Reviews (1)

Perhaps I don't get it...
True, previous acclaimed editions of this book have been used in MBA level courses on marketing, etc., etc.

However, I read through this book and I noticed the relative absence of *practical content*. Tons of theory, though: 8 reasons for this, 12 reasons for that, but not enough on how to directly apply the principles to the real world.

I think this book should be recommended for academics, people seeking advanced degrees in marketing. Those who are already in business, like me, might have a hard time extracting practical advice from it.

... Read more

Book Description

This worldwide best-selling book highlights the most recent trends and developments in global marketing-with an emphasis on the importance of teamwork between marketing and all the other functions of the business. It introduces new perspectives in successful strategic market planning, and presents additional company examples of creative, market-focused, and customer-driven action.Coverage includes a focus on customer relationship management, partner relationship management, the Internet and its effects and uses, brand building and brand asset management, alternative go-to-market channels, and marketing around the globe. Chapter topics discuss building customer satisfaction, market-oriented strategic planning, analyzing consumer markets and buyer behavior, dealing with the competition, designing pricing strategies and programs, and managing the sales forceFor marketing managers who want to increase their understanding of the major issues of strategic, tactical, and administrative marketing-along with the opportunities and needs of the marketplace in the years ahead. ... Read more

Reviews (34)

The "Bible" of Marketing
Phillip Kotler's Marketing Management is the the classic MBA marketing text. It's comprehensive and encyclopedic--that means its not an easy read. Kotler's writing style could be described as a list of lists. Each topic is parsed into its elements and he then recites all possible attributes.

The book has an enormous market share, which means it comes with every possible ancilliary product (for instructors who adopt the book) such as videos and power points. Because Prentice Hall sells so many of this book, they can afford to issue new editions on an accelerated, two-year cycle. The good news from this is it allows them to move with the times (in this edition, they've eliminated all the trivial "Did you know ...?" sidebars that detracted from the seriousness of the last "Millennial Edition." The bad news (from a student point of view) is that you may be forced to buy new, because used copies won't be correct.

However, this is one book that you'll want to keep on your professional library shelves--it's as much a reference as a text. All other marketing texts either derive from Kotler or distance themselves from this book, so you might as well go to the source.

IT RAMIFIED EVERY ASPECT OF MARKETING
Using a variety of case-study analyses, this "Marketing Management" elaborated on the principal concepts of 21st Century marketing. Post-graduate students, as well as practising professionals will find it useful. Its specialized chapters did their best in ramifying every aspect of marketing. Information is everywhere; although that its versatility led to the boring repetition of strategies.
This book is simple and well-written. It is very good; but in comparison, the "Principles of Marketing", which is cheaper and comes with an attached CD-ROM, (and was written by Gary Armstrong and this same Philip Kotler) offers much more for less money.

Marketing Management
The eleventh edition of this bestselling marketing management text reflects the recent trends and developments in global marketing. It emphasizes the importance of teamwork between marketing and all other functions of the business.

For teaching
Generally useful and apply to real life situation

Broad Focus
Kotler is a name synonomous with marketing. I have several of his books and have enjoyed them very much. It is a broad focus though. It doesn't dig very deep into specific industries of course. If you happen to be looking for restaurant marketing specific book recommendations, there are several at the Quantified Marketing Group website at www.quantifiedmarketing.com. We have several complimentary restaurant marketing resources and book recommendations there. ... Read more

Book Description

"Why did crime in New York drop so suddenly in the mid-90s? How does an unknown novelist end up a bestselling author? Why is teenage smoking out of control, when everyone knows smoking kills? What makes TV shows like Sesame Street so good at teaching kids how to read? Why did Paul Revere succeed with his famous warning? In this brilliant and groundbreaking book, New Yorker writer Malcolm Gladwell looks at why major changes in our society so often happen suddenly and unexpectedly. Ideas, behavior, messages, and products, he argues, often spread like outbreaks of infectious disease. Just as a single sick person can start an epidemic of the flu, so too can a few fare-beaters and graffiti artists fuel a subway crime wave, or a satisfied customer fill the empty tables of a new restaurant. These are social epidemics, and the moment when they take off, when they reach their critical mass, is the Tipping Point.

In The Tipping Point, Gladwell introduces us to the particular personality types who are natural pollinators of new ideas and trends, the people who create the phenomenon of word of mouth. He analyzes fashion trends, smoking, children's television, direct mail and the early days of the American Revolution for clues about making ideas infectious, and visits a religious commune, a successful high-tech company, and one of the world's greatest salesmen to show how to start and sustain social epidemics. The Tipping Point is an intellectual adventure story written with an infectious enthusiasm for the power and joy of new ideas. Most of all, it is a road map to change, with a profoundly hopeful message--that one imaginative person applying a well-placed lever can move the world." ... Read more

Reviews (330)

Great Insights into Mass Behaviors
Despite an earlier reviewer poo-pooing this book for shallow insights, I beg to differ. This book is a fascinating and original take on what makes people behave in a certain way en masse. Tying together Paul Revere, Hush Puppies and many other very accessible ideas makes this book, that is in some ways very academic, read like a thriller. I read it in three sittings. It has an impact on several levels. One, as a marketer, it gave me insights into how word-of-mouth really works. I'll be experimenting with these concepts for years. Second, as a member of society, I gained insight into why I am pulled this way and that by trends. If you enjoyed this, you'll also enjoy the groundbreaking book by Robert Cialdini called "Influence, the Psychology of Persuasion." It makes some of the same points. Finally, it makes me think that some savvy activists will find some ways to use these principles to start societal epidemics that will ultimately have a positive effect. I believe Gladwell has introduced a concept, "the Tipping Point," that will have a wide-ranging impact on how we view the world and human behavior.

