Book picks similar to
Cutting Edge Advertising: How to Create the World's Best for Brands in the 21st Century by Jim Aitchison
advertising
business
marketing
design
Eating the Big Fish: How Challenger Brands Can Compete Against Brand Leaders
Adam Morgan - 1999
Best in the marketplace." -Steve Hayden, President, Worldwide Brand Services, Ogilvy & Mather "In 1986, the Levi's(R) Dockers(R) brand challenged the biggest fish in the men's apparel sea, Haggar. And we beat the pants off them! In his new book, Adam Morgan adroitly presents many of the same fundamental marketing principles which worked so well for us. A must read for marketing professionals." -Steve Goldstein, V.P. Marketing & Research, Levi's Brand U.S.A. Years ago, Avis was a little fish in the car rental industry. Fearing the company would be swallowed up if they didn't "try harder," Avis boldly announced its #2 status to the world through advertising-and the rest is history. Why has this approach become a marketing legend? Because there are more people who can relate to being #2, 3, or even 4, than can claim they know what it's like to be the Big Fish. There are plenty of little fish out there, circling in schools around the brand leaders they so desperately wish to surpass. Squeezed by new competition, a retreating consumer, and aggressive retailing practices, marketers of second- and third-rank brands are struggling to survive in a business environment where they have fewer resources and less control than ever before. But instead of watching-and copying-every move the Big Fish makes, these "Challenger" brands need their own set of marketing rules if they have any hopes of staying afloat and competing effectively against the leader. Eating the Big Fish is the first book that sets out to define those rules. Adam Morgan offers an innovative mental and strategic framework for those who find themselves in this new, hostile middle ground, looking for aggressive growth against the market leader. Morgan, the Joint European Planning Director of TBWA (the international advertising agency behind the campaigns for such brands as Absolut vodka, Apple computers, and Sony Playstation), has examined in detail forty of the most successful Challenger brands of the last ten years -new or relaunched brands which have achieved rapid growth (and fame) with limited marketing resources. He outlines the reasons why Challengers must think differently in order to survive, offering hands-on advice, plentiful examples, and invaluable information to help a Challenger learn how to swim out of the shadow of the Big Fish. At the heart of the book are the Eight Credos of Challenger Brands -Morgan's analysis of the common marketing strands that these Challengers seem to share, which range in scope from the need to project who you are and what you believe in (#2, Build a Lighthouse Identity) to insights about the organizational structure and focus in such companies and brands (#8, Become Idea-Centered, Rather Than Consumer-Centered). Morgan fully analyzes each Credo, discussing in detail the marketing strategy and behavior of the specific Challenger brands that have shaped the rules. He provides case studies that include both his agency's clients and other well-known brands, such as Lexus, Oakley, Fox TV, Energizer, Virgin Atlantic, Swatch, Nissan, and more. Morgan then draws the Credos together into a "Challenger Strategic Program" that can be applied to the reader's own market and brand challenge, offering a proposed outline for a two-day Off-Site Program that will attempt to kick-start the Challenger process for a core group within any marketing or management team. In addition, Morgan looks at the great Challengers of the last ten years who have gone on to become brand leaders, and shows how even the rules of brand leadership have changed -why staying #1 now means, in fact, thinking and behaving like a #2. Anyone can follow a leader. It takes a smart company to go up against the Big Fish, and Morgan's innovative, strategic program will show even the littlest fish how to make a meal out of the competition.
