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