Customer Reviews

Steal These Ideas!: Marketing Secrets That Will Make You a Star (Bloomberg)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I once read that you have to do something twenty one times for it to become a habit. After reading STEAL THESE IDEAS! by Steve Cone, I am absolutely certain that I will never, ever, ever use white reverse type for any ad copy. Cone is a champion at getting his point across, over and over and over. That's not to say this book is dull and repetitive. Far from it.

Cone presents critical techniques for creating a unique selling proposition. He is quite unwavering on such topics as font type, photo captions, and the aforementioned reverse type usage.

I would have liked to have read more actual copy writing techniques. There is an all too brief chapter on brochures, and dozens of wonderful writing tips, but the book is clearly geared more for the ad campaign spokesperson. Speaking of campaigns, there is also some great information here regarding political campaigns.

A fascinating book and a quick read at fewer than two hundred pages. The pages are broken into 23 chapters, each one a gem. Cone is an extraordinary writer and a wealth of information. This one is highly recommended.

Steal These Ideas! does not have any secrets in it, nor are there any new ideas. In fact, I would not even call this a marketing book, but rather, a book about advertising. Most all of the information can be found in old-guard standbys like Ogilvy on Advertising and Tested Advertising Methods (Prentice Hall Business Classics), or any one of a thousand books on copywriting. Cone's attitude towards internet marketing is pretty much that of an old-guard adman, that it is very limited in its marketing uses.

Because this book hits so strongly, simply and concisely on the basics, it is a great book for middle managers and others in a large company who wonder about how the company runs its advertising messages. For those who are students of marketing or advertising, it has nothing new in it at all.

The title and the cover are very misleading. As a publisher of business books, I find this to be inexcusable, especially when it is written by someone who is in the ad game.

Keep 'em Flying
David A. Rozansky, Publisher, Flying Pen Press

The cover proclaims "Marketing secrets that will make you a star." In fact, nothing of what Cone has to say is a secret of any kind. In large part --- and Cone begrudingly credits --- Rosser Reeves and his 1961 "Reality In Advertising" for most of these so-called secrets.

Reeves, of course, acknowledged his debt to earlier advertising stars and in a more open fashion.

Cone, essentially, is engaged in hype here: promising things that are well known to experienced marketers. Why Cone wrote the book at all could be an interesting five-minute conversation. He isn't working for an ad agency, the usual reasons these books are created, a form of self-promeotion. Maybe he's looking for a new job? Point is that he doesn't deliver what he promises: there are no secrets here.

On the other hand, Cone does a nice job of distilling common knowledge so his book might serve as a useful guide to a young person considering a career in advertising or marketing or someone at a very junior level in either field.

Most of the secrets are aimed at mega-advertisers with large budgets, so the small and medium business person will find nothing of significant value here.

Far more informative are the works of Rosser Reeves, David Ogilvy, John Kennedy (the copywriter, not the President), Lewis Caples and others.

Jerry

This book offers high level insight on marketing, branding, advertising and PR. For marketing directors and executives at midsize and large companies, it's well worth reading. The author has long experience putting together and executing marketing campaigns for big private companies and political organizations. Cone's writing is easy to understand and his advice applies to most any type of marketing situation. A few excerpts--

"Truly great brands have four qualities in common. They are inspirational, indispensable, dependable, and unique." (p15)

"Small type is the enemy. Sans serif type is the enemy. Reverse type is the enemy." (p43)

"The effect of frequency trumps occasional [ad] placements every time, even if you appear more frequently in fewer publications." (p92)

"The number one job of senior marketing professionals is to recruit the best second in command they can possibly find." (p167)

Cone discusses areas that are not commonly found in books on marketing, including public speaking, corporate sponsorship, and working with your ad agency. This book is reminiscent of and makes a good companion piece to David Ogilvy's Ogilvy on Advertising , which explains the world of advertising from the inside out.

I have been in the marketing industry for over 10 years now and I found this book to be a great resource. Yes, it is well-written and to the point and I like that. Yes, many of the ideas are derived from marketing basics. I agree with the review that said it was thought provoking. That it is.

When i first read the book, I was marketing for a technology development firm. I recently accepted a job with a medical spa and i am re-reading many of the chapters. Applying this information to my specific task often leads me to many other great ideas.

Yes, young marketing candidates should definately read the book, but i also think it is a great book for the seasoned professional too. It brings you back to the basic and provides a platform to spark new ideas.

Probably the most fun (and occasionally funny) and thought provoking marketing book I have read in several years. Tons of ideas and examples that anyone can use, er, steal. I used a hi-liter and note pad for this one. This is already back in my re-read stack.

Not that I have an opinion.

Steve Cone has written one of the best marketing books since the prolific writing team of Ries and Trout. It is a must read for anyone in the marketing field today. If there was a marketing book hall of fame, I'd immediately nominate this book for admission. I spent almost 38 years in financial services marketing and wish I had this book back in the early 1970s. I have already used it a few times for articles in my online marketing newsletter. I'm on my second reading.