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19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Then Put Them to Effective Use!, October 7, 2005
This review is from: Steal These Ideas!: Marketing Secrets That Will Make You a Star (Bloomberg) (Hardcover)
Cone's title correctly indicates an "in your face attitude" as he shares a number of what he claims to be "marketing secrets that will make [his reader] a star." Of course, how many of them are head-snapping revelations depends entirely on what each reader already knows (or thinks she or he knows) about marketing. To me, this book's single greatest benefit is that it is thought-provoking. Throughout the book, the tone is personal, conversational really, and sometimes confrontational. Cone challenges those who read it to consider or (better yet) reconsider their responses to questions such as these:
1. What do all "winning" marketing plans share in common?
2. What is a brand? What makes one successful? How to manage it?
3. How to create a unique selling proposition?
4. How to "create, hire, or beg" to build a memorable personality for your business?
5. Where do "big breakthrough ideas" come from?
In Chapter 22, Cone discusses the ten "secrets" he urges his reader to "steal." At this point, I presume to offer a caveat: Do not make the mistake of cherry-picking ("stealing") ideas from Cone or from any others and then cobble them together in what you may assume to be a cohesive and comprehensive marketing plan. Presumably Cone would agree with me that there are three basic questions which must first be answered:
1. Who are you?
2. What do you do?
3. Why does it matter?
Unless and until clear and concise answers to these questions are agreed upon by everyone directly involved in the given enterprise, no marketing initiatives will be effective. For many of those who read this book, Cone can help to formulate those answers. He also suggests a wealth of strategies and tactics by which to achieve marketing objectives, once they have been identified. Few (if any) of those who read his book will agree with him about everything he asserts. To repeat, I think its single greatest benefit is that it is thought-provoking. As you read it, take an "in your face" attitude toward Cone and challenge him to convince you as you proceed from one assertion to the next. I forget who said it but I came across a statement years ago which, in this context, seems especially relevant: If both of us agree, one of us is useless.
In the final chapter, Cone explains that this book is meant as a "reference guide." What he insists is needed (and I agree) is to use straightforward thinking as well as to understand both what turns people on and gets them to buy products and services and the key elements of building a successful brand. Inorder for any organization to be all that it can be, "There is really nothing more important for a marketing professional to do than get the right product in front of the right customer with the least amount of waste in time and money." Quite true. It would also be a good idea to remember Warren Buffett's observation that price is what we charge but value is what others think it's worth.
Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Theodore Levitt's The Marketing Imagination, Marty Neumeier's The Brand Gap: How to Bridge the Gap Between Business Strategy and Design, Tom Asacker's A Clear Eye for Branding, and Jeffrey J. Fox's How to Become a Marketing Superstar: Unexpected Rules That Ring the Cash Register.
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17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Marketing 101, October 28, 2005
This review is from: Steal These Ideas!: Marketing Secrets That Will Make You a Star (Bloomberg) (Hardcover)
Many years ago, before embarking on a spiritual quest that resulted in me heading off to seminary, I was (I must now confess) a marketing weasel.
I was good, too. Every month I'd set up shop at the "student mall" on campus at Liberty and sell signs, banners, greeting cards, and letterhead. I made a bundle, and the only investment was in the bootleg copy of Print Shop for my C64 and a boatload of paper. Signs went well at the end of the semester, for all those poor folks who didn't have a car and didn't want their parents to come get them. I even found a cheap supplier for floppy disks (back when they really were floppy -- 5 1/4" disks), and undercut Academic Computing by about 30% -- until they shut me down.
I was the stereotypical marketing major. And back then, marketing wasn't a bad word -- marketing meant discovering a need, figuring out how to meet that need, and letting people know that your product met their need. Now, it's about making people think they can't do without whatever garbage your company feels like selling. No wonder I got out...
Steve Cone is what I wanted to be. He's worked on some of the biggest promotional campaigns in business history. And now, he's telling all his secrets to anyone who is willing to pay $19.
But how secret are they? His opening chapter tells that the secrets to a winning marketing campaign are "excitement, news, and a compelling call to action." That's advertising 101. Later, he cautions us to make sure that our choice for a spokesperson is comfortable in social situations, including press conferences. Chapter 17 tells us the importance of corporate sponsorships of things like sporting events.
Most of the book seems to me to be little more than introductory marketing, advertising, and public relations. The examples he uses in the book are quite interesting, since he draws from his own career to illustrate the various points he's trying to make. And this book can be quite valuable for entrepreneurs who know more about their business than how to promote it. But for marketing professionals, this book is just another in a long line of "This is how I did it, you should do it this way, too!" books that I'm not persuaded really work.
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14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Full of practical marketing ideas that can be applied to any business., October 2, 2005
This review is from: Steal These Ideas!: Marketing Secrets That Will Make You a Star (Bloomberg) (Hardcover)
This book is a fun, fast read that will help both seasoned marketing professionals and novices. It's written in a clear cut, down to earth manner and chock-full of examples that help the reader understand what makes marketing campaigns successful. I came away with ideas that I could apply immediately, such as how to create more compelling marketing materials, how to foster relationships with customers who have the most impact on the bottom line, and pitfalls to avoid when developing a marketing campaign. My bookshelf is full of marketing books since I'm a marketing professional, but this is one book I'll actually re-read and keep referring back to.
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