Branding is ultimately a way of differentiating your product from the competition. Whether you’re selling a celebrity image, automobiles, or a financial service, your goal is to make your brand the most recognizable by the consumer.

But there’s much more to effective branding than ubiquitous advertising and a memorable slogan. Public relations is becoming key to the entire strategy. PR is much more than just damage control for when something goes wrong; it’s an effective way to communicate the story of your brand through media outlets that the public trusts.

Filled with engaging stories and nuts-and-bolts tips, A Branded World shows marketers and brand managers how to tap into the power of PR to build stronger brands.

Charm is good business. It can increase your income, boost your status, and establish and maintain your reputation. In many cases, it can mean the difference between success and bankruptcy. However, most businesspeople don’t fully understand the concept of charm. It ought to be a reflex, a conditioned response, to “turn on the charm” when dealing with customers, clients, associates, and employees–but it isn’t, despite the fact that the value of charm has been made clear through opinion polls, scientific studies, and just plain old real life. It’s true in politics. And it’s certainly true in entertainment, a whole business based on the money-making potential of charm.

This is true for the small businessperson as well. Charm draws customers, whether to a garage, a dry cleaner’s, or an investment bank.Charm gets noticed. When a customer contacts a firm for the first time, charm can seal the deal.But charm is only partly innate. Much of it is learned, from your parents, from your friends, and from people like author Michael Levine, who has made a lifelong point of paying attention to charm. And you can learn how to make it work for you. How do you succeed in business without really trying? By charming your way to the top.

Every Fortune 500 corporation, movie star, and scandal queen can attest to the fact that a good publicist is essential to building success and maintaining public support. If you are a small business owner, an entrepreneur, or an undercapitalized beginner seeking an edge in a highly competitive arena, here are the resources necessary to mount your own campaign and get the media exposure you need.

In clear and concise language, Michael Levine, one of the top public relations counselors in the country, reveals the same procedures he uses every day to get press on major stars—and how those strategies can be utilized on little or no budget. Using case histories and tips from his own experiences, Levine shows you how to think like a publicist and map out a strategy for success.

Every Fortune 500 corporation, movie star, and scandal queen knows that a good publicist is essential to building success and maintaining public support. But if you’re a small-business owner, entrepreneur, or undercapitalized beginner seeking an edge in a highly competitive arena, it’s unlikely that you have your own high-powered publicist.

Guerrilla P.R. 2.0 offers all the resources necessary to mount your own campaign and get the media exposure you need. In clear and concise language, Michael Levine, one of the top public relations counselors in the country, reveals the same procedures he uses every day to get press on major stars—and how those strategies can be utilized on little or no budget. You’ll learn how to think like a publicist and map out the perfect strategy for success.

Guerilla P.R. Wired transports Michael Levine’s legendary street-fighting P.R. tactics to the wide-open domain of the World Wide Web. Motivating, brilliant, and filled with invaluable strategies for getting maximum attention regardless of your budget, Guerrilla P.R. Wired will show you how to get noticed now and help you craft a message that is both powerful and profitable in today’s fast-moving, wired world.

Lessons at the Halfway Point is a deeply thought-provoking look at one man’s courageous journey to understanding life from the perspective of having just turned forty. It is both a wry reflection on the past as well as an optimistic look to a challenging future. Nothing escapes Michael Levine’s critical eye, insightful mind, and often humorous spin on our world and ourselves.

Never forget that life is not divided into semesters; in real life you don’t get summers off. Never assume that others are enamored of your pets, children, or singing voice. Never forget that if at first you don’t succeed, sky diving is not for you.

In this deceptively simple yet powerful book, noted author and media expert Michael Levine lays out hundreds of simple admonitions that, when followed, add up to an excellent guide for a happy and successful life. Instead of telling us what to do, Never tells us what not to do in many aspects of life, including business and love, parenting and friendship. Some of the adages are touching; some are humorous; all are valuable maxims for living. Never is a treasury of wisdom to live by, delivered in a warm and welcome tone that will delight and inspire.

In these modern, stress-filled times, etiquette is not as standard as it once was. The changing scenes of profession, dating, and political awareness call for another look at common manners. With this book, top Hollywood agent Michael Levine shares his social expertise culled from years of doing business with some of the world’s most famous people.

People face many awkward situations: the dating scene with all its pitfalls; friends going through grief and loss; job difficulties and other personal problems; the woes of love, friendship, and profession. To avoid gaffes and goofs and other embarrassments, we need to bring our social I.Q. into the twenty-first century. This book defines manners and etiquette for how we live today and shows readers how to keep their mouths foot-free.

Among the topics covered are:

-How to mix business and social relationships

-Thank-you notes and why they are indispensable

-E-mail versus snail mail (guess which one is better)

-How to behave on a first date

-Racism, politics, and sex

-RSVP or else!

-The Ten Commandments of social I.Q.

-The basics of friendship

The book also includes a social I.Q. test–the author dares readers to improve their score before the “final exam” given at the end of the book. Raise Your Social I.Q. shows readers how to live better, happier, and nicer, and how to help rid the planet of bad manners and incivility.

Using the lessons of Noah’s ark, Michael Levine, founder and owner of Levine Communications, based in Los Angeles, offers a lighthearted approach to the serious business of taking stock, taking control, and transforming calamity into opportunity.

Lessons include “Don’t Miss the Boat: The Lesson of Opportunity,” “Stay Shipshape: The Lesson of Healthy Balance,” and “Stay True to Your Course: The Lesson of Character,” and more.