Book Reviews | Cooler Insights

March 27, 2012 • Book Reviews • disabled comments

With close to 900 million users and an upcoming IPO, Facebook is ruling the web as the social network of choice. Following close behind is Twitter, the 140 character king of microblogging also known as the “SMS of the Internet”. LinkedIn, Youtube, Flickr, Foursquare, blogs, and tonnes of other social networks make up the other players of the social web.

Collectively, these social technologies and platforms rule a disproportionate part of our lives as consumers. This is why companies need to get into the digital act and be “likeable”.

Brandwashed by Martin Lindstrom: A Book Review

March 13, 2012 • Book Reviews • 1 comment

Wonder why you are perpetually tethered to your smartphone, refusing to put it down even when your kids are yelling at you?

Or started eating that tub of delicious Haagen Dazs ice cream, and couldn’t stop until it’s all gone.

Perhaps you’ve got a 10 year old boy who nagged you incessantly about getting him that latest Play Station Portable (PSP) which all his friends in school have.

Zag: A Book Review

“In a world of extreme clutter you need more than differentiation. You need RADICAL differentiation. The new rule: When everyone zigs, zag.”

That, in a nutshell, is what Zag: The #1 Strategy of High Performance Brands is all about.

The Element by Sir Ken Robinson: A Book Review

February 29, 2012 • Book Reviews • 6 comments

If you’ve never heard of Sir Ken Robinson, you obviously haven’t followed the TED series of inspirational talks.

A renowned thinker in the the “development of human potential”, Robinson spoke about the need to reinvent education to better develop the diverse talents, aptitudes and passions of individuals all over the world.

Evil Plans: A Book Review

February 18, 2012 • Book Reviews • 3 comments

Written and illustrated by renowned cartoonist and blogger Hugh MacLeod of gapingvoid.com (he just completed his 10th year in the business), Evil Plans: Escape the Rat Race and Start Doing Something You Love is a business book that reads more like a personal motivation tome. True to MacLeod’s craft, every other page (or more) is peppered with his characteristically abstract and witty cartoons, complete with clever captions.

An example of this is found below:

Corporate Entrepreneurship: A Book Review

February 9, 2012 • Book Reviews • disabled comments

How do companies like 3M, Apple, Google, Xerox, Siemens and Grameen Bank continually generate game changing products and services?

What can large organisations do to retain talent while building innovative cultures?

The answer? Corporate Entrepreurship, which is also the title of a book by Thunderbird School of Global Management’s Robert D Hisrich and Claudine Kearney.

Marketing Greatest Hits: Book Review

January 30, 2012 • Book Reviews • disabled comments

With the subtitle “A Masterclass in Modern Marketing Ideas”, British marketing consultant Kevin Duncan’s Marketing Greatest Hits provides quick summaries of what he considers seminal or interesting titles and their key ideas in marketing. Touted as a “definitive compendium of everything you need to know from the best minds in modern marketing”, the book attempts to encapsulate key lessons from the discipline’s thought leaders.

Neatly organised into six chapters, Duncan’s book systematically dives into the essence of 40 books covering major themes, principles and philosophies, branding, consumer behaviours, creativity and personal organisation. Each section provides a book summary that is further crystallised into an elevator pitch of sorts called a one-sentence summary – the core idea behind a book. Examples of these include the following:

Poke The Box (Seth Godin): A Book Review

January 26, 2012 • Book Reviews • disabled comments

“When was the last time you did something for the first time?”

With a secondary title like that, you can bet that Poke the Box – Seth Godin’s first title under The Domino Project – is going to be all provocative and punchy. And boy, the renowned marketing cum motivational blogger sure doesn’t disappoint in that department.

7 Ways to Use Deep Metaphors in Marketing

January 18, 2012 • Book Reviews • 7 comments

Have you used metaphors for your marketing efforts? What were the outcomes of your attempts?

An integral part of your everyday life, Analogies and Metaphors are popular storytelling methods which simplify complex ideas and imbue them with meaning. They help to make your advertisements, articles, and brand stories come alive.

The Wal-Mart Effect: Book Review

January 9, 2012 • Book Reviews • disabled comments

What secrets does mega-retailer Walmart hold? Is low-price retailing always good for the customer or does it exert other insidious impacts on one’s lifestyles?

The answer to those questions and more are answered in the bestselling book “The Wal-Mart Effect” authored by award winning editor of Fast Company Charles Fishman. Leaving no stone unturned, Fishman’s highly readable volume dived deeply into the massive impact exerted by Walmart, and paints a sobering and sordid picture of its true influence.

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