Bowled me over.
This book is quite wonderful, and it doesn't surprise me at all that it's getting such solid reviews here. Gladwell writes wonderful pieces for the New Yorker (and elsewhere, no doubt), and the craft of the writing here combines with fascinating material to produce a book for the lively of mind.

What is a "tipping point"? Gladwell shows us how concepts and perceptions derived from epidemiology can provide unexpected, but highly plausible explanations for the transformation of a minor phenomenon into a major trend. Gladwell's examples are diverse, drawn from such apparently disparate worlds as policing, fashion, and medical research, but they work well to create a sense that there's a logic at play in the crazes and fads we see turn into cultural trends.

Obviously, this book would be a good read for anyone interested in forcasting consumer behaviour, and other business concerns. I read it, though, as a person interested in culture and the trends which form the fabric of our waking lives. I read it twice, in fact, because it's very well written, and because I used it to teach theories of information to university students, who also really "got" the book. I find that concepts drawn froom the book return to me in unlikely situations, and that's a true test of non-fiction.

My only complaint? It's not long enough!

Esoterica
This is a fun book to read, but the dots remain uncconected.
...
I much prefer works that are more practical, and guide you directly to where you are going, instead of this very indirect analysis.
...
Some examples of this direct approach which are exceptionally well done include the CD "Voice Lessons to go" and the DVD "New Sex Now."
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All of these are fun and enjoyable and will improve your life.

does not disappoint
I rarely pick up a book that holds my interest all the way. This book was exceptional though and I have recommended it to many of my friends. The book discusses what causes an epidemic- how one tiny product, tv show, event, etc influences so many. I was impressed by the number of case studies and research that Gladwell did to back up his point. I really enjoyed learning about the influence Sesame Street had on the literary rate of the children who watched it, while what causes problems like teen smoking and suicide. It was a very interesting read.

Tiresome and Repetitive
Tipping Point is a painful book to read, painful especially to contemplate the patchwork of fill that turns what at best is a pop magazine article into a poor excuse for a book. Gladwell stabs at any theme he can possibly use to support his by no means new theory of tipping points. He hits one, perhaps, when he covers Rudy Giuliani's results in the City of New York, buts the rest are paler attempts. His comparison of Paul Revere with Dawes is over-romantic and downright silly. There's something profoundly patronizing about his tone of writing and his lack of any kind of wit. ... Read more

Book Description

Every marketer tells a story. And if they do it right, we believe them. We believe that wine tastes better in a $20 glass than a $1 glass. We believe that an $80,000 Porsche Cayenne is vastly superior to a $36,000 VW Touareg, which is virtually the same car. We believe that $225 Pumas will make our feet feel better-and look cooler-than $20 no-names . . . and believing it makes it true.

Successful marketers don't talk about features or even benefits. Instead, they tell a story. A story we want to believe.

This is a book about doing what consumers demand-painting vivid pictures that they choose to believe. Every organization-from nonprofits to car companies, from political campaigns to wineglass blowers-must understand that the rules have changed (again). In an economy where the richest have an infinite number of choices (and no time to make them), every organization is a marketer and all marketing is about telling stories.

Marketers succeed when they tell us a story that fits our worldview, a story that we intuitively embrace and then share with our friends. Think of the Dyson vacuum cleaner or the iPod.

But beware: If your stories are inauthentic, you cross the line from fib to fraud. Marketers fail when they are selfish and scurrilous, when they abuse the tools of their trade and make the world worse. That's a lesson learned the hard way by telemarketers and Marlboro.

This is a powerful book for anyone who wants to create things people truly want as opposed to commodities that people merely need. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

I loved this book!
Wow!I loved this book.In a world of dull business tomes designed to put you into a confused slumber, this is a winner!With entertaining and true stories as examples, Seth puts forth a real world view of marketing and the masterful way the successful marketing beguiles the consumer and sells products.Absolutely the best marketing tool I have ever read and those I know who have read it say the same.You won't go wrong with this one!

Hat Trick
All Marketers Are Liars completes the Seth Godin marketing hat trick begun with Purple Cow and Free Prize Inside. We all like being told stories (lies) from the time we are children. As kids, we want to believe in the magic and hope that fairy tales and fables bring us. As adults, we still need to believe in the power of magic, of things having exceptional qualities. Marketing stories/lies give us that magic. They take what is unique about a product/business (Purple Cow) and combine it with its extra benefits (Free Prize Inside) to create a story that we understand on an emotional level. Once a product/business has a strong lie, it can connect with its customer quicker and more efficently.
I would strongly recommend this book especially for small business owners who are having to act as their own marketing directors. You will come away with an direction for you marketing.

Seth Godin Is A Dirty, Rotten Liar! (Not Really)
Seth Godin is the kind of character and author that you either love - or love to hate. I find myself happily in the first camp. I find his view of the world and of marketing to be refreshing and insightful. I have always walked away from a personal encounter with Seth having learned something new and having been encouraged to think about familiar things in new and different ways. The same holds true for his books. I have devoured Purple Cow, Free Prize Inside, Permission Marketing, Unleashing the IdeaVirus.

His new book has just been released to bookstores. All Marketers Are Liars (The Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low-Trust World) stands on the shoulders of his previous books and builds the case for storytelling being at the heart of all marketing activities. And for Seth, the medium is often a crucial part of the message. Packaging is part of the story. Ergo, limited editions of Purple Cow came packed inside purple and white half gallon milk cartons. Free Prize Inside was sold inside a cereal box. All Marketers Are Liars features a picture of Seth Godin looking strangely like the love child of Pinocchio and Cyrano de Bergerac!

