Brand Hijack: Marketing Without Marketing [ILLUSTRATED] (Hardcover)

by Alex Wipperfurth (Author)
Key Phrases: brand hijack, hijacked brands, consumer devotion, Red Bull, Blair Witch, Next Big Thing (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
This is not your ordinary marketing manual. With casual humor and a laid-back tone, Wipperfürth, a marketer who helps brands like Dr. Martens and Napster "appear like serendipitous accidents," advocates the "brand hijack," a process of allowing customers to shape brand meaning and drive a brand's evolution. Using case studies of products that were embraced by young consumers precisely because they lacked traditional, excessive ad campaigns, like Pabst Blue Ribbon and In-N-Out Burger, Wipperfürth shows that seemingly effortless branding is actually sustained by "no-marketing" techniques. Some of these tactics include marketing first to alternative subcultures and building a brand "folklore" with "customs, rituals, vocabulary...and experiences," much in the way that he claims "Starbucks created coffee culture." The book designates three types of brand hijack: the Discovery, which allows people to feel "in on a secret" (à la Palm); the Commentary, by which a brand like Dr. Martens is associated with a subversive social statement; and the Mission, which "declares a worldview oppositional to a 'Big Brother' enemy" (à la Apple). While the book speaks specifically to marketers, it offers a glimpse into America's consumer- and ad-driven culture, and even lay readers will be fascinated to learn about the sly techniques being utilized on them. That pair of expensive pre-ripped jeans will never look the same.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
In an age of marketing saturation, consumers are pleading with advertisers to "tone down the relentless yammering; you're talking too loud for us to listen." As backlash to constant media hype, products sometimes become "hot" when consumers ignore corporate America's overt advances and embrace independent products such as Doc Martens, Red Bull, Napster, and Starbucks, creating a cult following and effectively hijacking the brand as their own. Even Pabst Blue Ribbon beer has made a comeback recently precisely because it is the antithesis of a microbrew. So how do you market to an audience that rejects marketing? Wipperfurth explains how to walk this thin line by "seeding" the right audience to create a buzz and patient development of brand recognition. Of course, there is no guarantee that any of this will work, but Wipperfurth has the expertise to give you an advantage over the big guys. He has been called "a marketing subversive . . . The guy who will make your brands cool" by Adweek and is a partner at marketing boutique Plan B in San Francisco. David Siegfried
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Portfolio Hardcover; illustrated edition edition (February 7, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591840783
• ISBN-13: 978-1591840787
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #658,501 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating case studies, interesting philosophy., February 9, 2005

By	J. Bosiljevac (san fran, ca) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was fortunate enough to get an advanced copy of this book, just by pure chance. Wipperfurth saw my review of Malcolm Gladwell's THE TIPPING POINT and emailed me to see if I'd be interested. Guess some good things do come of writing all these reviews.

More focused on brands than Gladwell's book, which was about broader social epidemics, BRAND HIJACK is a fascinating book. The term "brand hijack" refers to a group of consumers taking your brand and giving it an identity you as a marketer were not counting on. Like when punk culture re-appropriated Dr. Marten's, originally a worker's boot, into footwear that makes a political statement. While traditional marketing wisdom would say that this is a bad thing, that the last thing a marketer wants to do is lose control of their brand's meaning, Wipperfurth proposes that in some cases it can be a good thing, even something to encourage.

Brand Hijack is choc full of case studies, both successful and unsuccessful. Dr. Marten's, Red Bull, Napster, Ipod, Southwest Airlines. Great brands. It presents examples of how a brand should and should not treat its customers if it's looking for true, long-term loyalty. And it argues that one powerful method to create the powerful bonds that lead to such loyalty is through allowing and encouraging your brand to be hijacked. Hijacking of brands is a risky, unpredictable, and potentially long process that's a far cry from the traditional marketing formula, but if anyone doubts its potential, consider this: According to Landor's 2001 survey of global image power, Napster had a global rank near that of Sony's. In one year of its existence, with a marketing budget of under $1 million (compared to Sony's $1 billion+ lifetime budget). Something to make one take notice.

Brand Hijack also has an interesting section that compares the psychology of what Wippperfurth calls a "brand tribe" (a group of people who use a brand, such as Ipod, to foster social connections) to that of a cult. And he includes a much-needed and heart-felt call for responsibility as marketers. Although it's a topic that could fill a book itself, it certainly deserves a place in any discussion of non-traditional marketing. Where do we draw our lines?

As a writer at an ad agency and teacher of an advertising class on branding, I would recommend this book to any marketer, advertiser, student of advertising, or fan of Gladwell's THE TIPPING POINT. It gives one a lot to think about, and inspiration to think of consumers in wholly different ways.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars sets the bar mighty high...., May 6, 2005

By	Michael Brooke "concretewavemagazine.com" (Toronto) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I too read a lot of business books...especially those on marketing. As a pretty small book and magazine publisher (ie old media), I have to be 3 steps ahead when it comes to things. I found myself nodding in agreement with every page I turned.

I recommend reading this book along with Seth Godin's Purple Cow and Free Prize Inside.

The great thing about having a very small budget for marketing is that it forces you to think and be highly creative. Sure, big companies will always have more money....but they may not be able to have more creativity or freedom.

And that's why this book is so useful. It is a blueprint for change that small companies can really embrace...if they choose to.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Practical Guide to Launching a Brand, February 19, 2005

By	Joseph J. Kennedy (Danville, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As the head of marketing for Saturn (the car company) in the 90's, I experienced the power and magic of having customers become owners of the brand and evangelists that drove its growth. I just read BRAND HIJACK and it is the best practical guide to creating this kind of evangelism--and it is particularly useful in today's marketing climate in which the effectiveness of traditional media has declined.

In a world in which many marketers are trying to launch their products on very low budgets, trying to make their products "cool", trying to generate "buzz", trying to connect with early adopters and then go mass market, etc., this book stands out with clear, rigorous thinking about these issues delivered by someone who has been a thoughtful, creative, daring and successful practitioner.

This book is must reading for anyone launching a brand today.