PearlyBooks

Low stock: 1 left

From Publishers Weekly Marketing consultants Thomas and Brain offer a well-meaning if woefully dated paean to the power of the consumer. In the brave new world of blogging, YouTube and Consumerist.com, business leaders must harness the energy, ideas and enthusiasm of their customers, rather than relying on the talent and budget of their marketing departments'a lesson politicians would also be well-advised to learn; the authors speak admiringly of Obama's campaign, and less so of Hillary Clinton's, which seemed tainted by the power of her political machine. They urge marketers to forgo expensive advertising campaigns and didactic attitudes in favor of giving their customers, partners and employees a greater say in business operations. Drawing on such successes as gethuman.com and Dove's Real Beauty campaign, they warn against underestimating the average Joe Blogger and praise such social corporations as Apple, which go to great lengths to meet customers and stakeholders face to face. The practical advice and enthusiasm about new media is admirable, but the information'particularly their analysis of the 2008 election'already feels stale. (Oct.) Copyright -¬ Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Product Description The way people buy has gone through a massive revolution in recentyears: thanks to blogs, review sites and chat rooms, we no longer haveto rely on what a company says about its products and services - we canread what our fellow consumers think about what they've bought, andmake our own decisions bearing those views in minds. The result?Empowered customers who know exactly what they want and who can nowexplore many ways to get it. Many companies, however, just won't accept that things have changed and haven't adjusted their marketing efforts to match. In Crowd Surfing,David Brain and Martin Thomas explain what marketers, advertisers andbrand specialists need to do to communicate with today's savvierconsumers. They include case studies of successes and failures from thebusiness world and beyond, and interview leaders such as Michael Delland Sebastian Coe to help illustrate their points. Review 'Lots of fascinating anecdotes and straightforward, intelligent writing. It might not be on the reading list for business school students, smart ones will read it anyway.' Daily Mail About the Author Martin Thomas is the former Commodore of the Ocean Cruising Club, and is currently the Vice-Commodore of the Royal London Yacht Club. He was previously the Watch Officer on board the sail training schooner Sir Winston Churchill. A distinguished surgeon, he has written on topics of emergencies at sea and medical treatment for yachtsmen.