Brand Sense - Sensory Secrets Behind The Stuff We Buy - A Review

I bought this book because it was endorsed by Philip Kotler and The Wall Street Journal. And the fact that Martin Lindstrom is a renowned marketing guru. The WSJ hailed it to be “one of the five best marketing books ever published”.  Was curious about this and I did some Googling.

Turns out that it was one of 5 books that Steve Cone (senior marketing executive at Citigroup and the author of "Steal These Ideas: Marketing Secrets That Will Make You a Star" ) thought was the best. See the WSJ article here.

It’s a thin book which could be even thinner if he didn’t repeat stuff or add those highlights section at the end of each chapter. On the latter, were they really necessary seeing that the chapters are short anyway?

I didn’t quite agree with everything he wrote.

On page 79, he wrote that Microsoft has a missed branding opportunity simply because there’s a lack of consistency of sound across all Microsoft channels, from software to the Internet. *snigger* For real, Lindstrom? I doubt that the millions of Microsoft adherents cares much about the sound, hardly misses it and still continue to use the products. The reason anyone ‘misses’ anything is because they knowingly or unknowingly heard/saw/touched/tasted something so frequently it became a habit. People use Microsoft not because of the sound! To suggest that the number of Microsoft users would increase if said company were to keep to a consistent sound is nonsensical!

On page 94, Lindstrom made it sound as if Coke’s poor performance is purely because of its weak tactile sensation. This means that it’s best asset i.e. Coke in glass bottles are not being sold widely enough. This to me, is preposterous as I am sure other factors contributed too.

On page 108, Lindstrom had unwittingly provided an alternative for those marketers who lack the financial wherewithal to incorporate very expensive, actual sensorial stimuli in the selling of their products. He did so in the description of that hot summer day and ice cream. This is a well-known trick used by advertisers, the long-drawn, descriptive copy. One cannot discount the power of the imagination. That’s why literature erotica is good business.

He also likens branding to religion or rather recommends that brands aspire to be like religions. A little controversial this. His examples of the Beckham Buddha and the Hello Kitty phenomenon proves that such an aspiration can be a reality. But to create devotional fervor for brands which are basically mere representation of products, things? That’s a different story. We wouldn’t want extreme brand loyalists to be like that Korean couple whose real baby died while their virtual baby thrived. Or that guy who tattooed Gucci on to himself.

So, did I like this at all?  It had some useful examples but that's it.