Baked In: Creating Products and Businesses That Market Themselves [Hardcover]

Alex Bogusky (Author), John Winsor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 13, 2009

The old way of selling was to create safe, ordinary products and combine them with mass marketing. The new way is to create truly innovative products and build the marketing right in. But how does a brand make the transition from old to new? According to advertising gurus Alex Bogusky and John Winsor, it starts with the realization that the message is not the product, the product is the message. In Baked-In, they offer a step-by-step guide on how brands can adapt and thrive in this brave new world. Using these tools, Bogusky and Winsor have successfully marketed some of today’s most important brands, including Google, Nike, Microsoft, Patagonia, Toyota, and Burger King. They reveal how, through tools at hand — product design, brand history, internal collaboration — and the new tools of digital technology — YouTube and the web in general — companies can succeed in the 21st-century marketplace.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Alex Bogusky is the chief creative insurgent at MDC Partners, the parent company of Crispin Porter + Bogusky advertising agency. He lives in Miami. John Winsor founded Victors & Spoils, the first ad agency built on crowdsourcing principles. He lives in Boulder, Colorado. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 152 pages
• Publisher: Agate B2 (October 13, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932841466
• ISBN-13: 978-1932841466
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.8 x 7.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #460,387 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth your while! November 4, 2009

By jskwa

Format:Hardcover

No one reading "Baked In" should assume that Bogusky and Winsor are going to divulge all their marketing secrets, but there are definite golden nuggets in this well-conceived book. Simply put, Baked In encourages companies to remember one simple rule: your product, not your marketing, is your most effective tool. Their advice is clever and succinct, and at a slim 152 pages you won't suffer information overload at its completion. I am not a business person - hell, I didn't even think I was interested in advertising - but I read Baked In with a fascination that extends well beyond the reach of the industry itself.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Nice idea, but a bit thin June 29, 2011

By Matt N

Format:Paperback

I had been wanting to read this book for months, then finally found a copy and ... well, I can't say it lived up to my expectations. I think this is partly because I'm an ad guy, and wanted to hear these ad geniuses talk about what they're geniuses at - rather than NPD, which it seems they want to be geniuses at, but haven't really got much of a track record at (for that, you'd be better off reading anything by Tim Brown at IDEO)

Bogusky and Winsor are undoubtedly extraordinary professionals - at the top of their game for years. But this book starts from a strange premise - that CEOs of businesses (because that seems to be who they're aiming at - not marketing professionals, but everyone else in businesses) are actually TOO preoccupied with marketing (dazzled by their Boguskys, perhaps), and that really they should focus more on their product. It is a shame to have to use all your marketing energies to counteract negative perceptions of a product... but c'est la vie, when did ad people get too big for that kind of a brief?

I've never met a business person who isn't focused on their product. The idea that they should really put more emphasis there seems patronising in the extreme - if they invest in NPD it's probably for a bigger reason than just to "bake in" marketing (i.e. make their ad agency's job easier).

Their examples are worthwhile, their rules are sensible, but all amount to little more than platitudes unless you're someone about to launch a new business - then it is a very valid question, "is this a product with its marketing baked it?" - but it seems like those circumstances are few and far between.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars You either have it or you don't May 29, 2010

By Donavon Roberson

Format:Hardcover

There are few books out there that really cut to the heart of the matter, Baked In is one of those books. In regard to marketing, what are your customers saying about your product? Who is designing your product? Is your product a solid representation of your brand? OR are you faking it?

Gone are the days of big business telling the consumer what the brand stands for and why they should buy the product. There is no place to hide...the customer interacts with your product and becomes brand representatives. If you have exceptional products, you will have exceptional representation by the consumer. If you products are average or less than average...you had better look out!