Marketing and advertising books

Citation

(2003), "Marketing and advertising books", Measuring Business Excellence, Vol. 7 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/mbe.2003.26707dab.004

Marketing and advertising books

Marketing and advertising books

Branded: the buying and selling of teenagersQuart, A. Perseus 2004 £11.50 (UK)

Paints a bleak and disturbing picture of the marketing forces at work on the minds of today's teenagers. Includes plenty of examples and statistics, which appear to make a persuasive argument for the malevolence of marketers, but the text is more a damning indictment of society than of marketing itself: people are portrayed as victims of clever marketing techniques, yet the truth is no-one is forcing people to buy the brands.

Brand failures: the truth about the 100 biggest branding mistakes of all timeHaig, M. Kogan Page 2003 $29.95 (USA)

Shows how easy it is to launch an unsuccessful brand, mainly using such familiar examples as the Ford Edsel or new Coke. Does include a few up-to-date examples, such as Enron and HearSay, although in both cases it is questionable whether the brand was at fault – surely the accountants and the tabloids respectively were to blame. Forms, nevertheless, a lively, engaging book full of "what not to do" lessons.

How customers think: essential insights into the mind of the marketZaltman, G. Harvard Business School Press 2003 $29.95 (USA)

Recounts how, when Coke tested its new formulation, in taste-test after taste-test, consumers chose New Coke but when it finally hit the shelf they rejected it and felt betrayed by Coke for the switch. Suggests that New Coke failed – like the approximately 80 percent of all new products that fizzle within six months or fall short of projected profits – because Coca-Cola failed to understand the psychological and emotional bonds that consumers had to Coca-Cola, feelings they could not put into words in a survey or focus group. Explains how to dig deeper and unearth the hidden customer's mind that holds the priceless information that most marketers miss. Draws on psychology, linguistics, sociology and neuroscience, among other disciplines, and gives readers a crash course in how the brain and the mind work. Shows what marketers can do to plug into and affect the decision-making process of customers. Outlines new research tools, including the Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique (ZMET), and demonstrates how companies can use them to get clues from the subconscious when developing new products and finding new solutions, long before competitors do.

Marketing insights from A to Z: 80 concepts every manager needs to knowKotler, P. Wiley 2003 £17.50 (UK)

Revisits 80 fundamental marketing concepts, providing refreshing insights into familiar themes, pointing out misguided practice and suggesting new approaches. Collates the latest thinking and conveys it succinctly, with force and conviction, and occasionally with humor. Quotes widely, and gives great definitions of the concepts, cutting through the dogma and the drivel to give memorable phrases that really encapsulate the issue. Provides the seasoned pro with a handy reference guide, and summarizes the latest thinking for the novice.