The deliberately arresting and provocative title of the book makes Seth's point succinctly. In telling us the title of his book - he is telling us a lie. The book is not really about the fact that marketers lie (although some do). It is about the fact that consumers tell themselves lies all the time to justify buying what they want rather than what they truly need. We tell ourselves stories about the products and services we desire. And the successful marketer finds ways to control the storytelling process.

"Stories let us lie to ourselves. And those lies satisfy our desires. It's the story, not the good or the service you actually sell, that pleases the consumer." (p. 84)

The heart of Seth's argument can be found in this pithy statement: "Marketers succeed when they tell us a story that fits our worldview, a story that we intuitively embrace and then share with our friends. Think of the Dyson vacuum cleaner or the iPod."

Every marketer, sales person and business executive should read this book and then engage in some healthy reflection and self-analysis.

Every consumer should read it to gain better understanding about what moves us to want and then to buy the things that we acquire.

I enjoyed this book. No lie!

Storytelling beats advertising every time
I've always enjoyed Seth Godin's books and have read each of them starting with Permission Marketing (1999) as they've come out. I particularly liked his e-book Really Bad Powerpoint (and how to avoid it) (2001) although I haven't been able to find the (free) download lately.

It was indeed a pleasure to get my Amazon delivery of his latest - "All Marketers Are Liars: The power of telling authentic stories in a low-trust world" - the day before a Boston to LA flight. Perfect. Seth has a terrific way of telling his stories in book form as a quick and fun read. I started the book at Logan Airport and finished somewhere over Kansas.

This book is a must read for any marketer who wants to break through the noise of one-way, TV-influenced interruption marketing. Stories are authentic. Interruption is not.I particularly liked the section "Telling Stories in an Internet World." Seth explains why good Web marketing through storytelling beats advertising every time.

The examples are fun, breezy and easy to grasp in several hours of airplane time. And hey, Seth says the stories can even fib a bit as long as they are authentic, reach the intended audience and not a fraud. Because marketers aren't liars, they are just storytellers. We tell stories that consumers want to hear. Want an example? It sounded great for me to say I read All Marketers Are Liars starting at Logan and finishing over Kansas didn't it? Because Kansas in the middle of the US and anyone can gague the speed at which you can finish the book. Guess what? I lied. I actually read the Boston Globe in Logan then took a nap at the beginning of the flight. The plane didn't even fly over Kansas (I asked the pilot). But I did finish "All Marketers Are Liars" on the plane and it is a great book. Read it and learn how to be a better marketer.

Worthy Sequel To The Purple Cow
Seth hits the nail right on the head!

Consumers will believe what they want to believe.Smart marketers tell a story that reinforces that belief.

My biggest 'marketing' success comes from 'selling' the concept that all successful marketers have a social, ethical, even moral obligation to use part of their success to sponsor a charitable cause.

I reinforced this worldview of 'giving back' by sharing the story of how 50% of my online profits go to my favorite charity, supporting children born with heart defects (a story which incidentally had me featured as one of Seth's '99 Purple Cows').

Spinning the tale of how I believed this to be the main reason behind my exponentially growing business was also a 'marketers' lie'

The story telling sure works.Many prospects make their own 'Positive Promise' - http://www.PositivePromise.com - and they too have enjoyed a similar kind of success in their business... a 'lie' that became the 'truth' - and enhanced the experience of a consumer, just as Seth Godin describes in 'All Marketers Are Liars'

Did I lie?Or just fib?Or neither?

I don't know.But I've helped some of my audience become bigger successes - and my non-profit raise cash to help save a few lives!

Read Seth's latest book - you could help change the world too! ... Read more

Book Description

Boone and Kurtz’s Contemporary Marketing has proved to be the premier introduction to marketing text and package, edition after edition. With each edition, this best selling author team builds and improves upon past innovations, creating the most technologically advanced, student friendly, instructor supported text available. The eleventh edition continues to provide the most current and up-to-date content by including coverage on the events over the past year, such as the recession, the terrorist attacks on America, and coverage on the ethical disasters such as the Enron scandal.Realizing that students need a solid understanding of how these events apply to marketing the authors integrate this content throughout the new edition.The changes to this edition are so significant, that this new edition is more like a new text than just a revision. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Very relevant to current times
A very recent book that explicitly relates recent important events to how to perform marketing of your products. Perhaps the most important is of course the terrorist attacks of September 2001, and the resultant war [wars?] on terrorism. Then too, there were the huge corporate scandals (Enron, Global Crossing...) that helped generate scepticism of large companies. How can you decide on a marketing campaign when such is the societal backdrop? Boone offers useful suggestions or strategies.

One virtue of the book is that this analysis gives it a very practical ambience. You don't feel like you're thumbing through the pages of some abstract intellectual debate, or some fine nuance of accounting on pricing options, say.

But an unavoidable side effect is that the book's very explicit invocation of recent events will make this edition VERY dated in just a few years. Well, perhaps Boone will issue new editions as the years go on.

Amazon did not send right ISBN nuber to seller...watch out!
I had ordered this book and Amazon sent the wrong information to the seller. I got the study guide which is a softcover. Now Amazon won't take responsibilty for their action. I'm screwed because I ordered this book for college and now have to reorder it so I can have it in time. This is the second time Amazon has not taken resposibility for their actions with me. I have little faith in them at this point. SO WATCH OUT!!! ... Read more

Book Description

Marketing, 7e by Kerin, Berkowitz, Hartley, and Rudelius continues a tradition of leading the market with contemporary, cutting-edge content presented in a conversational student-oriented style, supported by the most comprehensive, innovative, and useful supplement package available. This text and package is designed to meet the needs of a wide spectrum of faculty—from the professor who just wants a good textbook and a few key supplements, to the professor who wants a top-notch fully integrated multimedia program. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Effective learning approach
Great tutorial that helped me get a A on my final ezam. Amust have to review important concepts and terms.

