The End of Marketing as We Know It (Hardcover)

by Sergio Zyman (Author) "The image pops up on the screen..." (more)
Key Phrases: associative imagery, consumer offering, incremental volume, Diet Coke, New Coke, Crystal Pepsi (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Remember the New Coke? A disaster, right? Or how about the commercial where "Mean" Joe Greene meets a little kid holding a bottle of Coke? A masterpiece, right? Wrong, on both counts. Sergio Zyman, who was the chief marketing officer at Coca-Cola, will tell you that while the New Coke nose-dived, it--and the subsequent reintroduction of Coke Classic--helped to reconnect people to the soft drink and revitalize a brand that was losing market share to Pepsi. And as for "Mean" Joe Greene, while people loved the ad, it wasn't doing what good marketing should do: sell product, which is what Zyman's book, The End of Marketing As We Know It, is all about.

For Zyman, marketing is not an art, it's a business. "Marketing is a strategic activity and discipline focused on the endgame of getting more consumers to buy your product more often so that your company makes more money." He sees too many marketers who don't understand this point, who are too concerned about projecting image when they should really be focused on producing sales. Zyman peppers the book with stories about various campaigns at Coke as well as assessments of companies that get it, such as Starbucks and Southwest Airlines, to companies that don't, for example, Nissan and Levi's. He believes that the old-style marketing of Madison Avenue is dead, that it no longer has the "ability to move the masses," that in today's "consumer democracy" there are simply too many choices. Instead, marketers will have to focus on sales, conversion rates, targeting customers, and creating value for shareholders. The End of Marketing As We Know It is not a primer on how to do better marketing; rather, it's a reordering of priorities so that good marketing will be done in the first place. Recommended. --Harry C. Edwards

Review
"A wizard at marketing discloses his magic. No matter what your industry, you will benefit greatly from Sergio Zyman's out-of-the-box thinking and contemporary concepts." -- Charles R. Schwab, Chairman, The Charles Schwab Corporation

"Always insightful, always provocative and (almost) always right, the irrepressible Sergio Zyman mined his experience at a certain coca-colossus to write a marketing book, a management how-to, and a cola-war memoir all in one." -- Bob Garfield, columnist, Advertising Age

"Here's a great marketing tip . . . Buy this book, written by the ultimate master. No marketer can live without it." -- Dick Ebersol, President, NBC Sports

"No one is more provocative or passionate on the subject of marketing than Sergio Zyman. I've seen him literally mesmerize audiences. Somehow he's managed to capture all this in The End of Marketing As We Know It. It teaches as much as any textbook ever could, but does it in a remarkably entertaining way. You don't realize, until you're finished, that you are now much smarter about marketing. It's vintage Sergio." -- Shelly Lazarus, Chairman and CEO, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide

"Nothing moves forward as long as people are comfortable. Sergio Zyman has single-handedly driven whole legions of professionals to the brink, forced them to rethink strategy, tactics, relationships . . . the fundamental underpinning of 20th century marketing. God love the hellraiser." -- Dan Wieden, CEO, CCO, Wieden & Kennedy

"The End of Marketing As We Know It is typical Zymanbrash, compelling, and eminently practical. I found myself using several of its conclusions and insights at staff meetings and presentationsof course, without crediting Sergio." -- David J. Stern, Commissioner, National Basketball Association

"This book is not simply about marketing; it is about how to choose the right objectives and achieve them and how to successfully build a business. No matter what industry you're in, Zyman's book is a must read!" -- John F. Cooke, Executive Vice President, the Walt Disney Company

"This is a book that's sometimes arrogant, occasionally profane, usually profound and always entertaining . . . just like Sergio. If you read it and learn its lessons, you'll become a high voltage, successful marketer . . . just like Sergio." -- Jay Chiat, founder, Chiat/Day Advertising

"What can I say about Sergio Zyman? He's a genius; that's all. And this book will tell you why." -- -- Warren Bennis, author of On Becoming a Leader, University Professor and Distinguished Professor of Business Administration, USC Marshall School of Business

"What can I say about Sergio Zyman? He's a genius; that's all. And this book will tell you why."Warren Bennis, author of On Becoming a Leader, University Professor and Distinguished Professor of Business Administration, USC Marshall School of Business -- Warren Bennis, author of On Becoming a Leader, University Professor and Distinguished Professor of Business Administration, USC Marshall School of Business

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: HarperBusiness; 1 edition (May 19, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0887309860
• ISBN-13: 978-0887309861
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (90 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,122,012 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great info for all business people, October 24, 1999

By A Customer

When a colleague handed me a copy of The End of Marketing As We Know It by Sergio Zyman, former chief marketing officer of The Coca-Cola Company, I had two reactions.

One was enthusiasm. I'd learn some things from a real pro and become better at what I do. The second was a wary feeling. Because Zyman is a pro, I was afraid the book would be full of "expert jargon" - over my head, dry, and reading like a textbook.

After reading the book, I'm wholly enthusiastic about it. The End of Marketing As We Know It is a good read - Zyman teaches with plenty of good examples, encourages one to think about one's own experiences and methods, and has an entertaining, conversational tone that keeps the book from becoming dry or "heavy." It's the first book in a very long time that I've wanted to re-read right after finishing it. As someone who writes features for a business magazine and also does PR and advertising, I found Zyman's words relevant and invaluable.

Everyone in business should read this book - and not just the folks in the marketing/advertising department, and not just the big companies. Its content is pertinent to overall business strategy, because it focuses on marketing as a business, or a science - producing measurable results in the form of increased sales rather than merely running some ads that may be appealing and even award-winning but aren't doing anything for the company's bottom line.

Readers will learn why it's important to form a marketing strategy and make regular measurements to test its success. They'll learn ways to position a product - their own and their competitor's - in the minds of consumers. And that continually presenting a brand in fresh and different ways - and in different markets - is essential to keeping sales up. And much more. Whether or not you agree with all of Zyman's methods, this book will definitely make you think and may even rescue you from stale, dead-in-the-water viewpoints about marketing.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nothing New, July 13, 2000

By	Scott McGillivray (Regina, Saskatchewan Canada) - See all my reviews

The book provides an excellent reminder as to the purpose of marketing....that is, it's all about making a profit. However, the book lacks depth and fails to deliver new insights that will help the experienced marketer become more skilled or knowledgeable.

If you are looking for a simple, easy to read book on marketing, that is sometimes entertaining, then Sergio Zyman's book, "The End of Marketing As We Know It", is a good place to start

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars title missleading, August 14, 1999

By	[e-mail] (in beautiful worcester, ma) - See all my reviews

I was disappointed after reading Sergio Zyman's book with the provocative title "The End of Marketing as we Know it". Old marketing based on mass merchandising with little attention to customer needs was dead years ago. What the author calls new marketing principles, have been practiced as early as the 1980's. As someone who has been a CEO and director of marketing of a number of businesses, and am now an adjunct professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute's School of Industrial Management, I found little new in the author's list of the principles of new marketing outlined in his last chapter. I am surprised that a book published in 1999 says so little about the impact and influence of the Internet in business to business and consumer marketing.

Byron Menides August 14, 1999 Worcester, MA