Ice to the Eskimos: How to Market a Product Nobody Wants (Hardcover)

by Jon Spoelstra (Author) "I've spent almost twenty years as an executive for teams in the NBA..." (more)
Key Phrases: jumpstart marketing, nonfixed expenses, peseta bill, New Jersey Nets, New York, Portland Trail Blazers (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Lessons drawn from the world of sports have long proven applicable to the world of business. Jon Spoelstra, who pushed sponsorship and fan revenue to unprecedented heights for the lowly New Jersey Nets basketball franchise, shows how to put big-league marketing expertise to use off the court in Ice to the Eskimos: How To Market a Product Nobody Wants. His 19 "jump-start ground rules," sprinkled liberally with sports anecdotes, are designed to apply to any product or service.

Review
"A superb book. I couldn't put it down. I kept quoting it to everyone I ran into. Spoelstra knows his stuff and has a proven, no-baloney message for all of us." -- Tom Peters, author of In Search of Excellence

"Spoelstra has a very creative marketing mind. Everyone can learn something from reading his book." -- Philip H. Knight, chairman and CEO, Nike

"There are so many fresh marketing ideas...that it will jump-start any company, whether it be a two-person lemonade stand or mega corporation." -- Harvey Mackay, author of Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: HarperBusiness; 1 edition (May 9, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0887308511
• ISBN-13: 978-0887308512
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #127,859 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ice to the Eskimos, October 8, 2000

By A Customer

I run a small company with almost 100 employees. My background is finance so you can think of my surprise when I received this book as a gift. I've always thought that marketing was part voodoo and part bull. But, I decided to read just one chapter of this book. That led to another chapter, then another. Then I started to SEE and UNDERSTAND marketing. We initiated some of Spoelstra's ideas to fit our company and we received almost immediate big results. I see... Spoelstra has another book coming out next year. I personally will try to be the first one to buy it.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superchage your marketing campaign!, April 22, 2002

By	Adam F. Jewell (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Eskimos have all the ice they need and presumably don't perceive the need to get any more, let alone buy it. Joe Spoelestra illustrates how to take that ice and turn it into something desirable (a Slurpee) for example, or bundle it with something that makes it desirable - a sled and a lift to create an experience to sell.

Joe details his experiences, primarily in sports marketing. They are especially applicable to those in the entertainment and service industries but can be applied in virtually any industry. The book is full of new ideas, fresh insights, and ways to repackage that which nobody wants in such a way as to change the customers' perception of value and create a compelling value proposition.

The book is much better than this review. :-) Pick it up, read it, enjoy it and act on it. "Ice to the Eskimos" will give you fast easy ideas that can be used to jump start your business!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How to market products that nobody wants, July 8, 2001

By	John C. Dunbar (Sugar Land, TX United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The author starts with damaged goods, typically a sports franchise that is not winning. He then applies great thinking and action to turn around their sales.

The author tells you lots of stories of his successes and then describes the techniques that he used. There's lots of practical advice here.

He has just released another book, "Market Outrageously", in 2001. I have just finished reading the new one, and read this older one when it came out about 3 years ago. In some ways this older, original book has more material. However, the newer book adds to this information and has enough new material to make the purchase worthwhile. If you are a marketing professional, or a business owner, you should buy both.

Or, buy the newer book first, then if you like the style and information, then buy this older book to supplement the first.

You can also see my review comments for "Marketing Outrageously" in that book's review section.

Both books are fun and easy to read. In both books you'll be totally absorbed in the material.

The author has strong opinions and has produced strong results. So I rank this book as "highly recommended."

John Dunbar