Emotional Branding: The New Paradigm for Connecting Brands to People
Marc Gobé - 2001
The “10 Commandments of Emotional Branding” have become a new benchmark for marketing and creative professionals, emotional branding has become a coined term by many top industry experts to express the new dynamic that exists now between brands and people. The emergence of social media, consumer empowerment and interaction were all clearly predicted in this book 10 years ago around the new concept of a consumer democracy. In this updated edition, Marc Gobé covers how social media helped elect Barack Obama to the White House, how the idea behind Twitter is transforming our civilization, and why new generations are re-inventing business, commerce, and management as we know it by leveraging the power of the web. In studying the role of women as "shoppers in chief, "and defining the need to look at the marketplace by recognizing differences in origins, cultures, and choices, Emotional Branding foresaw the break up of mass media to more targeted and culturally sensitive modes of communications. As the first marketing book ever to study the role of the LGBTQ community as powerful influencers for many brands, Emotional Branding opened the door to a renewed sensitivity toward traditional research that privilege individuality and the power of the margins to be at the center of any marketing strategy. A whole segment in the book looks at the role of the senses in branding and design. The opportunity that exists in understanding how we feel about a brand determines how much we want to buy. By exploring the 5 senses, Emotional Branding shows how some brands have built up their businesses by engaging in a sensory interaction with their consumers. Emotional Branding explores how effective consumer interaction needs to be about senses and feelings, emotions and sentiments. Not unlike the Greek culture that used philosophy, poetry, music, and the art of discussion and debate to stimulate the imagination, the concept of emotional branding establishes the forum in which people can convene and push the limits of their creativity. Through poetry the Greeks invented mathematics, the basis of science, sculpture, and drama. Unless we focus on humanizing the branding process we will lose the powerful emotional connection people have with brands. Critics hailed Emotional Branding as a breakthrough and a fresh approach to building brands. Design in this book is considered a new media, the web a place where people will share information and communicate, architecture a part of the brand building process, and people as the most powerful element of any branding strategy. Most importantly, it emphasizes the need to transcend the traditional language of marketing--from one based on statistics and data to a visually compelling new form of communication that fosters creativity and innovation.
Damn Good Advice (For People with Talent!): How To Unleash Your Creative Potential by America's Master Communicator, George Lois
George Lois - 2012
Offering indispensle lessons, practical advice, facts, anecdotes and inspiration, this book is a timeless creative bible for all those looking to succeed in life, business and creativity. These are key lessons derived from the incomparle life of 'Master Communicator' George Lois, the original Mad Man of Madison Avenue. Written and compiled by the man The Wall Street Journal called "prodigy, enfant terrible, founder of agencies, creator of legends," each step is borne from a passion to succeed and a disdain for the status quo.Organised into inspirational, bite-sized pointers, each page offers fresh insight into the sources of success, from identifying your heroes to identifying yourself. The ideas, images and illustrations presented in this book are fresh, witty and in-your-face. Whether it's communicating your point in nanosecond, creating an explosive portfolio or making your presence felt, no one is better placed than George Lois to teach you the process of creativity.Poignant, punchy and to-the-point, Damn Good Advice (For People With Talent!) is a must have for anyone on a quest for success.
The Experience Economy: Work Is Theater & Every Business a Stage
B. Joseph Pine II - 1999
We are on the threshold, say authors Pine and Gilmore, of the Experience Economy, a new economic era in which all businesses must orchestrate memorable events for their customers. The Experience Economy offers a creative, highly original, and yet eminently practical strategy for companies to script and stage the experiences that will transform the value of what they produce. From America Online to Walt Disney, the authors draw from a rich and varied mix of examples that showcase businesses in the midst of creating personal experiences for both consumers and businesses. The authors urge managers to look beyond traditional pricing factors like time and cost, and consider charging for the value of the transformation that an experience offers. Goods and services, say Pine and Gilmore, are no longer enough. Experiences and transformations are the basis for future economic growth, and The Experience Economy is the script from which managers can begin to direct their own transformations.
The Idea Writers: Copywriting in a New Media and Marketing Era
Teressa Iezzi - 2010
A memorable slogan has been the cornerstone of every great ad campaign. In the past, writing one great headline could launch a career. But today's advertising campaigns are interactive, multi-platform and ongoing, and the copywriter's canvas is vast. At any given time, a copywriter may be conceiving a video game, writing a TV show, maintaining a Twitter feed, creating a mobile app or an interactive installation or, yes, writing a headline or a TV script. While the best copywriters have always been brand storytellers, now that story can play out anywhere. The digital revolution put control in the hands of the people - the audience - now no longer just consumers, but active participants in a brand's story. The art and science of advertising has gone from creating one-way messages to engaging audiences in ongoing conversations. A new ad landscape means new opportunities for writers who now have the incredible opportunity to push brand narrative to places it's never been before and to actually create something so useful or entertaining that it generates its own audience. It also means that many of the rules of the past - while exceedingly worthy of study - are insufficient to guide the modern copywriter. Co-published with AdvertisingAge, The Idea Writers outlines the changing landscape of the advertising industry while providing useful how-to advice. Filled with interviews from top creatives including: Greg Hahn, Nick Law, Jeff Benjamin, Tim Delaney, Rei Inamoto, Lee Clow, Steve Simpson, Rick Condos, David Droga, Gerry Graf, Ty Montague, Calle and Pelle Sjonell, PJ Pereira, David Abbott and many more!
Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable
Seth Godin - 2003
You're either remarkable or invisible. Make your choice. What do Starbucks and JetBlue and KrispyKreme and Apple and DutchBoy and Kensington and Zespri and Hard Candy have that you don't? How do they continue to confound critics and achieve spectacular growth, leaving behind former tried-and true brands to gasp their last? Face it, the checklist of tired 'P's marketers have used for decades to get their product noticed - Pricing, Promotion, Publicity, to name a few - aren't working anymore. There's an exceptionally important 'P' that has to be added to the list. It's Purple Cow. Cows, after you've seen one, or two, or ten, are boring. A Purple Cow, though...now that would be something. Purple Cow describes something phenomenal, something counterintuitive and exciting and flat out unbelievable. Every day, consumers come face to face with a lot of boring stuff-a lot of brown cows - but you can bet they won't forget a Purple Cow. And it's not a marketing function that you can slap on to your product or service. Purple Cow is inherent. It's built right in, or it's not there. Period. In Purple Cow, Seth Godin urges you to put a Purple Cow into everything you build, and everything you do, to create something truly noticeable. It's a manifesto for marketers who want to help create products that are worth marketing in the first place. Description from Amazon.com
Bigger Than This: How to Turn Any Venture Into An Admired Brand
Fabian Geyrhalter - 2018
And they are based on commodity products or services.Following the success of his #1 bestselling book, “How to Launch a Brand,” acclaimed brand strategist Fabian Geyrhalter is back with an enlightening new book that digs deep into today’s new world of brand creation. “Bigger Than This” challenges companies – from startups to Fortune 100s – to (re)discover their spark and connect with today’s consumers on a deeper level.In “Bigger Than This,” Geyrhalter analyzes brands that are based on commodity products – watches, socks, shoes, fish – yet they quickly turn into beloved brands. He emphasizes the importance of storytelling, encouraging brands to embrace 8 simple traits these brands showcase and offers specific, actionable commandments that any brand can implement – story, belief, cause, heritage, delight, transparency, solidarity and individuality. Instead of playing “dress-up,” he wants businesses to uncover the roots of their ventures and share honest, empathetic stories that resonate with consumers, creating a loyal following that leads to strong, successful brands.Delightfully concise and refreshing, Geyrhalter draws on his personal experience of having helped shape over 60 brands, and intentionally (and noticeably) steps away from marketing fluff and business lingo that often clouds the integrity of marketing books.
Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content
Ann Handley - 2014
If you are on social media, you are in marketing. And that means that we are all relying on our words to carry our marketing messages. We are all writers.Yeah, but who cares about writing anymore? In a time-challenged world dominated by short and snappy, by click-bait headlines and Twitter streams and Instagram feeds and gifs and video and Snapchat and YOLO and LOL and #tbt. . . does the idea of focusing on writing seem pedantic and ordinary?Actually, writing matters more now, not less. Our online words are our currency; they tell our customers who we are.Our writing can make us look smart or it can make us look stupid. It can make us seem fun, or warm, or competent, or trustworthy. But it can also make us seem humdrum or discombobulated or flat-out boring.That means you've got to choose words well, and write with economy and the style and honest empathy for your customers. And it means you put a new value on an often-overlooked skill in content marketing: How to write, and how to tell a true story really, really well. That's true whether you're writing a listicle or the words on a Slideshare deck or the words you're reading right here, right now...And so being able to communicate well in writing isn't just nice; it's necessity. And it's also the oft-overlooked cornerstone of nearly all our content marketing.In Everybody Writes, top marketing veteran Ann Handley gives expert guidance and insight into the process and strategy of content creation, production and publishing, with actionable how-to advice designed to get results.These lessons and rules apply across all of your online assets — like web pages, home page, landing pages, blogs, email, marketing offers, and on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social media. Ann deconstructs the strategy and delivers a practical approach to create ridiculously compelling and competent content. It's designed to be the go-to guide for anyone creating or publishing any kind of online content — whether you're a big brand or you're small and solo.Sections include:
How to write better. (Or, for "adult-onset writers": How to hate writing less.)