Marketing text
It's a great book because of it's extensiveness. ... Read more

Book Description

This best-selling book is dedicated to the development of decision-making skills in marketing. It introduces concepts and tools useful in structuring and solving marketing problems, while extensive case studies provide an opportunity for those concepts and tools to be employed in practice.Consisting of 10 chapters and 43 cases that feature contemporary marketing perspectives and practices, this book covers the topics of marketing management: its foundations; financial aspects; decision-making and case analysis; opportunity analysis, market segmentation, and market targeting; product and service strategy andbrand management; integrated marketing communication strategy and management; pricing strategy and management; the control process; and comprehensive marketing programs.For marketing executives and professionals. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Strategic Marketing Problems... Not Solutions
I was disappointed. The book does contain some interesting thoughts, but 90% of the content is a description of companies facing marketing problems (case studies with a lot of facts). The author doesn't offer the solutions and best practises that would help solve these problems. While reading this book, i felt i was eating a burger without meat. Something is missing...

This is a good book for teachers who want case studies for their students to work on. It's a classroom book. It's not a good book if you want want to read marketing theory and best practises (if you're already in the management world).

Great and comprehensive
I am a MBA Candidate with a finance focus who had the pleasure to use this book. Never before had I imagined that marketing could have the amount of numerical focus that this book shows. There's a case for every type of industry and many world-famous companies in this book. What else is missing from an introduction to marketing text?!

A good book...
I'm a MBA student in marketing. This book is good, but just that... good. I'm absolutely certain that somewhere has to be a book about strategic marketing that has a little more information (that's the problem, little theory and plenty of numbers) and not so expensive. Teresa M. Rodríguez ... Read more

Reviews (19)

Buy this book!
For anyone involved in business this book gives very practical advice on not only the methodology for pricing new products but also changing the strategy of one's existing pricing policy.

Look for a sustainable competitive advantage, maximise contribution margin, concentrate on value and profitability and then market share will follow are some of the key philosophies contained in the text. Concerning the value of this book, it is worth the price alone just for the chapter on costings and formula for calculating what level of sales a company can afford to lose/must gain after a price increase/decrease in order to break even.

A common complaint about business books is that they are all OK in theeory but contain little in the way of explanations of how to implement - this book however offers not only theory and case study examples but also practical instructions on what needs to be done to improve pricing strategy. Overall very, very impressive and a must read for anyone involved in finance, sales or marketing functions. As someone has already said these guys really know their stuff and it works!!

Superb guide to pricing as business strategy
Written with great clarity, "The Strategy and Tactics of Pricing" is a phenomenal book. It begins with an explanation of strategic pricing, and proceeds to cover competition in the market place, segmentation of buyers, pricing and the marketing mix for industrial and consumer goods, as well as the psychology of pricing. Also covered are models for determining price sensitivity, implications of sales staff price setting and negotiation, and finally, legal aspects of pricing.

After reading this book, you will understand the pitfalls of pursuing market share at all costs and common mistakes businesses and sales people make when setting or negotiating price. You will view your current pricing structure and strategy in a new light, and be able to spot the weak spots. You'll have a better picture of how to attract the right buyers, those that can be served profitably.

The book indirectly touches on topics covered in Co-opetition, and Thinking Strategically, as well as elements of the Theory of Constraints (see Eli Goldratt's "The Goal" and "It's Not Luck" or "Management Dilemmas" by Eli Schragenheim)

I can't recommend this book highly enough. As for the other reader who states:

"After reading this book, I was able to talk circles around the $20,000 "marketing consultant" we were considering."

believe it, it's that valuable!

Absolutely essential !
A must-have practical guide for any marketing executive, interested in improving his organization's performance.

Get into a new world of pricing strategy
One of the most focused book I have read recently. If anyone wants to learn about the factors influencing pricing strategy or developing right value proposition for their pricing decisions, this is the book. A must read. If you're skipping it then I would say that you are missing something.

Scholarly and comprehensive
Strategy and Pricing is the comprehensive work on pricing, with hundreds of chapter sections dealing with academic and business elements of pricing. The scholarly nature of the book is exhaustive. Of the three major price works ("Strategy and Tactics", "Power Pricing" by Dolan, and
"Winning the Profit Game. Smarter Pricing, Smarter Branding" by Docters, et al) I think Prof. Nagle has the definitive treatise. For those who like a more prescriptive discussion of price, and some leading edge ideas, "Winning the Profit Game" might be a better read. Power
Pricing is perhaps better at organizational issues. The Docters book is the easiest read, with some humor along the way. ... Read more

Book Description

This accessible, streamlined introduction to marketing by two of today's best-selling marketing authors helps users master the basic principles and practices of modern marketing in an enjoyable and practical way.The new edition is an even more effective text than its predecessors: it is complete, easy to manage, and explains how marketing affects the big picture in business and influences specific company divisions like accounting, information technologies, finance, operations, and human resources. Updated to present the latest marketing thinking, it builds upon a framework which positions marketing as the art and science of creating value for customers in order to capture value from customers in return.An excellent resource and tool for those employed in the field of marketing and sales; especially helpful for employees of global companies. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Great basic marketing text at a great price!
I use this textbook to teach about 1,500 students per year in my courses. I find the book to be well-written and interesting. More importantly, *many* students tell me that enjoy reading the book. (I can tell you that it is rare to have students providing positive feedback on textbooks that are required reading). Armstrong and Kotler are leaders in the field, and their hardcover book holds the largest market share among U.S. universities. Books don't make it to the 10th edition (or 5th for paperback) w/o being good!

Boring
This book is easy to read, but there is so much waffle the basic principles are lost. I found the frequent interruption of the text by case studies very annoying. Don't waste your money.

