Content aside, “Punk Marketing: Get Off Your Ass and Join the Revolution” ($29.95, HarperCollins), is a revolution in reading fundamentals. Cross out paragraphs, rip out pages—the book’s prologue invites you to. But whatever you do, know the authors care little about the means by which you enjoy it (or not), so long as the end is anti-pretty-much-everything you’ve known/done/learned in marketing up until now.
With informative prose interspersed with engagingly random factoids, authors
Richard Laermer and
Mark Simmons attempt to snap a finger in front of what they contend to be the collectively glazed-over eyes of the marketing world. The flag they’re waving: “Power has been transferred from corporation to consumers, and so marketing must be both brave and intelligent to succeed.”
Its amalgam of tips on differentiation will have marketers thinking objectively about branding. Supporting case studies seek to redefine the CRM practices of old. It touches upon well-worn channels (television, Internet), while heralding alternative directions (adver-gaming, anyone?).
For the marketer who is ready to break the mold, consider this book your sledgehammer.
—Christen Gruebel
