Bright Lights & Dim Bulbs: The Year in Marketing Buzz, Brilliance & Buffoonery, So You Don't Have to Repeat It -- 2010 Edition [Paperback]

Jonathan Salem Baskin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 21, 2009

This book is your resource and guide for better branding and marketing in 2010, culled from studies of 500+ companies worldwide, analysis in 260 essays on the award-winning Dim Bulb blog, and then distilled and refined to deliver:

- 9 strategic trends that challenge the conventional wisdom
- 86 tactical ideas you can start use tomorrow
- 101 essays that add nuance, insight, and humor
- Hundreds of tidbits, challenges, and possibilities for you to ponder
- Useful indices by industry category and name, to make the book useful all year long

In addition to his blog, Jonathan Salem Baskin writes columns for Advertising Age and Information Week, and co-hosts the popular podcast, Socializing Media. His book, Branding Only Works on Cattle (2008), was "savage and witty," according to The Economist, and earned him the label "merry iconoclast" from Publisher's Weekly. Jonathan works with clients around the world to invent novel, cross-functional solutions to today's most intractable and challenging business problems.

You can learn more at www.baskinbrand.com, and read daily posts at dimbulb.typepad.com.

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse.com (October 21, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1440178402
• ISBN-13: 978-1440178405
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.4 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,564,005 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I write, speak, and consult on the underlying themes, causes, and capabilities that yield marketing success. I've written six books; pen bi-weekly essays on marketing leadership for Advertising Age, and twice-weekly essays for Forbes; post daily essays at Histories of Social Media; keynote corporate and association events around the world; and I'm a Senior Fellow Emeritus at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.

I have 30 years of professional experience working at big ad/PR agencies and at major brands. I founded Baskin Associates in 2003, where we put my findings to work for clients around the world and, in 2013, I co-founded CONSENSIV, a reputation ROI services firm.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Beacon in the Darkness... October 29, 2009

By Reader-Traveler

Format:Paperback

Pithy comments, insightful ideas and one line zingers make BRIGHT LIGHTS & DIM BULBS sparkle! In this age of "new media," large and small marketing and advertising organizations can use a little perspective. This book is a beacon in the darkness. Many do not want to recall the depths of 2008-2009, but Jonathan pulls out the gems and makes them shine while also spotlighting the trash - in order to elivate the industry to greater success. Many campaigns have missed the mark widely and others have hit bull's eyes. Why not get a little perspective so those rudders can be trimmed toward succcess? Pick up a few pointers in this age of "social media", "show and tell", plus "just do it" campaigns. How about a lesson from good olde Shakespeare? This book can help transition an organization from the depts to the heights of the branding and marketing worlds by learning from example -- those good and those bad. In an age when the boomers are not going to admit they are AARPies, and the Gen X, Gen Y, and the millennials are doing their own thing, BRIGHT LIGHTS & DIM BULBS gives great insight to reach the goal -- product sales -- whatever that product might be! The value of the brand and of marketing is only as good as it relates to sales. Jonathan deserves five stars for writing and truth-telling, especially in a time when the concept of integrity is taking on a more attractive coat! A-Plus. Just read it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Bright Lights & Dim Bulbs (2010 Edition) November 6, 2009

By Joel Kirstein

Format:Paperback

Jonathan Salem Baskin's Bright Lights & Dim Bulbs cements his position as a consumer branding expert with this 2010 edition. It succinctly and directly identifies the landscape of marketing in 2009 and how it produced results that went to the extremes in both "brilliance and buffoonery." This compilation of essays that Jonathan Salem Baskin has assembled are "cut-through", straight talking, no-spin accounts of how consumer marketing dealt with one of the most economically-challenging years in decades. Some met the tumultuous year with success, while others floundered badly and failed miserably. The lessons on the past year will resonate thanks to Baskin's case-studies.

He explains how the level of technology often only causes brand communication struggles instead of facilitating clarity. The addiction to the wow-factor of technology over the content of
the message and the product or service it is employed to sell for. The disingenuous nature of "brand ambiguity, confusion, and doublespeak." The misuse of the cpg industry's favorite word "Innovation" and the resulting lack of it. The way bad marketing hamstrings good brands that deserve positioning as unique as their products.

The tipping point of this book is the highly astute section about "The Digital Shakedown." I love the fact that Baskin says what needed to said about the digital space and how it brings a limited amount value to brands. The manner all things digital have hijacked the marketing world with scare tactics, raw tonnage of numbers and an adolescent mentality. Another excellent area Baskin exposes is how the internet has given an equivalency to opinion vs. fact and how brands use this chaos to create "truth" as a "commodity that anyone can manufacture...." Especially poignant is how Citi laying off 52,000 employees will effect their brand and the way Baskin expects it's customers will ultimately define that brand.

Bright Lights & Dim Bulbs (2010 Edition) will be required reading because it tells us what we need to to hear in an informative format with Jonathan Salem Baskin's signature wit, frustrations, hope and solutions. Make room for it on your shelf next to your copy of Branding Only Works on Cattle. 2010 will be a better year in marketing and Bright Lights & Dim Bulbs gets the new year off to a great start! Read more ›

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Thought-provoking ... in a very good way! February 18, 2010

By The Gammon Press

Format:Paperback

If you have ever found yourself wondering, "How could they have thought that was going to be a good idea anyway?!," you will find many, many examples of marketers-who-have-no-clothes and the dumb ideas they have spent time and millions of dollars on in this book. You will also learn what does work, and how to be confident of your own ability to discern the difference, thanks to Jonathan Salem Baskin's insights, excellent analysis and uncommon common sense. Highly-recommended!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A perfect holiday gift December 7, 2009

By S. Kristjanson

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a perfect holiday gift. It is light-hearted reading yet it also contains wonderful nuggets of insight. I love reading Jonathan Salem Baskin's work because I find it thoughtful, provocative, and amusing all at once--and one does not need to be in marketing to enjoy it. This is a good read for anyone. I have already given a copy to a friend who is starting a business. The only reason I give it four stars instead of 5 is because of a few typos.

4.0 out of 5 stars Great refresher of the year that was March 9, 2010

By Eric Leszkowicz

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

The articles in the book are from the very great blog that Baskin does.

They are arranged into themes and have a nice intro to the chapter. Why not a 5 star rating? It is that most of the articles that are in the book are already on the blog. But they are chocked full of marketing knowledge.

Must read for any business owner.

5.0 out of 5 stars required reading for a brighter future November 23, 2009

By Robert Myers

Format:Paperback

Once again, Jonathan Salem Baskin shares with us his witty skepticism of today's market branding industry in his latest book Bright Lights and Dim Bulbs. His writing is honest - he believes in his positions - and he doesn't hesitate to point out misguided branding. His goal is to help us market our brand such that our target groups will understand who we are, what we do and how we can provide what they need. His essays point out weaknesses in contemporary branding schemes, in hopes that we'll not follow the same path, or be fooled by those already caught up.

If you are a business owner, or part of a company's marketing team, this book should be required reading. Its insight will help you to keep your feet grounded and your marketing aimed at convincing prospective buyers or clients of your value to them, and not your ability to baffle them with somebody else's idea of a clever turn of a phrase. Because the bottom line is you want to attract them to you, not leave them wondering where that scheme was headed.

Even if you're already a dim bulber, this is worth your time. His ability to tie together his weekly diatribes and recognize connections across time provide additional insight to his previously-shared tidbits.