The Lost Logo - A Review

This book is probably much like Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol....that is, not as exciting as previous outings. But entertaining nonetheless.

In this one, Brown continues his attack on marketing norms with zingers like the chapter where Abby trashed (literally) works done by hired brand consultants, those "fee-padding con artists".

I especially liked the chapter where a Coke executive tried to cut a deal with Magill to include Coke branding in Dan Brown's next book. How utterly uncool it is for brands to latch on to money-making mediums like books, using the most flimsiest of connections and at times, not connection at all! Seems desperate and yet, so very real.

The Upside of Irrationality - A Review

Yet another enjoyable and educational read from Dan Ariely.

A few observations :

1)  On the 'agent' & 'principal' bit in the case of revenge chapter, I think that the reason why people would direct their revenge towards 'principals' even   though it is their 'agents' that are at fault, could very well be that the 'principals' are thought to deserve punishment for employing those 'agents' in the first place. The 'rationale' could be "If you didn't hire these people, then I wouldn't be unhappy and therefore, would not feel the need to punish you."

2)  Coming from an advertising background, I now know why some form of advertising can become blind spots. In the chapter on adaptation, because of our ability to adapt, it can cause us to, over time, pay less and less attention to things around us, which for me includes advertising, which would then render such things as unnoticeable.  So note to self, do not come up with advertising that stays the same for a long period.  Must vary.

Wizard!: Harry Potter's Brand Magic - A Review

A fun analysis of that marketing behemoth Harry Potter.

Stephen Brown is fast becoming one of my favorite marketing writers. He has a humorous and engaging writing style. Loved it when he tried to use the Crucio curse on Seth Godin. Funny haha.

And yes, liked the gimmick of using a mirror to read one of the chapters. Interesting, but a pain and yet it was a marketing message in itself. If you liked something so much, you'd do almost anything for it. For marketers, that is the ultimate response to get out of their customers.

Agents & Dealers - A Review

I liked this book although it had less about marketing theory than Brown's previous release, The Marketing Code.

In this one, the fiction gets even more fantastical (which I think is why there was less marketing theory; the author may be too caught up in the writing of the fiction part to include the marketing bits).

But as per The Marketing Code, he reiterates again the idea that marketing is not a science but more of an alchemy. And that word alone, evokes magic and fantasy which unsurprisingly does not sit well with the many marketing gurus out there who have made their millions in consultancy gigs and hawking those almost unreadable tomes on marketing theory filled with scientific formulas and statistical data.

The Marketing Code - A Review

This is the first time I've added a review for a fiction book on this blog. But trust me, it's entirely appropriate. The Marketing Code is written by Stephen Brown, a Professor of Marketing Research at the University of Ulster, Northern Ireland. He calls this book a marketing thriller.

A marketing thriller? This book is like one of those marketing fads that he puts down in his book. An interesting idea but will it catch on?

Looks like it didn't judging from the very few reviews I found online. And it's shame. I liked this book. I absolutely dig that SA chapter where the Brady Bunch were cooking up fad marketing terms for sale. And the acronyms? Hilarious. It's a reflection of how ridiculous marketing is getting these days.

The Erotic History of Advertising - A Review

Sex sells. This book is proof that it does.

It was entertaining but not very useful in terms of any learnings. It was at times, a laborious read simply because a lot of the ads were described, not shown.

But then again, if all the ads were shown, the book would have made an interesting coffee table book which would not have made the author (a college professor) any more credible.

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.

Ca$hvertising - A Review

This book is a gold mine! I made notes on almost every single page.

The best part I liked was on page 184 when he says,

"Advertising is not supposed to be entertainment! You may be entertained by it, but that's not its purpose. It's not a creativity contest. It's not meant to grace the walls of the Louvre in Paris. It's also not poetry, comedy, or a riddle to be figured out. Advertising is not about winning awards for being tricky, off-the-wall, or ingenious. Advertising - plain and simple - is about selling products and services. It's business communication with the goal to increase sales by interesting people enough in a product or service that they ultimately trade their money for it."

What Would Google Do? - A Review

It's a very long ode to Google, methinks. Maybe too long? It seems like an expanded version of a blog post.

For me, I struggled to finish this. Yes, there are nuggets to be gleaned from it but it just wasn't gripping enough for me to get through this in one long sitting.

This book is for those who don't exactly understand why Google is big news and how it really works and why it's important in our lives. In other words, this book is actually for those who are not Net-savvy.

Adland: Searching for the Meaning of Life on a Branded Planet - A Review

I had always thought the advertising scene overseas would be drastically different from here in Malaysia. Boy, was I wrong! In a way James Othmer shattered one of my long-kept dreams that the grass on the other side would be greener.

The book itself is divided into 3 parts. The first part for me, was a trip down memory lane which was basically a combination of dreamy and nightmare-like existence. The second part was about the changes currently going on in the industry. And the final part, what the future holds, somewhat.

The biggest thing aside from the advent of the Net as an advertising medium, are those little agencies that are going around saying that they’re not ad agencies.

