Who is this book for

Marketing Genre

Three reasons why I liked this book

First, Catmull is generous with his thoughts on managing creative people, but in reality his principles may be applied to workers who are motivated by their career - like most people in Marketing. Catmull has advanced theory Y of workforce motivation and brought it into the 21 Century. Many examples are given showing what steps were taken at Pixar to remove policies and create an atmosphere of empowerment in which people were able to thrive. One of the most interesting examples in this book is how Catmull took over management of Disney’s animation studio, after PIXAR was sold to Disney. Disney had not had a hit in 15 years. Catmull applied his management style and Disney animation has had a string of box office hits.

Second, I have always respected Steve Jobs for his vision, marketing abilities, passion, and drive for innovation. In this book I was fascinated to read insights on what it was like to work with Jobs and how much he learned about management from Catmull.

Third, I found this book motivating and uplifting. Advice and guidance from a successful entrepreneur is always valuable.

McGregor’s theory X and theory Y for motivation in the workforce describes the difference between people that have a job just for the paycheck and people that are intrinsically motivated by the work itself. Paycheck-to-paycheck employees need close supervision. Motivated employees require management to get out of the way and let the magic happen.

Who is this book for

Marketing Genre

What I liked about this book

Joe Pullizzi has spent his career developing Content Marketing. In this book, Content Inc., he outlines an innovative approach for a business plan for entrepreneurs in the blog and online start-up space utilizing the power of content marketing. Pulizzi argues for developing an entrepreneur's passion and developing it into a unique market niche. The authors continues with advice on choosing the best social media channels and the use of digital marketing tools such as SEO and metrics. Some of the hidden golden nuggets in this book are included in the later chapters. His advice of finding and developing influencers while building out the “Three and Three Model”, is valuable advice.

Who is this book for

Marketing Genre

What I liked about this book

A classic by one of the original “Mad Men” of advertising. David Ogilvy reflects the wisdom of a sage that has risen to the highest heights of the profession. Ogilvy excelled as a copywriter, ad man, manager, and business owner. Great book for all aspects of the creative side of marketing.

I really enjoyed Ogilvy’s insights into developing copy, visuals, headlines, and formats.

Who is this for

Marketing Genre

Why I like this book

Ries and Trout do an excellent job of explaining how to do product positioning by using customer biases and understanding the competitive environment in the marketplace. While differentiation looks internally at the customer benefits and emotional connections, positioning looks at the marketplace to find an unoccupied gap or product category. Changes to the marketing mix help fill the gap and establish your organization as the product category leader in the mind of the consumer. The authors describe this as ladders in the consumer’s mind and positioning as gaining the top rung, the one your potential customers thinks of first. I liked how they hammered home the bias of being first is more important than having the best product. I also liked the bias of “Me-Too” products.

As a historical side note, Ries and Trout were the first agency to use publishing books to establish thought leadership. They gave away 99% of their knowledge and used real client success stories.

My Rant

Marketers position a product to help establish a brand in the customers mind. A product positioning is established by the marketer, the brand is what the customer thinks it is. Often you will hear rookie marketers confusing the two similar terms, like “Dude, I am branding my product”. Technically, the marketer is positioning (external marketplace) and differentiating (customer benefits) the product. The customer is the only one who can define a brand, the marketer can only plant the seeds of positioning.

Who is this for

Marketing Genre

Why I like this book

coming soon