The 10 Best Things We Read for Marketing in 2011
At the beginning of December, the FrogDog staff nominated the best marketing-related things it’d read in 2011. The items didn’t have to be written in 2011—just things discovered this year that gave us food for thought.
These books, articles, and on-line publications might not all technically be about marketing. But in one way or another, these items influenced our thinking about marketing and communications and positively affected our approach to the work we do for clients. We thought we’d share.
So here are our top ten, in no particular order:
- What Every Man Thinks about, Apart from Sex, by Shed Simove.While the title of the book is not “work-friendly,” it proves that with the right marketing, anything is possible. For the author’s story on how he achieved best-seller status with a blank book, click here.
- “A New Way to Measure Word-of-mouth Marketing” in the McKinsey Quarterly. We found this piece when researching our “get your customers talking” article. Word-of-mouth marketing is very difficult to measure, and this article provides a very different and valuable perspective on it.
- Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard,by Chip and Dan Heath. The dynamic brother duo that wrote Made to Stick outdid themselves with this book, which addresses how to change the way people think and act. Marketing is changing behaviors and perceptions, so this book’s analysis and practical guidance is invaluable.
- “Just Relax, then Buy More and Pay for It,” by Kelli B. Grant in the Wall Street Journal. This article gives good insight into how companies use emotional marketing tactics.
- “The Cause Marketing Miracle,” by David Hessekiel in Forbes. This feel-good piece shows how consumers are influenced by cause marketing.
- “How We See It: Three Senior Executives on the Future of Marketing” in the McKinsey Quarterly. Virgin is so fascinating, and the American Express discussion talks about losing control—one of the great issues we face with media today.
- Different: Escaping the Competitive Herd,by Youngme Moon. Almost impossible to describe, this book provides a radically different perspective on business and marketing strategy. Youngme’s take is invaluable and incredibly thought provoking. Even better, she writes beautifully.
- “Students Speak up in Class, Silently, via Social Media,” by Trip Gabriel in the New York Times. Using digital streams to allow students to voice opinions during class is fascinating. The verdict is still out on using social media in the classroom, but it’s interesting to see how integrating it into a learning environment can be successful in some cases.
- AdWeek’s Adfreakblog. Well, heck. We love ads—good and bad ones. And the bloggers for AdFreak have a great sense of humor.
- Persuasive Concepts,a blog by David Johnson. This blogger is a car salesman, and his blog is more about customer service than pure marketing. But marketers cannot undervalue the importance of good customer service to marketing success.
We’d love to read what you loved this year—and, in the spirit of sharing great things, we’ll update this article early in 2012 to include your input. What’s on your list of the best marketing-related things you read in 2011? Let us know!