Incomplete, Unclear, Old
This book isn't clear on many topics. The ideas are old and stale unlike many other books which I've found in the same area. The pages are boring and do not make anyone want to learn more about marketing.

Complete, clear and updated
This book is very valuable even for those professionals with long experience in marketing. Either as reference work for the most modern marketing techniques or as case study of various companies (and its marketing problems and solutions), the book of Kotler and Armstrong is excellent. The dense appendixes reinforce the quality of the volume. In there it is possible to find some novelties as, for exemple, advices for those looking for careers in marketing. The practical exercises at the end of each chapter help to apply the contents in our diary lives. Colorful drawings, charts and ads samples make each page a delight for the eyes. This book allows learning with a touch of printing art.

Highly recommended for business students.
Hi, my name is Banggajam Velayudham. Currently I am pursuing an ABE business management course. Last term when I sat for my marketing Exam,My lecturer Ms.Chua recommend this book to me and I used the "Introduction to Marketing" by Philip Kotler and Gary Armstrong. This book is very good and act as a guide and has good notes and case stuides of the real business world with many pictures and particularly short notes on key points and it really helped me to get an A in my exam. I as student would highly recommed this book for ABE students. Thanks Mr.Kotler and Mr. Armstrong for coming out with such a wonderful boo,. ... Read more

Book Description

You're either a Purple Cow or you're not. You're either remarkable or invisible. Make your choice.

What do Starbucks and JetBlue and KrispyKreme and Apple and DutchBoy and Kensington and Zespri and Hard Candy have that you don't? How do they continue to confound critics and achieve spectacular growth, leaving behind former tried-and true brands to gasp their last?

Face it, the checklist of tired 'P's marketers have used for decades to get their product noticed -Pricing, Promotion, Publicity, to name a few-aren't working anymore. There's an exceptionally important 'P' that has to be added to the list.It's Purple Cow.

Cows, after you've seen one, or two, or ten, are boring. A Purple Cow, though...now that would be something. Purple Cow describes something phenomenal, something counterintuitive and exciting and flat out unbelievable. Every day, consumers come face to face with a lot of boring stuff-a lot of brown cows-but you can bet they won't forget a Purple Cow. And it's not a marketing function that you can slap on to your product or service. Purple Cow is inherent. It's built right in, or it's not there. Period.

In Purple Cow, Seth Godin urges you to put a Purple Cow into everything you build, and everything you do, to create something truly noticeable. It's a manifesto for marketers who want to help create products that are worth marketing in the first place. ... Read more

Reviews (104)

Purple works...I've tried it!
Seth Godin is the most astute marketer of the last 10 years. His latest book, Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable arrives at just the right time to save the corporate world from ruin.

Hyperbole? Not at all.

As an adjunct professor in a nearby university, I have the privilege of teaching the principles of direct marketing and advertising to the next generation of adcats and DM pros. I base a lot of my class lectures on both personal experience (I've been a direct marketing guru for nearly 15 years) and cutting edge books -- especially those from Seth Godin.

What I like most about Seth Godin (in addition to his witty, insightful style of writing) is that he walks his talk...and doesn't bother to sugar coat what's going on in the world today. He tells it like it is. Or, more accurately, how it should be.

Seth is right: This is the most challenging time in history to be part of the American workforce.

Recent news reports reveal the unemployment rate (at 6.4%) to be the highest in nine years. But the fault doesn't lie with The White House.

Companies these days are actually more interested in playing it safe than in reaching for the stars. Ditto for employees. Remarkable ones aren't getting hired any more. Ones that "fit in" are. (Remarkable ones are routinely shown the door.)

The result is an endless parade of boring products, services, and employees.

And let's not overlook Hollywood. Or the whiney music industry.

Both churn out such bland tripe that they seem bent on drowning the world in a sea of mediocrity. So they have no one to blame but themselves if sales are down.

Enter the Purple Cow.

Seth's message is simple: BE REMARKABLE.

That's it. He calls on companies to be unique and exciting. He calls on employees to be extraordinary, to think big thoughts, to stand out.

Here's a personal example. I put the principles of Seth's book to work in my own advertising agency. When I started PurpleCrayon Direct earlier this year, I aimed for a target audience roughly the same as every other agency...and got literally zero reponse.

So I stepped back, rethought my strategy, and relaunched PurpleCrayon Direct to a completely new and unique audience: Artists. We now work with painters, musicians, actors, writers, sculptors, dancers, poets -- anyone who makes his or her living (or would like to) as an Artist with a capital "A."

And it worked. Big time. The buzz has been amazing.

So I know from observing society (and talking to friends out of work and looking for jobs) that America is in trouble. Forced sameness is crippling the human spirit and destroying hope.

But I know from personal experience what the answer is: BE REMARKABLE.

Thanks to Seth Godin's latest book, I'm more excited than ever before about my professional life. I may still go down in flames with my agency. But at least I'll go down giving it my best shot, being true to myself and to my clients.

I highly recommend Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable.

It worked for me. It'll work for you, too.

Quite simply you need this book - No question!!
This is without a doubt simply the most awesome book I have ever read on the subject of marketing.

Seth truly gets it and if you buy only one book this year to improve your business this is the one - the book is provoking, challenging and most importantly it will rock your world in the best way be cause if you read and get the message your company, business, job or life will change and change forever.

If you really want to connect with Seth read all his other books and make sure that you get the new ebook that came out on the same day as this book its called 99 Cows and it goes further with the Purple Cow strategy by giving you examples all with links.

But this book is the one and only marketing book the key to what Seth is saying is that business has to be remarkable if it is to cut through the static and make itself heard.

I have one other thing to say BUY THIS BOOK! Then tell everyone you know to get a copy too as the good news always spreads the fastest.