Easy grammar and usage rules tailored for business in a fun, memorable way. (Enough to keep you looking sharp, but not too much to overwhelm you.)
Giving your audience the gift of your true story, told well. Empathy and humanity and inspiration are key here, so the book covers that, too.
Best practices for creating credible, trustworthy content steeped in some time-honored rules of solid journalism. Because publishing content and talking directly to your customers is, at its heart, a privilege.
"Things Marketers Write": The fundamentals of 17 specific kinds of content that marketers are often tasked with crafting.
Content Tools: The sharpest tools you need to get the job done.
Traditional marketing techniques are no longer enough. Everybody Writes is a field guide for the smartest businesses who know that great content is the key to thriving in this digital world.
Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences
Nancy Duarte - 2010
So why then do so many audiences leave feeling like they've wasted their time? All too often, presentations don't resonate with the audience and move them to transformative action.Just as the author's first book helped presenters become visual communicators, Resonate helps you make a strong connection with your audience and lead them to purposeful action. The author's approach is simple: building a presentation today is a bit like writing a documentary. Using this approach, you'll convey your content with passion, persuasion, and impact.Author has a proven track record, including having created the slides in Al Gore's Oscar-winning An Inconvenient TruthFocuses on content development methodologies that are not only fundamental but will move people to action Upends the usual paradigm by making the audience the hero and the presenter the mentor Shows how to use story techniques of conflict and resolution Presentations don't have to be boring ordeals. You can make them fun, exciting, and full of meaning. Leave your audiences energized and ready to take action with Resonate.
Disruption: Overturning Conventions and Shaking Up the Marketplace
Jean-Marie Dru - 1996
Just look at any of the breakthrough business ideas of the last thirty years-from Federal Express overnight delivery to Saturn's fixed sticker price-and you'll see a perfect example of the principle of disruption in action. Still, do you really understand what makes these ideas great? On an intuitive level, maybe, but can you articulate it clearly, reproduce it to create your own business breakthroughs, and make it an integral part of how your company operates? Probably not-unless, of course, you're already familiar with the principles and practices spelled out in Disruption, the groundbreaking new book by global advertising and marketing authority Jean-Marie Dru. To put it simply, disruption is about uncovering the culturally embedded biases and conventions that shape standard approaches to business thinking and get in the way of clear, creative thinking. It's about shattering those biases and conventions and setting creativity free to forge a radical new vision of a product, brand, or service. It's about spearheading change rather than reacting to it. In Disruption, Dru shows you how to harness the enormous potential of this concept. He introduces innovative strategies for breaking down creative barriers and shows you how to analyze traditional approaches from new perspectives. Next, he provides valuable tools for identifying and cataloging conventions, including what if, multicultural analysis, and the disruption bank. He then demonstrates-with the help of dozens of galvanizing examples from around the world-how to apply this knowledge systematically to create innovative competitive strategies, marketing campaigns, and operations plans that can revitalize your company or department. Disruption is must reading for all advertising and marketing professionals, as well as business people who understand the value of creativity. Praise for Disruption Dru offers not just a convincing context but a successful methodology for breaking out of creative ruts. There's nothing like stirring up a little turbulence to get new thoughts flying. In this book, Dru tells how to pump new energy into brands, with fresh, even revolutionary thinking. -Aldo Papone Senior Advisor, American Express Company Dru's advertising theories in Disruption are nontraditional, which is exactly what you need to regain the interest and trust of today's consumers. -Scott Bedbury Senior Vice President, Marketing, Starbucks Coffee Company Disruption is all about risk-taking, trusting your intuition, and rejecting the way things are supposed to be. Disruption goes way beyond advertising, it forces you to think about where you want your brand to go and how to get there. -Richard Branson Founder and Chairman of Virgin Group of Companies. I read Disruption with admiration and recognition. The neat marketing premise of disruption, as articulated, is brilliant. The case studies are compelling . . . making this an unusually easy read. -Owen J. Lipstein Editor-in-Chief, Psychology Today, Spy, Mother Earth News. I enjoyed reading Jean-Marie Dru's book and found myself nodding my head rather than nodding off. It's a timely and well-argued reminder of the need to be different. -David Abbott Chairman, Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO Ltd. Dru offers a truly absorbing compendium of the what, how, and why of creating advertising that takes consumers by surprise-advertising that is different but effective. He offers a distinctive approach to discovering unconventional but sensible ideas for brands and for the advertising that supports them -in print, TV, or the Internet. -Stephen A. Greyser Professor of Marketing/Communications, Harvard Business School. Disruption is a catalyst of the imagination, an invaluable guide for rejecting conventionality, ideas which have always been at the heart of MTV. -Bill Roedy CEO, MTV International
