Don't know anything 'bout birthin' babies, but . . .

But I feel like I just did!  The book on consumer-brand relationships that I have been working on for over two years is off to the publisher, and I feel like I used to on the first day of summer vacation.

The book, Consumer-Brand Relationships: Insights for Theory and Practice, eveolved from papers presented at the First International Colloquium on Consumer-Brand Relationships.  My co-editors, Susan Fournier, Marc Fetscherin, and T.C. Melewar, will share my excitement, I'm sure, to see this book finally on bookshelves and Internet booksellers everywhere.  It is a fascinating compilation of works from brand scholars all over the world and provides some incredible insights into the still relatively new field of consumer-brand relationships.

In this book, we made every effort to ensure that the material is timely and provocative as it addresses topics that include the role of brands in identity construction, negative brand relationships, various relationship analoques, brand flings, brand love, and so much more.  Especially unique to our book is the inclusion of several chapters from the marketing practitioner's standpoint.  Whether addressing the issue of firing customers or the difficulty of bringing the entire organization on-board for relationship-building promotion, these chapters provide a persepective rarely found in association with academic scholarship.

I know I sound like a proud parent right now, but I really do believe in the value of this book.  And, Susan, I think we both deserve a cigar about now.  How about you?

Consumer-Brand Relationships: Insights for Theory and Practice will be available around the beginning of next year from Routledge.