The Brand Gap


Marty Neumeier - 2003
    - Quick, easy approach and a wealth of case studies give readers a crash course in the difference between good and bad branding. - Tons of tips and real-world advice plus a new branding dictionary help readers turn brand strategy into brand design and execution.

Corporate Communication: A Guide to Theory and Practice


Joep P. Cornelissen - 2008
    The book focuses correctly on the strategic management perspective necessary for an understanding of this area. It will be of enormous help to practitioners and academics in their quest to understand what may well be the most important functional area for most corporations in the coming years′ - Paul A Argenti, Professor of Management and Corporate Communication, The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, USA `This is the text that practitioners, academics, and students in corporate communications have been waiting for. The book is accessible, comprehensive and is well balanced in discussing both theoretical and practical perspectives upon corporate communications. It is simply a must-read for those who want to be at the cutting edge of corporate communications′ - Phil Harris, Professor of Marketing, University of Otago and International Director of the European Centre for Public Affairs in Brussels

The Marketing Agency Blueprint: The Handbook for Building Hybrid Pr, Seo, Content, Advertising, and Web Firms


Paul Roetzer - 2011
    The old guard, rooted in tradition and resistant to change, will fall and new leaders will emerge. Hybrid marketing agencies that are more nimble, tech savvy, and collaborative will redefine the industry. Digital services will be engrained into the DNA of every agency and blended with traditional methods to execute integrated campaigns. The depth, versatility, and drive of their talent will be the cornerstones of organizations that pursue a higher purpose. The Marketing Agency Blueprint is a practical and candid guide that presents 10 rules for building such a hybrid agency.The new marketing agency model will create and nurture diverse recurring revenue streams through a mix of services, consulting, training, education, publishing, and software sales. It will use efficiency and productivity, not billable hours, as the essential drivers of profitability. Its value and success will be measured by outcomes, not outputs. Its strength and stability will depend on a willingness to be in a perpetual state of change, and an ability to execute and adapt faster than competitors. The Marketing Agency Blueprint demonstrates how to:• Generate more qualified leads, win clients with set pricing and service packages, and secure more long-term retainers.• Create diverse and recurring revenue streams.• Develop highly efficient management systems and more effective account teams.• Deliver greater results and value to clients, and win their loyalty.This is the future of the marketing-services industry. A future defined and led by underdogs and innovators. You have the opportunity to be at the forefront of the transformation.

Start-up Nation: The Story of Israel's Economic Miracle


Dan Senor - 2009
    Start-Up Nation addresses the trillion dollar question: How is it that Israel -- a country of 7.1 million, only 60 years old, surrounded by enemies, in a constant state of war since its founding, with no natural resources-- produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful, and stable nations like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada and the UK? With the savvy of foreign policy insiders, Senor and Singer examine the lessons of the country's adversity-driven culture, which flattens hierarchy and elevates informality-- all backed up by government policies focused on innovation. In a world where economies as diverse as Ireland, Singapore and Dubai have tried to re-create the "Israel effect", there are entrepreneurial lessons well worth noting. As America reboots its own economy and can-do spirit, there's never been a better time to look at this remarkable and resilient nation for some impressive, surprising clues.

Management Accounting


Anthony A. Atkinson - 1994
      APPROACH: Atkinson is a  managerially-oriented book that focuses on both quantitative and qualitative aspects of classical and contemporary managerial accounting.   COMPETITORS: Garrison, MH;

The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business


Josh Kaufman - 2010
    The consensus is clear: MBA programs are a waste of time and money. Even the elite schools offer outdated assembly-line educations about profit-and-loss statements and PowerPoint presentations. After two years poring over sanitized case studies, students are shuffled off into middle management to find out how business really works.Josh Kaufman has made a business out of distilling the core principles of business and delivering them quickly and concisely to people at all stages of their careers. His blog has introduced hundreds of thousands of readers to the best business books and most powerful business concepts of all time. In The Personal MBA, he shares the essentials of sales, marketing, negotiation, strategy, and much more.True leaders aren't made by business schools-they make themselves, seeking out the knowledge, skills, and experiences they need to succeed. Read this book and in one week you will learn the principles it takes most people a lifetime to master.

StoryBranding: Creating Stand-Out Brands Through The Power of Story


Jim Signorelli - 2011
    See the updated version StoryBranding 2.0, published in March 2014, as this one will soon be out of print. Having worked on many famous brands as an advertising executive, Jim Signorelli has found that today, in order for advertising to be truly effective, the brand being promoted must work the way a good story works. Many brands continue to get in their own way with an over-reliance on editorialized benefits. "Today, that's  a death-wish," says Signorelli. "To remain competitive, brands must provide consumers with story themes they can relate to, identify with, and share with their tribes."   There are a number of books that discuss the parallels between stories and brands. But until this book was written, few, if any provide practical advice on how to apply story thinking to branding. Whether your brand is a product, service, or yourself, you'll be taken through the 6 steps that every brand should take in order to find it's oft-hidden story, the one that will make it most attractive to its audience. An easy, entertaining, and educational read, critics are saying this revolutionary book on branding is a must-read.

Selling the Invisible: A Field Guide to Modern Marketing


Harry Beckwith - 1997
    A comprehensive guide to service marketing furnishes tips and advice on how one can apply one's business knowledge to any area of sales and marketing, from a home-based consultancy to a multinational brokerage firm.

