The Welcome to the Creative Age - Bananas, Business and the Death of Marketing (Hardcover)

by Mark Earls (Author) "Early one morning in July 2000, I found myself rummaging in the chiller compartment of a small country petrol-station on the Essex/Suffolk borders..." (more)
Key Phrases: Marketing Age, Seth Godin, Body Shop (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"... Using ingeniously insightful witty examples, mark Earls embarks on a radical and comprehensive critique of the fundamental principles of business and marketing..." (Marketing Business, September 2002) 

"…a highly entertaining and thought-provoking denunciation of what’s gone wrong with marketing…Mark’s easy-flowing writing style will encourage you to try to spend the evening reading it at one sitting…" (www.theidm.com 4 November 2002)

"…anyone interested in our industry (marketing), and the society we help to create, should read this book…" (Research Magazine, February 2003)

Product Description
The rules and principles that have governed business for half a century are dead; what matters now, more than anything else, is creativity and ideas. In a thought-provoking look at the death of 'old' marketing, Mark Earls explores this sea change and shows how the new philosophy can be used to solve traditional marketing problems. He also provides detailed guidance for building an organization for which employees will choose to work - one within which creativity and ideas can flourish.

'This is the book Naomi Klein should have written. Mark Earls affectionately dissects the madness of modern marketing but at the same time understands why it really matters.' Dominic Mills, Editorial Director, Campaign Magazine

'Mark tears up a lot of what we are secure and familiar with (fundamental notions such as "brand" and "consumer-orientation", for instance), and, while giving us some of the new building blocks, he asks as many questions about the way forward without these familiar handrails, as he offers answers.' From the Foreword by Adam Morgan, Director of EatBigFish and author of best-selling Eating the Big Fish

'If the only thing you do is throw out your mission statement and grasp hold of a "purpose-idea" you will have a great return on your investment in Mark Earls' book.' Kevin Thomson, author of best-selling Emotional Capital and President of MCA Communicate

'Anyone who has ever challenged the shibboleths and practices of late twentieth century Marketing - especially the holy grail of "consumer insight" self-servingly invented by the Market Research industry - should read Mark Earls' comprehensive and tightly argued critique. Not only does it give us a rationale for not doing it like that any more (3 cheers!) but it also offers a passionate book full of creative ways to do it differently and more productively (300 cheers!).' Virginia Valentine, author, and Founder of Semiotic Solutions

'There are many who will doubtless want to see Mark Earls burned at the nearest stake for suggesting that marketing is not the all-seeing, all-healing deity in which they believe. Enjoy your martyrdom, Mark. Truth is on your side.' Jon Steel, author of best-selling Truth, Lies & Advertising - The Art of Account Planning

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (September 9, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 047084499X
• ISBN-13: 978-0470844991
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #921,876 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Read!, June 11, 2004

By	Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract.com" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Just when you thought you had this marketing thing down, Mark Earls says it won't do you any good now. Marketing is out of sync with today's consumer-centric world of empowered customers and excess supply. In witty prose, Earls contends that creativity is more than catchy words, and he has plenty to say about the brand-as-experience phenomenon and about freeing yourself from convention. His sensible premise comes across as simplistic and naïve. Saying that ideas are the key to success is a bit like saying that love conquers all - a noble sentiment, but vague and not really new. However, this doesn't pretend to be a how-to book; it's an idea book, and you interpret the ideas. An ad veteran, Earls provides ample examples and expert quotes on attitudes and behaviors. And if it isn't news that the market changes constantly, we note, it isn't fully understood either. If you want to understand, welcome to Earls' world.

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Read!, October 14, 2003

By	Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract.com" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Just when you thought you had this marketing thing down, Mark Earls says it won't do you any good now. Marketing is out of sync with today's consumer-centric world of empowered customers and excess supply. In witty prose, Earls contends that creativity is more than catchy words, and he has plenty to say about the brand-as-experience phenomenon and about freeing yourself from convention. His sensible premise comes across as simplistic and naïve. Saying that ideas are the key to success is a bit like saying that love conquers all - a noble sentiment, but vague and not really new. However, this doesn't pretend to be a how-to book; it's an idea book, and you interpret the ideas. An ad veteran, Earls provides ample examples and expert quotes on attitudes and behaviors. And if it isn't news that the market changes constantly, we note, it isn't fully understood either. If you want to understand, welcome to Earls' world.