Can't Buy Me Like: How Authentic Customer Connections Drive Superior Results
By Bob Garfield and Doug Levy Portfolio/Penguin $25.95 The 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Russia will include ski jumping for women, and the folks at Procter & Gamble who make and market Secret deodorant are mighty happy about that. Advertising and marketing gurus Bob Garfield and Doug Levy tell why in this book on the power of social media.The P&G marketers played a major role in opening up that sport to female competition with their "Let Her Jump" videos on Facebook and key blogs and banners adjacent to YouTube sports channels.That all happened before, during and after the Vancouver Winter Games. Hundreds of thousands of people viewed the video -- and sales of Secret skyrocketed.The authors use the Secret example and scores of others in this insightful and often witty volume to reveal the secret of marketing success in what they call "The Relationship Era." They stress using inexpensive social media in creative ways that do not suggest customer manipulation.They cite the faster word-of-mouth possibilities of social media. "In the Relationship Era, brands can no longer project the image of their choosing. Rather, they must locate their inner selves and make common cause with the outside world," they write.-- Cecil Johnson, special to the Star-TelegramHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