Don't waste your money
I feel suckered. Godin must be a clever marketer to have swindled me out of $15. There is nothing in this book that is remarkable. It's common sense: in order to be successful, you need a remarkable product. Well, duh.

I think I'm really, really dumb
There is nothing remarkable about Godin's book on being remarkable. All the info in this book is basic business sense. I am an artist.. how can I possibly sign my name to a painting that I do not feel is original or remarkable?? Anyone who starts a business knows the info in this book. If you didn't think your product was better than others why on earth would you have launched it? Unless you are like really, really dumb.

You can apply these principles to anything
I read an excerpt from this book in Fast Company and had to buy this and the accompanying "99 Cows". This is a great, eye- opening read because of its simplicity and brilliance. You can apply these principles to many things - I have been telling people about the "purple cow" principle as much as possible. If you want to be remarkable, this book has some good ideas to get you started or get you thinking about ways to apply the principles to your own situation. It's a fun read and very refreshing for a business-related publication. I highly recommend reading this and "99 cows". ... Read more

Book Description

From an interactive website to a business card, a brand must be recognizable, differentiated and help build customer loyalty. This indispensable resource presents brand identity fundamentals and a comprehensive dynamic process that help brands succeed. From researching the competition to translating the vision of the CEO to designing and implementing an integrated brand identity program, the meticulous development process is presented through a highly visible step by step approach in five phases: research and analysis, brand and identity strategy, brand identity design, brand identity applications and managing brandassets.

From global corporate mergers through entrepreneurial ventures and nonprofit institutions, twenty-two case studies portray the brand identity process in action. They illustrate a range of challenges and methodologies and represent a select group of branding and multidisciplinary design firms.

The scope of material includes history of identity design up to the latest information about online brand identity standards, naming and trademarking, with practical project management resources about decision making, and creating brand briefs.

Alina Wheeler specializes in brand identity. She uses her strategic imagination to help build brands, create new identities, and design integrated brand identity programs for Fortune 100 companies, entrepreneurial ventures, cities and foundations. Wheeler works closely with founders, CEO¹s and senior management to insure that their vision and their brand identity are communicated clearly to accelerate the success of their organizations. She has been the principal of several design firms as well as a consultant to some of America¹s largest business consulting groups. She is a former national board member of AIGA and was named an AIGA Fellow in 1998.

Hallmark Features

• Unlike most books that show identity programs, this book outlines a rigorous, complex and proven process from research and analysis through the design development of a new identity and online standards through launch and brand asset management.
• Comprehensive, easy to understand guide that is organized by spreads bysubject for easy reference.
• An indispensable reference for anyone with responsibility for brandidentity.
• Meaningful and actionable information that will accelerate the success ofany brand identity project.
• A toolkit for design firms and professionals, design students and designmanagers.
• Presents the relationship between effective brand identity and creating,building and managing successful brands.
• Presents case studies from Cingular, Amazon, Citibank, TAZO, Zoom, HarleyDavidson, FedEx and twenty others.

Reviews (11)

A "must read" for anyone interested in brand identity
Too many books targeted to designers err on the side of a "showcase" presentation which exposes designers to the final solutions with little or no substance illuminating the process. This book will provide a comprehensive roadmap for designers and their clients.

"Designing Brand Identity" provides the information and processes to empower designers to transition into a more valuable role as consultants on identity and branding, not just the creator of visual symbols and logotypes. It is a look behind the scenes at a process which others capable of addressing have chosen to protect as proprietary information. Thanks, Alina for sharing your wisdom and experience.

An essential tool for business leaders and strategists
This author has tackled the vital topic of brand identity in a new way. In the beginning of the book Alina Wheeler says that she want to provide "an accessible resource that provides a road map to the process, explains some fundamental concepts, and showcases best practices." The book delivers on this promise!

What differentiates it from other books on this topic is that Wheeler's book really IS accessible. This comes from the unique way in which it is organized. You can simply flip open the book to any spread and have a specific concept explained, illustrated, and illuminated by relevant quotations. This makes it an excellent reference work -- keep it by your desk to quickly look up any topic. For example, you might be advocating a particular course of action at your company that you just know is the right way to go. You can turn to Wheeler's book to marshall specific evidence and articulate rationales to make your case.

In the beginning, she discusses 9 brand identity ideals: vision, meaning, authenticity, differentiation, sustainability, coherence, flexibility, commitment and value. Once you have reviewed each concept you understand how each plays a role in successful brand identities.

However, this is not primarily a book of theory. Wheeler breaks down the practical steps involved and outlines each, from the legal process to signage design. Case studies of successful brand identities take up the final portion of the book.

My one criticism is that book is not completely in color, as the topic demands. (There is a color insert showing many of the brands from the case studies.) No doubt this was a decision of the publisher!

Professionals at agencies or design firms may think they have this material mastered, but this book gives you the distilled essentials that you'll find extremely useful. But the key audience, in my view, should be business students or leaders who seek to better understand that, as Wheeler says, "brand identity is an asset that needs to be managed, nourished, invested in, and leveraged."

The title of this book might mislead you
When I put my hands on this book, I thought I would be adding one more point of view to my knowledge about brand identity, but this didn't quite happen.

This book isn't really about designing brand identity itself, but mostly about materializing brand identity into the visual identity of a company, limiting its whole concept. Furthermore, it is known that mere visual identity doesn't make a brand any stronger, as the title suggests.

Anybody with some previous brand identity knowledge in the marketing sense might get a little frustrated, had this person expected deep explanations about the creation of a brand identity plan (for that I would recommend Aaker's work).

On the other hand, if you are a designer willing to understand how to develop a visual identity linked to a brand identity, this book could be very useful.

