A Genie's Wisdom: A Fable of How a CEO Learned to Be a Marketing Genius [Hardcover]

Jack Trout (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 047123608X | ISBN-13: 978-0471236085 | Publication Date: November 1, 2002 | Edition: 1

A compelling fable that distills the essence of genius marketing strategies
The "King of Positioning" Jack Trout presents the story of PJ Bigdome, a newly appointed CEO looking for a new way to successfully learn about marketing. Luckily, within his PC lurks a genie with vast experience in the particulars of marketing (having helped out with some of the biggest marketing successes ever). As Bigdome finds answers to his most important questions, the reader learns the secrets of successful marketing, such as: the essence of marketing; how much stock to put into research; how to evaluate advertising; how to allocate budgets; and much more. A Genie's Wisdom allows Trout, a famed business visionary, to distill his years of management and marketing experience into an entertaining and educational yarn that reveals today's essential practices.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Many executives probably feel like they need a genie to explain the touchy-feely mysteries of aesthetics, design and consumer psychology that underlie so much of marketing. This short, breezy but informative primer can help. Marketing consultant Trout (Differentiate or Die: Survival in Our Era of Killer Competition) is skeptical of marketing buzzwords like "synergy" and "unique tags"-and indeed of the whole "creative" approach that tries to forge emotional bonds between brand and customer rather than communicate concrete ideas. Much of his advice, therefore, flies in the face of modern marketing wisdom: ads should emphasize verbal messages rather than "dramatic visuals" that "distract people from the message"; money spent on flashy corporate logos is often wasted; and high-falutin' consumer research techniques, such as focus groups and "ethnographic" studies of families in their suburban habitat, are often useless. Trout advocates simple, obvious, oft-repeated ads, preferably with rhyming slogans, to communicate a single "differentiating idea" that will distinguish a brand from all its competitors. His philosophy is a variant of the decades-old "unique selling proposition" approach to marketing, which tries to convince consumers of a brand's one-of-a-kind attribute (say, "won't dry your skin like other soaps") to justify its higher price. While not quite ground-breaking, Trout's easy-to-read update combines an acerbic take on contemporary marketing fads with a surprisingly thorough and practical guide to the subject for managers and "finance guys" who need to gain expertise.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"...a fascinating and simple read, ideal for the CEO or senior executive who wants some light-hearted yet valuable answers..." (Professional Manager, May 2003)

"...I would recommend it equally to those with little or no experience...an easy to read, accessible and lighthearted..." (Managing Information, September 2003)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (November 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 047123608X
• ISBN-13: 978-0471236085
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #567,471 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jack Trout is the president of Trout & Partners, a marketing firm with offices in 14 countries. The author or coauthor of numerous bestselling books, Jack Trout is responsible for the freshest ideas in marketing in the last 20 years. His concept of "positioning" has become the world's number-one business strategy.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars simple actionable marketing advice, June 29, 2005

By 

Anurag Gupta "platform guru" (Bangalore, India) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Genie's Wisdom: A Fable of How a CEO Learned to Be a Marketing Genius (Hardcover)

The book has 10 chapters - in each chapter, Trout answers a marketing question. There is quite a bit of overlap in content with Trout's earlier books.

The questions (and summarized answers) are:

1. What is the essence of marketing?
Explaining simply why a product is different and why it should be bought instead of other competing products.

2. What's branding all about?
Establishing the product name and its differentiating idea in the mind of the prospective customer.

3. What should be my product strategy?
Be either #1 or #2 in a category; otherwise create a new category,

4. How do I get my pricing right?
Competitive price + delta for perceived differentiated value

5. Are there limits to growth?
Yes, do not stray from core competence and the differentiated idea established in cstomers' mind. Set realistic growth goals.

6. What is good research?
Avoid research / survey reports because what people say and what they do is often different. Useful to ask customers to rate competitors along various differentiated vectors on a range of 1-10. This tells which company owns which product feature.

7. How do I evaluate advertising?
Does the ad effectively communicate the differentiating idea to encourage a customer to buy?

8. How do I pick the right medium?
Words are more effective than pictures; spoken is more effective than printed.

9. How important are logos?
The brand's power lies in the name, not the symbol / visual.

10. What mistakes are made most often?
Underestimating competition
It's not about a better product, it's about a better perception
Ignoring reality, wishful thinking
Losing focus, brand extension

You will cut thru the marketing BS, and paradoxically, have a deeper appreciation for marketing.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Concept, December 19, 2008

By 

Maxim Masiutin (Chisinau, Republic of Moldova) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Genie's Wisdom: A Fable of How a CEO Learned to Be a Marketing Genius (Hardcover)

Jack Trout is an owner of Trout & Partners, a consulting firm. He is one of the founders and pioneers of positioning theory, and also marketing warfare theory.

Positioning is creating an image or identity in the minds of the target market for the product, brand, or organization. It is the 'relative competitive comparison' the product occupies in a given market as perceived by the target market.

Marketing warfare strategies are a type of strategies, used in business and marketing, that try to draw parallels between business and warfare, and then apply the principles of military strategy to business situations, with competing firms considered as analogous to sides in a military conflict, and market share considered as analogous to the territory which is being fought over.

This book covers all basic aspects of marketing in a very friendly manner, with simple, easy to understand real-life examples. The author hates the meaningless buzzwords used by marketers.

The author has used a surprising concept of the Genie as a marketing advisor to a CEO of a big public company in a way that the marketing is taught using simple conversations, questions and answers, between the Genie and the CEO. The questions are: What Is the Essence or Marketing? What's Branding All About? What Should Be My Product Strategy? How Do I Get My Pricing Right? Are There Limits to Growth? What is Good Research? How Do I Evaluate Advertising? How Do 1 Pick the Right Medium? How important Are Logos? What Mistakes Are Made Most Often?

This concept of using Gene as a mentor is amazing, exciting and amusing. There is a lot of humor, liveliness and variety, as well as caustic satire in the case study analysis. The Genie teaches the marketing via the examples well known to the CEO, i.e. examples involving Bill Gates, Jack Welch, Michael Dell, and the other known persons.

I also recommend Peter Drucker's "Innovation and Entrepreneurship" in addition to this book. Although the Drucker's writing is on management, not marketing, but it would be a valuable addition to this book.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Back to basics, back to business., December 5, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: A Genie's Wisdom: A Fable of How a CEO Learned to Be a Marketing Genius (Hardcover)

This is a book about common sense. Marketing has become a phenomena loaded with mystique and strange words, and it 's only right that someone helps managers see through all that.

Read this book and you'll be on the rise in your company!