, Sprouts Farmers Market

Denise puts science into the art of brand building. Brands are built with discipline and it is discipline that Denise challenges companies to understand. Her quiver of tools to extract the essence of a brand and to develop a framework for evolving its market value are sharp and effective. I have the utmost respect for her experience and methodologies.

Peter Taylor

Marketing head, Road Runner Sports

I’ve worked with Denise in different capacities over the years (client and colleague) and the result is always the same. She uncovers fresh insights into the consumer and the brand and then seamlessly connects the dots.

David Murphy

Co-President, Executive Director/Brand Innovation

Denise has brought fresh thinking and insights to the challenge of re-energizing our brand and helping us differentiate in a sea of fast food sameness. She contributes a unique combination of smart analysis, category expertise, and an energizing work style.

Terri Funk Graham

Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Jack in the Box

Denise is a consummate professional and a pleasure to work with. Her results are beyond superb and she provides outstanding value.  Denise provides structure and insights to all marketing related problems. It all goes without saying that Denise’s work has been pivotal in the development, strategies and growth of NEXT Proteins, Inc.

David A. Jenkins

CEO, NEXT Proteins, Inc.

Denise Yohn is that special combination of cool and professional. Our readers love the real-world advice she offers. Her focus on innovative marketing tactics that deliver real ROI is a breath of fresh air.

Blair Chancey

Editorial Director, Food News Media