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The End of Marketing as We Know It |  | Author: Sergio Zyman
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
Category: Book
List Price: $15.99
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Seller: Books Squared
Rating:  91 reviews
Sales Rank: 752391
Media: Paperback
Pages: 272
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.3 x 0.6
ISBN: 0887309836
Dewey Decimal Number: 380
EAN: 9780887309830
Publication Date: November 7, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com Review
Remember the New Coke? A disaster, right? Or how about the commercial where "Mean" Joe Greene meets a little kid holding a bottle of Coke? A masterpiece, right? Wrong, on both counts. Sergio Zyman, who was the chief marketing officer at Coca-Cola, will tell you that while the New Coke nose-dived, it--and the subsequent reintroduction of Coke Classic--helped to reconnect people to the soft drink and revitalize a brand that was losing market share to Pepsi. And as for "Mean" Joe Greene, while people loved the ad, it wasn't doing what good marketing should do: sell product, which is what Zyman's book, The End of Marketing As We Know It, is all about. For Zyman, marketing is not an art, it's a business. "Marketing is a strategic activity and discipline focused on the endgame of getting more consumers to buy your product more often so that your company makes more money." He sees too many marketers who don't understand this point, who are too concerned about projecting image when they should really be focused on producing sales. Zyman peppers the book with stories about various campaigns at Coke as well as assessments of companies that get it, such as Starbucks and Southwest Airlines, to companies that don't, for example, Nissan and Levi's. He believes that the old-style marketing of Madison Avenue is dead, that it no longer has the "ability to move the masses," that in today's "consumer democracy" there are simply too many choices. Instead, marketers will have to focus on sales, conversion rates, targeting customers, and creating value for shareholders. The End of Marketing As We Know It is not a primer on how to do better marketing; rather, it's a reordering of priorities so that good marketing will be done in the first place. Recommended. --Harry C. Edwards
Product Description
Marketing today doesn't work. Or so says the "Aya Cola," Sergio Zyman, former marketing czar of Coca-Cola and quite possibly the most famous marketing gadfly in the world. Brilliant, irascible, unconventional, Zyman is best known for reinventing the Coca-Cola Company's marketing approach by spearheading the global launches of Diet Coke, New Coke, Classic Coke, Fruitopia, and Sprite. Now, in this brisk and revolutionary book, Zyman shows why old approaches to marketing have lost their fizz--and how to get a jump on the strateies that will work in the twenty-first century. Zyman explores such topics as: - Why feel-good marketing is pointless unless it results in sales
- Why marketing is a science not an art
- How a well-honed strategy is more important to success than what ads say
- And much more
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 91
 Creating Consumer Habit April 26, 2010
Dr. P. F. Walter
Contrary to many reviewers on this book, I believe the title is not misleading, to begin with. Zyman redefines marketing in a sense that 'running promotions', and having 'a certain creative flow' is by far not enough to market a product successfully. Moreover, he says that marketing is more like a science than anything even remotely artistic. And what a science! You need to read the little critter to understand what he means. It's a big argument, not just party talk, and the man has walked his talk as no other.
To mention at least one of the core points of successful marketing, Zyman insists on creating consumer habit, which requires a consistent and repetitive message, a message that when the product is a mass consumer good, must be monolithic, bold, and yet simple. He also insists on keeping the brand high and to redefine in over and over again so as to revitalize it. Another important core of his approach is to finely distinguish between serving new customers vs. serving and reserving existing customers. The two approaches must be mastered, and they must stand in the right relationship to each other, not just in a random relationship, but in a very well defined relationship. The book contains many practical examples.
Zyman is a brilliant communicator. His style is simple, but elucidative. He conveys powerful images that speak directly, without too much of 'intellectual garbage', the voice of a pragmatist. While this book is not normally the kind of books I am reviewing, I made an exception here, also for honoring the learning experience. I always thought I will never learn anything about marketing, and this book broke my paradigm to pieces, and I learnt it's one of the most fascinating topics there is in our culture.
 He actually _defends_ New Coke January 1, 2010
arafat kazi (Boston, MA, United States)
Like my title says, a significant portion of this book is dedicated to defending New Coke. Zyman's argument is that New Coke reminded consumers why they loved the real Coca Cola. While that's true and hindsight is never a bad thing, the book spent a lot of time defending a decision that's commonly regarded as the worst marketing decision of the 20th century.
If you can get past that, it's not a bad read. Zyman is a bold writer, and as you can imagine from his claims, audacious too. I got it as a gift from a CEO I was trying to impress. I don't know if I'd spend my own money on it. There's good stuff in it, like "hire smart people", but nothing that you can't figure out if you have half a brain.
Zyman's talk of virtual consumption is interesting, but it's a concept that I think has gained more popularity since this book was written and isn't new anymore. Another interesting aspect of the book is how Coca Cola paid its agencies--2.5 times the sum of the salary of the team working on the brand, plus x percentage of profits. But agencies aren't on a media buying percentage anymore. So what was prescient in 2000 is old hat now.
 Optional reading March 6, 2009
The Marketing Guy Who Drives Sales (Charlottesville, VA United States)
Overall this book will tell you about how important it is to make sure you tie your marketing to sales and it will review the basics of building a solid brand, but there is not really anything earth shattering or ground breaking. True that any book written by a former CMO of Coca-Cola is worthwhile reading, I'm not sure this book is to be held up as much more than a solid review by an author who is obviously trying to boost his own consulting practice.
-Review by the author of the e-book, "How to Build and Manage Your Brand (in sickness and in health".)
 Solid Foundational Book on Marketing March 15, 2007
Todd A. Ebert (Frisco, TX USA)
This is a fairly quick read. I bought it because I was interviewing with the Zyman Group, a marketing consultancy started by Sergio Zyman. I read it in a couple hours on the plane. Nothing earth shattering but a solid foundational look at the practice of marketing. While the book is primarily about consumer marketing, the lessons within are applicable to B2B marketing as well.
I really like Sergio's core assertion that Marketing is essential to the growth of any company (of course I'm a marketer) and he hits the point early and often throughout the book, starting in the first sentence of the first chapter: "The sole purpose of marketing is to get more people to buy more of your product, more often, for more money." It's a simple but powerful definition of marketing, and I love it because it reminds people that marketing is a critical strategic function and not just a tactical group that does advertising, promotions and PR.
In summary, there are lots of good takeaways in the book and it is a good read for new and old marketers alike.
Still the Number One guide to brand marketing November 3, 2006
BinauMarketing
This book is a PRACTICAL guide to building multiple brands in the new world of marketing. It is a great reference to doing things differently and pushing the envelope.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 91
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