Never Mind the Sizzle...Where's the Sausage: Branding based on substance not spin (Paperback)

by David Taylor (Author)
Key Phrases: pizza launch, emotional sizzle, sausage plan, Old Mr Simpton, Sales Director, Simpton's Sunday (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Taylor...passes on his wisdom in the style of a story…giving tips on creating a successful brand along the way." (Artisan, September 2007)

"A funny story cooked up inside a marketing book"  (Roe Valley Sentinel & Londonderry Sentinel, Wednesday 21st November 2007)

Product Description
Are you looking for a branding book that's a bit different? You've found it. Never Mind the Sizzle... is an irreverent story packed full of practical tips, tricks and tools that reveal how to cut through the bull and buzzwords of branding, get deep insight into your customers, create a big brand idea, get your boss on board, win the consumer's heart and mind and stand out from the crowd. Join the blog at wheresthesausage.com !

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Product Details

• Paperback: 162 pages
• Publisher: Capstone; illustrated edition edition (November 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1841127698
• ISBN-13: 978-1841127699
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,399,002 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Very readable book on a potentially dry subject, December 1, 2007

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

I'm a copywriter and creative director at an advertising agency, and I teach at a post-graduate advertising portfolio school, so I'm always looking for new ideas in branding and innovative ways to deliver the lessons. This book succeeds primarily in the latter. Shrugging off the marketing book tradition of case study after case study, Where's the Sausage? is a fictional account of one brand manager's year at Simpton's Sausages as he tries to save the company from itself.

The story is no GREAT EXPECTATIONS. It's pretty predictable, has mostly flat characters, and leaves a number of loose ends. Sometimes I was happy there was a story, and at other times I just wanted to get on with it. But overall, it serves its purpose as the sugar that helps the tougher stuff go down.

As for the branding, none of it seemed revolutionary, but most of it is smart and insightful. Taylor shuns complicated marketing jargon, brand pyramids, and over-think for common sense and instinct. He advocates using research as reinforcement rather than letting it drive the brand. And he emphasizes the importance of branding based on the soul of the product rather than flashy promotions.

I agree with most of the points he makes in the book, and whole-heartedly back the overall philosophy. I found myself nodding along to much of it, as many of the mistakes Taylor describes are all too familiar. The one part that rubbed me the wrong way was when it came to the advertising. I was a little offended by the slam on advertising creatives as being interested only in winning awards. While the industry as a whole has probably earned that stereotype, there are plenty of creatives who do care about the brands, more so than awards. The paranoid brand manager who thinks that creatives are just out to do something whacky is as big a problem in agency-client relationships as award-hungry creatives.

The other point Taylor makes that made me shake my head was when he suggests that you should know in the first few seconds of a commercial what the product is. While I don't disagree that the insight or drama should be based on product truth, this seemed like something a junior brand manager would say. There are plenty of examples of very effective advertising that doesn't give away the product until the end (Guiness being a good example, or even Stella Artois, which Taylor mentions as one of his favorites).

He then describes a commercial for pudding that shows beautiful food footage as brilliant for the brand. But one page later, he says that advertising must be unique and differentiate the product. As Taylor has to realize, beautiful shots of swirling pudding is what EVERY pudding brand shows in their tv commercials. There's nothing unique or differentiating about it.

Taylor describes his book as good for "branding virgins." I would agree with that. It's very accessible, readable, and makes a potentially dry subject interesting. And at its heart, it is full of good advice that even experienced brand managers would be best to remember.