Beyond the Brand : Why Engaging the Right Customers is Essential to Winning in Business

Rating:
Summary: A Must Read!
Review: Smart and accessible, Beyond the Brand is the definitive text on reaching consumers in today's hyper-competitive and brand-inundated marketplace. Marketing guru and founder of Radar Communications, John Winsor guides the reader through an evolutionary field trip from a time when brands acted as cultural creators (the Volkswagon Beetle) through a time when they attempted to align with cultural epicenters in effort to be seen as credible and authentic. He emphasizes the need in today's world for companies to really listen to consumers - engaging in a journey of learning, rather than a mission to find "right" answers.

Using anecdotes about some of the best consumer brands out there, like Nike, Oakley and Burton Snowboards, Winsor proclaims that the only way to stand out in today's marketplace is for a company to find inspiration and hone its intuition, by finding key voices and truly listening to those voices tell their stories. If I had to choose one book to help me connect with customers, this would be it. Beyond the Brand will become one of those rare, classic points of reference.


Rating:
Summary: Read this book!
Review: Some of the ideas in this book are not new, but they are still largely unpracticed. This book is a must-read, and , more importantly a "must-do" if you take your job as a marketer seriously. The concept of "listening" to your customer is taken to a higher level through the concept of finding "key voices". This isn't easy, but is worthwhile- critical even. Read this book; your company and career will both benefit.

Rating:
Summary: These guys get it
Review: There are tons of branding/marketing books - this is a great departure from the standard obscure, non-reality based genre. Definitely worth having around the office.