LEAP!: Ditch Your Job, Start Your Own Business & Set Yourself Free - A Review

Short, succinct and to the point. With heaps of useful tips. However, I think this guide is for those who are considering setting up their own consultancy outfits. Not entirely useful for those in other types of home based business like network marketing or internet marketing, although some of the tips may apply. What I liked about the book was that it never tried to go into those mumbo-jumbo "find yourself","discover your inner mojo","get in touch with your inner self" rubbish so prevalent and long-winded in self-help books for entrepreneurs. Ian Sanders made his points clear and practical. I like this.

How To Get from Where You Are to Where You Want To Be - A Review

Canfield delivers. How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be is a practical guide, filled with common sense advice. What resonates to me the most is that you don't need to be perfectly ready to start. Just start. Time to get off my butt.

Mullahs, Merchants, and Militants: The Economic Collapse of the Arab World - A Review

In most history of military conquests and reigns of despots and corrupt government, the underlying reasons has always included economics. The kind where the country's riches are controlled by the very few and the many suffer.

Such as typified by the many Middle Eastern countries.

It's really not a huge surprise to see many turn to the likes of Hezbollah, Muslim Brotherhood and for those with more extreme tastes, Al-Qaeda as they seem to be the ones bearing beacons of hope.

If one is hungry, one will become very desperate.

The Right Decision: A Mathematician Reveals How the Secrets of Decision Theory - A Review

I love this book! But solutions to some of the questions didn't sit well with me.

In "Hacking It", I felt the 2nd possible solution was the better bet compared to the 3rd because if you stayed at a well-paying job for a little while, you'd be able to have enough financially to start off as an independent contractor. Even if you had a lot of contacts, it won't matter much if you can't even stay afloat for a few months while waiting for payment from your clients.

Sometimes, I think the author is purposefully trying to make sure that the right solution never involves taking a life. While that is correct, I do wonder whether it made sense to let Napoleon live as in the "Nine Lives" quiz. I didn't think that the exile solutions were best because he was a popular guy. And I think he didn't escape from Elba without some help.

Flip: How to Turn Everything You Know on Its Head--and Succeed Beyond Your Wildest Imaginings - A Review

Really liked this book. His writing is engaging and the book is filled with a lot of examples.

What I really liked what his “Fast, Good, Cheap – Pick 3 & add Something Extra” concept. For many years, I always believed that 2 out of 3 would be good enough, but Sheahan has proven that it’s no longer so because all 3 are actually achievable and are no longer points of difference for business but are now entry requirements. If you wanna play, you’ve gotta have all that or don’t bother.

And I do agree with his position on ‘sweating on the small stuff’. I think it’s important that it’s not just one or a few of the small details that need to be looked into, but a series of small stuff that can add up to a profitable bigger picture.

Herd: How to Change Mass Behaviour by Harnessing Our True Nature - A Review

Fantastic! It's a book about 'we' thinking that we're an 'I' when all the time we're behaving like a 'we'...very useful for marketers or all those in the 'changing behaviour' jobs like advertising.

Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior - A Review

Sway holds a particular interest to me in that no where do I see it more played out than in the world of consumerism.

Celebrity endorsements, price offs, real people testimonials etc. etc. All these methods are used to get people to part with their money.

While some may say that such tactics are useful to consumers i.e. that they present benefits to consumers, they are still sneaky tactics because in the end they serve to sway you towards irrational behaviour.

Gen BuY: How Tweens, Teens and Twenty-Somethings Are Revolutionizing Retail - A Review

I'm not a Gen Yer unfortunately. By definition, I was born 4 years too early. And it seems, 4 years is a wider gap than I thought.

Illuminating is how I judge this book as it describes the American Gen Yers so clearly. I must admit that the American Gen Yers are far more sophisticated than other Gen Yers across the globe. I mean, how can a flashlight be an essential item for prom?.....sigh, only in America.

The authors described how retailers are bending over backwards to cater to this group. One example, the Urban Outfitters and their snazzy outlets. The problem that I have with this is that, I think it's all very gimmicky and can easily be copied by their competitors. Therefore, it will no longer be a point of difference. So, then what?

The Online Advertising Playbook: Proven Strategies and Tested Tactics from the Advertising Research Foundation - A Review

It's like what the title says. This is a playbook.

Found a lot of useful case studies and nice tips. But what I found disturbing is that the strategies and tactics are too reminiscent of traditional advertising. It talks quite a bit about what size it should be, what should be said, how often it should appear.

Having said that, this book is very useful when dealing with the here and now. But it won't be useful for long as online advertising morphs further to include Web 2.0 elements. And that should be in a couple of years. This book was written in 2007. The authors should think about revised editions or follow-ups.

Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us - A Review

Am disappointed. This book sounded more like a self-help, ra-ra you-can-do-it diatribe than it is a how-to book.

As usual, it's sprinkled with many anecdotes of little and unheard of people and companies , which as Godin asserts, are leaders in their own right. All of which helped make this book less boring, thankfully.

I distrust any business book that doesn't have a content list or even index pages, not to mention bibliography list. Is this a sign of leadership or fiction?