It's about identity, but not about the brand process
This *is* a great book when it comes to showing how to put together a coherent, soup-to-nuts identity program. But the title of the book is misleading - there's very little in this book about actually creating, building or maintaining strong brands per se. This wilfully confuses the logo for the company behind the logo. As Paul Rand once said of his logo for the ABC television network, it wasn't a matter of whether his logo lived up to the network, but whether the network lived up to the logo! The brand process involves a lot of non-graphical thought regarding the spirit or essence of what that organization is all about. "Is that an IBM thing to do?" The brand identity is, at best, only the surface expression: the brand is the idea of the company in its customers' minds. In that sense, creating and maintaining a strong brand is really about having clear direction, consistent policies and actions, and understanding that markets are conversations, not about whether the carpet matches the business cards and the Web site.

A Must for EBusiness
Most people who study ebusiness at universities either focus on website design, marketing/logistics of ebusiness, or systems/software. This book gets to the heart of conducting business over the internet - combining brand recognition with eye catching design and a quality/product or service. University programs and businesses looking to be successful in ecommerce should make this book required reading. ... Read more

Book Description

Reflecting the most recent, relevant information in the field, this best-selling text forms a conceptual and practical foundation for marketing in nonprofit organizations.Its coverage encompasses the entire marketing process, providing valuable insights on strategic evaluations, positioning, market targeting, and more. ... Read more

Book Description

This reader-friendly marketing book conveys timely and relevant material in a dynamic presentation of how marketing concepts are implemented, and what they mean in the marketplace. It introduces marketing from the perspective of real people making real marketing decisions at leading companies every day. Learners will come to understand that marketing is about creating value–for customers, for companies, and for society as a whole-and they will see how that is accomplished in the real world. A five-part organization covers making marketing value decisions, identifying markets and understanding customers' needs for value, creating the value proposition, communicating the value proposition, and delivering the value proposition. For individuals interested in a career in marketing.

Book Description

The 11^th edition of this popular text continues to build on four major marketing themes: building and managing profitable customer relationships, building and managing strong brands to create brand equity, harnessing new marketing technologies in the digital age, and marketing in a socially responsible way around the globe. Thoroughly updated and streamlined, Principles of Marketing tells the stories that reveal the drama of modern marketing, reflecting the major trends and forces that are impacting this dynamic and ever-changing field. Topics include: the marketing environment, managing information, consumer & business buyer behavior, segmentation, targeting, and positioning, branding strategies, distribution channels, advertising and sales promotion, direct marketing, and the global marketplace. An excellent tool for anyone in marketing and sales, whether self- or corporate- employed.

Book Description

Influence: Science and Practice is an examination of the psychology of compliance (i.e. uncovering which factors cause a person to say “yes” to another's request).

Written in a narrative style combined with scholarly research, Cialdini combines evidence from experimental work with the techniques and strategies he gathered while working as a salesperson, fundraiser, advertiser, and in other positions inside organizations that commonly use compliance tactics to get us to say “yes.” Widely used in classes, as well as sold to people operating successfully in the business world, the eagerly awaited revision of Influence reminds the reader of the power of persuasion.

Cialdini organizes compliance techniques into six categories based on psychological principles that direct human behavior: reciprocation, consistency, social proof, liking, authority, and scarcity. ... Read more

Reviews (49)

The Power of Persuasion and Manipulation
Robert B. Cialdini concisely explores six strategies that persons with good and/or bad intentions can use in influencing others to do something or not to do it. These strategies are authority, commitment and consistency, liking, reciprocation, scarcity, and social proof. Cialdini convincingly demonstrates the power of each strategy with examples belonging to a wide range of disciplines. These stratagems often work because the target audience has been preprogrammed to react to specific situations in a certain way. Cialdini clearly explains which counter-strategies the target audience can use in defeating the six strategies mentioned above, whenever appropriate. To his credit, Cialdini refrains from using jargon that makes "Influence Science and Practice" a very enjoyable read that is easily accessible to a wide audience. As a side note, in "Simplicity Marketing", Steven M. Cristol and Peter Sealey explore the increasing need for shortcuts that businesses and consumers in the most developed economies have in making choices. Cristol and Sealey show with panache that marketers can use four strategies called the 4 R's -- Replace, Repackage, Reposition, and Replenish -- to simplify the life of businesses and consumers who are overwhelmed with choices in an increasing number of product categories.

One of the best on this subject
I've reviewed many books on influence and persuasion and this is one of the top books in the category. Easy to read, excellent writing style, it is a hard book to put down and begs you to read it slowly so that you don't miss something important. One of the fun things about reading it is when the author makes a point and you can look back and realize that you have dealt with someone who used just that technique to get you to buy that candy bar, car, or change your mind about something.

Persuasive speaking is an important part of what I do and I am very successful at it. The ability to persuade others has been very hard to pass on to employees and other speakers who have asked me how I do it. This book allowed me to look at what I do and see how I can transfer that ability to others. It has also helped me see some of the tricks of persuasion that snare the unwary and how they are used by unscrupulous people.
Cialdini not only makes his case by carefully presenting the techniques and the experiments on which they are based, but also details how they are used and how you can use them. For each technique he also indicates how to know when it is being used against you and how to resist the influence.
A highly recommended book and one of the best on this subject, Cialdini's work is often quoted in other books on influence and persuasion.

I'm Convinced
The author doesn't like to be manipulated by telemarketers or salespeople, and yet who reads his book? Who do you think bot those 250,000 copies? Somebody trying to figure out how to manipulate you. According to Cialdini, marks respond to specific cues and tactics like an automatic door: wave your hand and beep, whirr. Click a switch and they'll be doing your bidding. There's an implicit anthropology: human beings don't know what they want until they get nudged in one direction or another, and then the prefenence for consistency and commitment takes over. Cialdini offers his own armchair rationalizations, that consistency is an evolutionary adaptation. But as a scientist, Cialdini should know that his hypothesis is not falsifiable. Pointing to evolution is just a form of hand waving? After all, what is the evolutionary advantage of irrational consistency? It's just as probable the other way.

