49 of 53 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Playing it safe...3 stars..., January 7, 2004
Wow. I have never seen such bitterness about an Amazon product. There are some truly horrible products out there, I admit, but it looks like anyone who gives a positive review will get shot down 0 to 5 in the voting. It makes one think...
As for my review, I'll play it safe with 3 stars. I rated Mosquito Coast 3 stars too. What does it mean? It means I wouldn't go out of my way for it & I didn't get a ton from it, but there was something about it to justify it's existence.
For those of you who haven't read and who haven't been prejudiced to a negative review, the author's basic concept is that marketing should fall under the business domain and not the "artsy, creative domain" that it usually does. He makes a good point that your marketing should not be out there to win awards, and that more expensive (a la Super Bowl spots) doesn't mean better. Instead, everything you do to promote a product or service - and it can be at a grass roots level - should reinforce each other. I.e., your ads should tie to your website should tie to your publicity, etc. And all this should increase sales. If you don't increase your sales, your marketing sucks.
Now, it is true that the book is not an academic or even an intellectual book. Do not come here to learn about marketing. It's not even marketing 101. It's basically written to people in marketing who are doing it wrong. And, even if you think that this book is really simple, the reality that I've found is that most people in marketing really ARE doing it wrong. So, if you are in marketing - especially if you haven't had much business exposure - then this may be a helpful read.
Now, I will say that this book is INCREDIBLY poorly written. I think he spent 3 chapters winding you up to tell you what was inside. While inside, he meandered through countless examples where he identified poor marketing. And then he propels you to a final chapter that is fairly shallow & unhelpful. His advice that you should go on a retreat to absorb everything before you return to the office is a cute touch to make you think that there was alot to absorb.
I will say this though. At the end of the book, you wonder how much of a marketing tool this book is for Stevens' company. And you wonder what marketing tools he used to get so much hype for a book that isn't really worth it. And you think perhaps he really does know what he's talking about even though he can't write very well. It's kinda like looking at your reflection via 2 mirrors and seeing you look at your reflection via 2 mirrors who is looking at your reflection via...you get the picture.
My final word is that, in the long run, Stevens will be the big loser long-term whether the books sells well or not(unless he's exceedingly brilliant, which I am doubting at the moment). He's a one-trick pony. He may actually be a whiz at marketing consulting. But with his shameless use of a crude title & slogan to catch people's attention, he has also lowered himself on classiness pole enough that he probably will never be taken as a serious player in the business world. He will never rule the roost. He'll just help the rulers get more money...until some other irreverent upstart can do it better than he.
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44 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
A Beginner's Guide to Sales and Advertising, September 22, 2003
No original ideas, except of course the title. I guess this is worth something, after all, it persuaded me to buy the book!
The book starts off with the annoying phrase, "Extreme Marketing". Let's get one thing straight: Nothing in this book is extreme. The ideas are basic, focusing on sales and advertising. If that's what you need, then perhaps this is a good book for you.
Second, this book suffers from the ever-popular confusion between marketing and sales. This book doesn't really touch marketing as a discipline, but instead reads like a commercial for his advertising firm. He spends an entire chapter (one of the longer chapters in the book) describing how a company transformed itself using "his" principles. Guess what? The company is fictional! He made up the company, and made up the results! How is that helpful?
Overall, if you are a beginner in sales, this book may be of some help. But if you are looking for marketing tactics, strategy, or new insights, this this isn't the one.
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22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
This is a promo for the Author's Consulting firm, August 24, 2003
By A Customer
This book is more hype than substance. Great title and admittedly well marketed. But a good marketer knows you have to deliver on your marketing promise to truly be effective. Mark Stevens does not do that. I would not buy another book from this author (fortuneately I got my copy from the library) I also would not reccomend it to others. His themes and concepts are not original. Sergio Zyman's book (End of Marketing...) is much better and insightful. Like most others who write on the subject of Marketing effectiveness, he talks a big game on Marketing ROI, but falls way short when it comes down to how to really measure it. He takes the easy road by speaking at a high, theoretical level. His most egregious mistake is confusing marketing communications (advertising, direct mail, PR) with Marketing. Even the Marketing undergrad knows Marketing communications alone doesn't motivate someone to buy, it is an integration of the product, the price you charge for it, how and where it is distributed and sold as well as the Marketing communications. Reading this book, you'd think just adjusting your advertising or direct marketing or PR will drive results. Shame on you, Mark.
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