Guerrilla Marketing: Easy and Inexpensive Strategies for Making Big Profits from Your Small Business


Jay Conrad Levinson - 1984
    Based on hundreds of solid ideas that really work, Levinson’s philosophy has given birth to a new way of learning about market share and how to gain it. In this completely updated and expanded fourth edition, Levinson offers a new arsenal of weaponry for small-business success including* strategies for marketing on the Internet (explaining when and precisely how to use it)* tips for using new technology, such as podcasting and automated marketing* programs for targeting prospects and cultivating repeat and referral business* management lessons in the age of telecommuting and freelance employeesGuerrilla Marketing is the entrepreneur’s marketing bible -- and the book every small-business owner should have on his or her shelf.

Guide to Managerial Communication (Guide to Business Communication Series)


Mary Munter - 1982
    Guide to Managerial Communication is a clear, concise and practical reference to effective written and oral communication in a managerial, business, government, or professional context.

Sticky Branding: 12.5 Ways to Stand Out, Attract Customers, and Grow an Incredible Brand


Jeremy Miller - 2014
    Companies like Apple, Nike, and Starbucks have made themselves as recognizable as they are successful. But large companies are not the only ones who can stand out. It’s achievable for any business willing to break away from the industry norms and find innovative ways to serve its customers.Based on a decade of research into what makes companies successful, Sticky Branding’s 12.5 guiding principles are drawn from hundreds of interviews with CEOs and business owners who have excelled within their industries. By following their examples your company will:- Attract more customers- Sell more, faster- Inspire employee engagement- Become immune to the competition- Earn higher profitsSticky Branding is your branding playbook. It provides ideas, stories and exercises to make your company stand out, attract customers, and grow into an incredible brand.

Market-Based Management


Roger J. Best - 1996
    Strategic, applied, and performance-oriented. While most textbooks in this area stress concepts and theory, Market-Based Management, 4e, incorporates a more strategic and applied approach. External performance metrics of a business are emphasized and actual measurement tools are provided. Its streamlined organization makes it ideal for courses in which outside cases and readings will be assigned.

Digital Marketing: Strategy, Implementation and Practice


Dave Chaffey - 2012
    Digital Marketing links marketing theory with practical business experience through case studies and interviews from cutting edge companies such as eBay and Facebook, to help students understand digital marketing in the real world.

In Search Of Excellence: Lessons from America's Best-Run Companies


Thomas J. Peters - 1982
    The "Greatest Business Book of All Time" (Bloomsbury UK), In Search of Excellence has long been a must-have for the boardroom, business school, and bedside table.Based on a study of forty-three of America's best-run companies from a diverse array of business sectors, In Search of Excellence describes eight basic principles of management -- action-stimulating, people-oriented, profit-maximizing practices -- that made these organizations successful.This phenomenal bestseller features a new Authors' Note, and reintroduces these vital principles in an accessible and practical way for today's management reader.

Visual Hammer


Laura Ries - 2012
    Marketing plans, marketing slogans, marketing messages are all word-oriented with visuals used mostly for “decoration” purposes.Visual Hammer is the first book to document the superiority of a visual approach to marketing. Some examples: The Marlboro cowboy, the Coca-Cola contour bottle, the Corona lime and many, many others.But here’s the twist. A visual hammer is not enough. What a brand also needs is a verbal nail. “Masculinity” in the case of the Marlboro cowboy. “The real thing” in the case of Coke’s contour bottle, “Mexican beer” in the case of the Corona lime.It’s the two working together, a verbal nail and a visual hammer, that can create a powerful brand.Consider what the pink ribbon has done for Nancy Brinker. In 1982, Ms. Brinker started a foundation to fight breast cancer in memory of her sister, Susan G. Komen. Since then, the foundation has raised nearly $2 billion and is the world’s-largest non-profit source of money to combat breast cancer.Then there’s Aflac, the company that brought us the duck. In 2000, the first year the duck was advertised, sales went up 29%. The second year, 28%. The third year, 18%.Before the duck, Aflac had a name recognition of 12%. Today, it’s 94%. (The duck is the hammer and the “quack” is the verbal nail. It’s the integration of the two that makes the brand memorable.)Color often plays a role in creating memorable visual hammers. Tiffany’s blue box, the Masters green jacket, Nexium’s purple pill, Christian Louboutin’s red soles.So can the product itself. The watchband of a Rolex, the grille of a Rolls-Royce, the Absolut bottle, the Stella Artois glass, the polo player on a Ralph Lauren shirt.Symbols can act as hammers to visualize “invisible” products. Travelers’ red umbrella, Wells Fargo’s stagecoach, Geico’s gecko.Company founders can also act as hammers. Colonel Sanders, Papa John, Frank Perdue, Orville Redenbacher, Paul Newman.In spite of these and many other examples, why do so many marketing people work exclusively with words when the real power is with visuals? Well, words are important, too. The objective of a marketing program is to "own a word in the mind.” Therefore it’s important to find the right word as well as the right visual.The interplay between pictures and words is like a hammer and a nail. If the objective is to nail two pieces of wood together, why fool around with a hammer? Why not just put the wood together with a nail?That's the problem of marketing. Your most useful tool is a visual hammer, but the nail comes first. Unless you pick the right nail, all the creative hammers in the world are not going to help very much.Visual Hammer is a book that will help you nail your brand into consumers’ minds.