Product Description

The controversial marketing guru discusses the revolution in advertising strategy
"What can I say about Sergio Zyman? He's a genius; that's all."-Warren Bennis, University Professor and DistinguishedProfessor of BusinessAdministration, USC Marshall School of Business
In this follow-up to his bestselling book The End of Marketing As We Know It, Sergio Zyman, Coca-Cola's renowned former chief marketing officer, argues that the business of advertising as we know it is dead. He uses real-world examples to illustrate how modern advertising overemphasizes art and entertainment and neglects the most important rule of advertising-sell the product. With a keen eye and a no-holds-barred approach, Zyman discusses how advertising died, what killed it, and how to revive it. He addresses the most critical issues affecting any organization's sales and marketing departments, using his time-tested, unorthodox, and sometimes even counterintuitive principles in order to translate key strategies into positive business results. For marketing managers, advertisers, and CEOs, this book offers groundbreaking advice from one of the legends of modern marketing, as well as the knowledge, insights, tools, and direction to transform advertising strategies from hoping to planning, from art to science, from guessing to knowing, and from random success to planned success.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #428390 in Books
• Published on: 2002-09-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 239 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Zyman began his career in an advertising agency, worked his way up to become the chief marketing officer of Coca-Cola and now runs his own marketing consulting firm. Readers might expect him to be a friend of the advertising industry, having played on both sides. But he doesn't hold his punches, particularly when it comes to the industry's recent emphasis on shock value, a trend that is also mocked by another new book, The Fall of Advertising & the Rise of PR, reviewed below. The nearly simultaneous publication of both books should concern ad execs who've based their campaigns on irony and nonsense. Their work might win ad industry awards, but it does little to sell products, both of these books argue. Zyman also advises marketing managers on such esoteric decisions as whether to tap a dead celebrity for a TV spot or to trust in fads like "viral marketing." Frequent references to last year's terrorist attacks make the book feel up to date, but sometimes result in jarring passages, such as, "Right after the September 11 attacks, Pepsi started having a little trouble keeping consumers interested in the message." No kidding. Zyman addresses chief executives and marketing managers directly, counseling them to get tough on their ad agencies and base their evaluation of the agency's work on whether it sells products or services, not on whether it generates buzz. Seems like obvious advice, but judging by recent commercials, Zyman's thorough, thoughtful words might be the kick-in-the-pants the industry needs. Illus.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
As chief marketing officer at the Coca-Cola Company, Zyman (The End of Marketing As We Know It) speaks from practical experience, but he also holds an MBA from Harvard. At Coca-Cola, Zyman both increased sales dramatically and oversaw the introduction of New Coke one of the most visible missteps in the annals of marketing. Advertising now is not effective, claims Zyman, because it is dominated by overly creative television ads that entertain and win awards but don't generate sales. Expanding the definition of advertising to include everything from packaging to employee behavior, he argues that advertising must show a clear measurable return. One of his best arguments is that sponsorships should be reconsidered to make sure that every dollar spent drives increased sales. Zyman does not introduce many new ideas, but he does advocate that CEOs and marketing managers take a more active role to reinforce the brand and value proposition. While walking readers through a series of real-world examples of what worked and what didn't, he downplays his own mistakes and shows little sympathy for the mistakes of others. Ultimately, though, the book reaffirms the classic notion that a company must think through its strategies up front while also welcoming change. The writing style is refreshingly simple and easy to understand. Appropriate for any library that has a business section. Stephen Turner, Turner & Assoc., Inc., San Francisco
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Zyman was nicknamed the "Aya Cola" for his brutally honest approach as chief marketing officer of Coca-Cola, where he spearheaded the launches of Diet Coke, New Coke, Classic Coke, Fruitopia, and Sprite. He refused to rerun the much-loved "I'd like to teach the world to sing" Coke commercial because he believed that "feel good" marketing is pointless unless it leads to higher sales. His book The End of Marketing as We Know It was a slap in the face of TV commercial producers who think they're creating high art but have forgotten the purpose of ads: to sell the product. Here he gets down to the nitty-gritty about why advertising is failing and gives firsthand advice on how to make it work again. The 30-second TV commercial is not the end-all medium for reaching your audience, he says, because advertising includes so many overlooked aspects of your product such as branding, packaging, and how to treat employees. His straightforward approach will hit home with advertising directors willing to drop the nonsense and get back to basics. David Siegfried
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Not a book that will help you make business decisions.
As a new marketing manager given the responsibility of spending money on advertising, I felt like the first three chapters helped me understand 1) What advertising really is and 2) The value a manager should expect to derive from spending money on advertising.

From there the book launches into a description of different forms of advertising. Zyman packs the book full of examples of advertising that (at least in his opinion) work and don't work. He continues on about the necessity of managers to ensure that advertising is positively impacting revenue and profit while lambasting those company's that seem to engage in advertising for advertising's sake.

I really expected Zyman to go beyond the complaints and accolades and help me learn how to develop metrics and programmatic evaluations of marketing initiatives so that I can make the right decisions before spending the company's money. No such luck, I suppose that knowledge like that is the "secret sauce" reserved for those who plunk down money at his agency.

If you know nothing about advertising, this is a good history book of do's and don'ts. If you need to make decisions about spending money on advertising you'll be better served finding a more technical book on marketing campaigns and programs...... or giving Zyman's firm a call I suppose..... which may be the real reason the book was written.... it is after all good advertising.

Packed With Knowledge!
Deeply informed by his marketing experience at Coca-Cola, Sergio Zyman knows advertising theories, but he doesn't like them. He is marketing's angry child, shouting, "Traditional advertising just isn't working." He delights in hurling stones at traditional advertising icons, including "brand awareness," which may get your product considered, but will not guarantee a sale or an increase in sales. For sales heft, he postulates, position your product to be relevant to the consumer. Build this "brand relevance," then start working on media buzz. He compliments his own marketing expertise, but who wants a shy promoter? He says corporations waste ad dollars, so if you work in a traditional glass-house advertising agency, you won't feel too secure when you see angry kid Zyman picking up a rock. His targets, according to us, are people who work in Madison Avenue glass houses, and those who hire them.

Unclear Message
When advertisers get the chance to write a book the usually lose the knowlegde of communication a message in a short time, Sergio Zyman haven't been able to do this either.

I think this book is talkative and not very informative. Didn't even finish it - dont recommend it.

/Gustaf