Thank you for visiting the Brand Blog, a “Marketing Soap Box.” Marketing book reviews, brand observations, marketing rants and raves. I hope that you find some good information here. Please provide your comments. Share and enjoy…
Author: Mark Hughes
Subject: Getting Talked About!
Take Away Point: Rise above the clutter! With fortune cookies? Yes, with fortune cookies! Your fortune is on one side, and an advertisement is on the other… Dinner discussion anyone? This book is about using your creativity to get talked about, it provides insights into making your company’s messages entertaining, fascinating, and newsworthy. Buzz marketing starts conversations. This book says that the secrets of word of mouth marketing are the secrets to your marketing success. This brings to mind the Oscar Wilde quote on my business card: "The only thing worse than being talked about, is not being talked about."
Author: Mark Stevens
Subject: Return on Investment
Take Away Point: Every dollar you put into marketing must bring in your company one dollar plus of revenue, "mind share" and other less-transparent and accountable marketing methodologies are questioned in this book. Test, execute, monitor and hold accountable is the mantra of this publication.
Author: Seth Godin
Subject: Stand Out Like a Purple Cow
Take Away Point: A book that many people talk about, by an author that many people talk about. This book has become a must read for people doing business. The Purple Cow discusses offering and marketing products and services that are truly unique and that stand out from others in the market place, like a Purple Cow would stand out in a field of black and white spotted ones!
Author: Seth Godin
Subject: Your Idea Spreading, Person, to Person, to…
Take Away Point: This book discusses the use of the Internet to help you create communities around your ideas, products, and services. The book shares how one can engage people to share your ideas, products, and services with one another in a manner that spreads like a virus.
Author: Seth Godin
Subject: Web Site Best Practices
Take Away Point: This book shares a number of solid best practices for making your website an outstanding direct marketing piece. The book shows web site pitfalls and common mistakes and how to avoid them.
Author: Alex Wipperfurth
Subject: Branding, Marketing Communications
Take Away Point: The author says in this book, let the market "hijack your brand" the market ultimately owns your brand and you don’t. The author talks about "letting go" and collaborating with your customers in the evolution of your brand. He suggests that you "hire your audience." One example in this book that was close to home for me, was the 2002 sales boom of Pabst Blue Ribbon that grew out of the subcultures of bike messengers and skateboarders and the like. During about a three year period, there was something special about puffy trucker hats, Dickies, and PBR. They just fit together nicely. Many times that 20-something crowd loves quantity over quality, PBR "tall boys" and "pounders" were particularly desirable. Being a skater myself, I skated at Philadelphia’s FDR skate park with the "older dudes" sticking to my Lord Chesterfield. Ahhh, consumer subcultures…
Author: Martin Lindstorm
Subject: Branding Using The Senses
Take Away Point: Consumer’s Bond = Sensory Bond. This book shows you how to create models and diagrams to plot your brand’s sensory attributes and placement. Bottom line, emotions compel consumers. The five senses dramatically impact our emotions. An overwhelming amount of new car purchasers site "New Car Smell" as one of the most gratifying aspects of their purchase. I love the Ben Franklin quote in the front of this book. You can see from my web site home page that I am fond of quotes that speak universal truths. Franklin’s quote is: "Tell me and I’ll forget, show me and I might remember, involve me and I’ll understand. Don’t underestimate the way your brand "smells"!
Author: Shari Thurow
Subject: Best Practices for Search Engine Placement
Take Away Point: Where do you rank in Google and Yahoo when you search the Internet for your products or services? If you are not high on the list of results, you are missing out. This book provides some great insights into the not so easy to answer question of, "how can I do better with my web site’s placement on the major search engines." I use the information found in this book daily to help my clients…
Author: Graphic Artists Guild
Subject: Design and Marketing Standards and Costs
Take Away Point: This is a must have book for people like myself offering design and marketing services. If you are working with a design or marketing professional you can consult this book to gain a better understanding the scope of the services and fees that are associated with the work.