Alchemy: The Surprising Power of Ideas That Don't Make Sense
Rory Sutherland - 2019
Wonderfully applicable to everything in life, and funny as hell.’ Nassim Nicholas TalebTo be brilliant, you have to be irrationalWhy is Red Bull so popular – even though everyone hates the taste? Why do countdown boards on platforms take away the pain of train delays? And why do we prefer stripy toothpaste?We think we are rational creatures. Economics and business rely on the assumption that we make logical decisions based on evidence.But we aren’t, and we don’t.In many crucial areas of our lives, reason plays a vanishingly small part. Instead we are driven by unconscious desires, which is why placebos are so powerful. We are drawn to the beautiful, the extravagant and the absurd – from lavish wedding invitations to tiny bottles of the latest fragrance. So if you want to influence people’s choices you have to bypass reason. The best ideas don’t make rational sense: they make you feel more than they make you think.Rory Sutherland is the Ogilvy advertising legend whose TED Talks have been viewed nearly 7 million times. In his first book he blends cutting-edge behavioural science, jaw-dropping stories and a touch of branding magic, on his mission to turn us all into idea alchemists. The big problems we face every day, whether as an individual or in society, could very well be solved by letting go of logic and embracing the irrational.
Designing Brand Identity: An Essential Guide for the Entire Branding Team
Alina Wheeler - 2003
From researching the competition to translating the vision of the CEO, to designing and implementing an integrated brand identity programme, the meticulous development process of designing a brand identity is presented through a highly visible step-by-step approach in five phases.
Brand Portfolio Strategy: Creating Relevance, Differentiation, Energy, Leverage, and Clarity
David A. Aaker - 2004
Building on case studies of world-class brands such as Dell, Disney, Microsoft, Sony, Dove, Intel, CitiGroup, and PowerBar, Aaker demonstrates how powerful, cohesive brand strategies have enabled managers to revitalize brands, support business growth, and create discipline in confused, bloated portfolios of master brands, subbrands, endorser brands, co-brands, and brand extensions. Aaker offers readers step-by-step advice on what to do when confronting scenarios such as the following: • Brands are underleveraged • The business strategy is at risk because of inadequate brand platforms • The business faces a relevance threat caused by emerging subcategories • The firm's brands are tired and bland • Strategy is paralyzed by a lack of priority among the brands • Brands are cluttered and confusing to both customers and employees • The firm needs to move into the super-premium or value arenas to create margin or sales volume • Margin pressures require points of differentiation Renowned brand guru Aaker demonstrates that assuring that each brand in the portfolio has a clear role and actively reinforces and supports the other portfolio brands will profoundly affect the firm's profitability. Brand Portfolio Strategy is required reading not only for brand managers but for all managers with bottom-line responsibility to their shareholders.
Persuasive Copywriting: Using Psychology to Influence, Engage and Sell
Andy Maslen - 2015
Using psychology, emotion, and a pinch of neuroscience, Andy Maslen, an experienced copywriter and marketer, presents 25 psychological techniques, 110 words and phrases that trigger emotions, over 10 real-world case studies, and 75 practical exercises to help practitioners and students who have already mastered the basics, write enjoyable, compelling copy which stands out in today's cluttered marketplace. Maslen covers topics such as: how to make spending money look like a privilege, the ancient Greek secret of emotionally engaging copy, when to use pictures instead of words, how to use the right tone of voice, and avoiding common copywriting traps.Ideal for experienced copywriters who want to stay ahead of the game as well as new copywriters catching up with their more experienced peers, Persuasive Copywriting helps readers improve their copywriting skills and perfect the emotion-driven sale.
How Brands Grow: What Marketers Don't Know
Byron Sharp - 2010
Tackling issues such as how brands grow, how advertising really works, what price promotions really do & how loyalty programs really affect loyalty.