Influence - is it useful for technical professionals?
Many reviews have previously highlighted the value of this book in everyday life situations. I limit my comments to technical professional life.
I am a technical professional who has to work with practicioners of other technical disciplines. The reason I came across this book because I wanted to learn how I can influence other technical professionals to take my point of view into account in their work. After reading this book I recognize why some of my colleagues have much stronger influence than others. It is not because they are technically more competent or offer a better solution. They practise the influence techniques discussed in Cialdini's book.

Fantastic Analysis of human psichology
This is a fantastic book on how to understand human psichology.
Not only it is fun to read with a lot of cases and real-life examples, but it is also very well documented (references and bibliography) and based on hundreds of published scientific studies.

If you want to know how "mechanically" we react to things without "thinking" about them; you want to understand why humans can only function in a hierarchical system (wether military, political or social system), then this book will bring you some insights about it.
You can see why Communism is not applicable to humans, why we are sold things we don't want to, why we react in a pre-determined way to basic situations (that override the reasoning and "thinking" processes).
All other reviews of this book talk about the ways you can use (or that someone can use in you) to force someone to buy things they don't want to. I think this book goes way beyond that... Psichology and Sociology students can get quite of good insights from this book also. ... Read more

Book Description

Supply chain management, both in industry and in academia, has grown rapidly over the past several years mainly due to an increase in corporate goals of reducing manufacturing costs and the savings that come from planning and managing the supply chain effectively.Most textbooks do not include models and decision support systems robust enough for industry. Designing and Managing the Supply Chain: Concepts, Strategies, and Cases, 2/e by Simchi-Levy, Kaminsky and Simchi-Levi discusses the problems, models and concepts derived from issues related to effective supply chain management. This textis suitable for both academic study and practicing professionals. While many core supply chain management issues are interrelated, the authors have tried to make each chapter as self-contained as possible so that the reader can refer directly to chapters covering topics of interest. Each chapter utilizes case studies and numerous examples. Mathematical and technical sections can be skipped without loss of continuity. The accompanying CD-ROM also provides two simulations, the Computerized Beer Game and the Risk Pool Game and a computerized tool, new to this edition, for developing and executing supply chain contracts. These packages help illustrate many of the concepts discussed. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

Useful "Supply Chain Management" reference
The book has used a simple words and real case to introduce what the supply chain management is. Until this movement, it maybe the best supply chain book in the world.

Major Bernie Boucher, United States Army
As far as Dr. Simchi-Levi's book, I try to stay on top of the latest updates in regards to supply chain management and attend supply chain management seminars and classes on a regular basis. I've found that the text is state of the art and is at the cutting edge in presenting the key "Best Practices" associated with logistics today. The use of theory and cases is a great combination in getting the key concepts across. I have used it several times already in implementing real world logistical solutions in support of the U.S. Military worldwide. Bottom line . . . Any logistician who considers themselves a true professional and desires to be at the forefront of logistics today must add this book to their personal collection.

Seminal Work in Supply Chain Design and Implementation
Levi's work is probably the very best supply chain book ever written. It cuts through much of the confusion surrounding supply chain design and optimization, and covers this complex, deep, and extremely substantive field in a comprehensive, instructive, and highly effective way.

I needed something more concise
Good as a text book for an MBA program but I needed something concise and clear. I'll keep looking

The definitive book on supply chain management
The 1st edition of this book, authored by three leading scholars and consultants in the important, fast developing field of supply chain management, won several awards and high critical acclaim from professional associations, scholars, and managers.

The 2nd edition has addressed the few gaps in the the original edition, noticed mainly by by those who, like me, used the book to teach university level courses. Thus, in the new edition, anything complex (especially, quantitative ideas) is explained even more clearly and thoroughly than in the 1st edition. The managerial implications of research findings are spelled out even better, with more examples. Short, insightful discussion questions have been added following each chapter, and there are several new, interesting case studies in several chapters. Valuable new material has also been added, e.g., research findings and examples on how to design win-win supply chain contracts, and up-to-date material on the impact of e-commerce and information technology on supply chain management.

This book will be of value to all managers, but probably most to managers at middle and senior levels, as it provides a clear, coherent view of the entire subject while emphasizing strategic and tactical level decisions and planning. The authors have made a truly important contribution to the understanding and practice of supply chain management. ... Read more

Book Description

With a strong empirical and market segmentation approach, this book focuses on how the Internet has changed the way people obtain information about potential purchases, giving readers the most up-to-date material on how technology is changing their lives as consumers. The Thirty-two mini-cases help readers learn by applying the theory, drawing on current business news to demonstrate specific consumer behavior concepts.This edition now includes thirty-two Active Learning mini-cases. A clear consumer decision making model is set out in each chapter to facilitate learning—presented in the first chapter, this model serves as a structural framework for the concepts—the building blocks—examined in the following chapters. The book's final chapter ties all of these concepts together so readers see the interrelationships and relevance of individual concepts to consumer decision-making.For those studying consumer behavior and/or marketing. ... Read more

Book Description

A good market study can make or break a development project. This new book will equip you with the tools you need to evaluate trends and understand the key factors affecting real estate markets. Using a step-by-step approach, the author shows you how to get started, where to get information, and how to apply it to multifamily, hotel, office, industrial, entertainment, mixed-use, and master-planned communities. Thirteen case studies written by top market analysts demonstrate how they implemented these methods and provide you with models to follow. Ideal for anyone new to real estate development ... Read more