Book Tamers| book reviews

A collector’s edition, recommended by Kotler.

I truly mean it when I say that I liked the book very much even before I started reading it. It has an interesting appearance, starting with the elegant hard cover and continuing with the shape, different from the usual rectangular one. I start reading these books hoping I will like them and that I will not be forced to use them as mere decorations in my bookshelf.

Marketing Genius confirms. Is indeed collector’s edition also from the content point of view. The author, Peter Fisk, is a marketing consultant who has worked with companies like Microsoft, Philips, Coca-Cola, Vodafone and, until now, the only consultant who is not specialised in online marketing and dares to begin his book with an analysis of Google. Fisk also talks about Amazon, Apple and other companies with roots in IT and Online about which most of the marketers do not dare to talk about or they do but express oppinions anything but pertinent.

Remember Sun Tzu?

No, not the military strategist but the book, Sun Tzu- Marketing Strategies, written by the Michaelson brothers. Marketing Genius is as marketed but much more consistent and, as a digression, this is how one sees how good is a marketer. It is true that he must know how to sell his own products (I am sure that Sun Tzu- Marketing Strategies was also sold) but marketing doesn’t stop here. You don’t pay someone to buy a product and then you claim you are doing marketing. Next time not only will that someone not buy the product, but will also tell all his friends about the farce.

Two things I didn’t like

First of all, I was a little disturbed by the translation. Keeping in mind that it addresses marketers used to so many English words, I think a few forced translation were really unuseful. For example, “lovemark” should have been kept in English.

The second problem I had were the “applications” between chapters. They are a few diagrams with questions which, I understand, are meant to help the reader solve or at least identify a few real problems that his company has. It didn’t work for me and the questions, although pertinent, were not useful. I liked more the specific examples of problems that big companies have encountered and the intelligent, or genius, like the author says, sollutions they found.

And, speaking of geniuses, Peter Fisk doesn’t contradict himself and talks a lot about the 10 characteristics of the genius and the way they are applied in marketing, all done with examples, analysis, and often going profoundly into what marketing really means, above the notions superficially discussed and overknown, like brand, awareness or target.

I am not interested in marketing. Why should I read it?

Did you know that the famous Coca-Cola produces over 400 different drinks? That 1/3 of Warren Buffet’s fortune is in Coca-Cola stocks? Or that Eddison had over 1093 licences, more than anyone until now, fileing for one every 10 days?

Now you know because I told you. But do you really think that I would be able to systematize all the information that can be read in the book?

Written by Andrei

Marketing in the public sector is a book that could really change a system, and Kotler explains from the very beginning about how solutions used in the private sector of the commercial societies could be applied in the public sector.

Of course, there are differences, of course that governmental organizations are most of the time monopoles while companies can’t afford ignoring competition, of course almost everywhere, when it comes to State shares, people frown and get uncomfortable while they are calmer when it comes to a commercial society, the reason being set loud and clear: gaining profit.

There is a certain fear (sometimes justified) of anything that relates to the State. We have the impression that we offer too much and we get too little, that politicians steal and that for them democracy means anything but taking responsibilities. But what the author is planning to do is not easy at all.

Kotler, the old revolutionary

If in the States or another country with a decent system of public administration, Kotler’s solutions would get some marketing prizes, in a developing country this would probably mean there will be a revolution and winning the elections 3 times in a row.

In all this madness named public administration, Kotler enters with an easiness that I honestly didn’t see in him. He is however a visionary, but one of whom one can’t say he made the transition from a black and white TV set to a color one.

He is the father of marketing as we know it today, but fathers become frequently too conservative and some of this conservatory spirit can be felt in Kotler’s writing. Reaffirming basic marketing ideas and adjusting them so that they could be used for the public sector, Kotler has that ‘80s feeling.
I have to admit an exceptional thing Kotler does: he understands the breaches in the system, the deficiencies in mentality that public clerks in America display and emphasizes the unlucky associations they make when it comes to marketing.

And actually the same level of shallowness is present when it comes when associating culture and marketing. To be more precise, there is a permanent swing between harsh ignorance ad insufficient efforts to judge a matter that we do not yet understand.

Written by Andrei

When David Ogilvy says that nobody should be allowed to have anything to do with advertising before reading Scientific Advertising seven times and that this book has changed his life, there’s nothing to add. You just read it. When a name with such resonance in the advertising field expresses this kind of precious opinion, anything else would be out of place.

In our country, Scientific Advertising, published in 1923, appeared in a book that contains Claude Hopkins’ autobiography, My life in advertising, that was written four years later. I think this is a good strategy, meant to persuade especially the skeptics that Scientific Advertising is indeed a reference book in this field.

Claude Hopkins` Life

Reading this book, some strange things happened to me. First of all, even Hopkins’ autobiography appears to be like a handbook, which teaches you how to be successful in life and in advertising. Hopkins tells the story of what he did to support himself at the age of 9, giving details about his first selling experiences that happened around that same age. He explains his way of thinking, his way of approaching things, mentions all the companies he promoted and how he ended up in that situation.

Apart from this, there are two important facts: concerning life in general, one must work in order to succeed. Although he doesn’t recommend anyone to do so, he says that his work day started at 6 am and ended at 2 pm. His resistance, for 35 years, was due to his love towards work that was like a game to him.

Claude Hopkins` Work

When he talks about advertising, he says that the road to success runs through common people. Hopkins always thought that he had an advantage because he went from an average and poor person to a wealthy individual. And he often admonishes those who try to sell things without knowing the target, those who don’t try to find out what are the wishes and the needs of the regular people.

The second strange thing is that although both books seem to be a pair of handbooks (Scientific Advertising is actually a handbook), I didn’t perceive them as such; there was no stiff speech or never ending examples, no mathematical calculi or other obstacles found in science books. In his own way, Hopkins made his books accessible to common people.

As for “the book that has to be read seven times”, I would like to praise the fact that the rules are structured in clearly entitled short chapters and exact explanations. Also, Hopkins says that any advertiser should take into account that they are not to be cheered at, but to sell. All advertisers should consider that.

Written by Raluca