Marketing guru Steve Cone practices what he preaches. In his new book, he stresses that one key secret to a successful ad campaign is the element of excitement — a very necessary ingredient for capturing attention.
He certainly succeeded in establishing an odd sort of excitement by his very title choice for this great little treasure trove of insider tips — “Steal These Ideas! Marketing Secrets That Will Make You a Star.”
We have, let’s justsay, a plethora of books at the Hagelin house — so when both of my teenage sons were intrigued enough by the title to pick up the book and start leafing through the 181 pages of wisdom, I knew Cone was bound to be a virtual genius.
As I read the book myself, I quickly discovered that Cone’s best display of genius is in the simplicity of his concepts, the reader-friendly font and style, and the easily digestible chapters.
It isn’t just that the book is filled with the must-know basic concepts of marketing (which it is) — it is actually written in such a way that I enjoyed reading it. Believe me, I’ve read plenty of marketing books in my career and many of them, oddly enough, seemed written by economists than spin-masters (I know a few economists, by the way, and they are lovely people — but exciting? They are not.)
Cone’s book is worth the read even if you aren’t remotely interested in marketing anything. The reality is that even the statisticians will realize around page 10 that the book contains great information just about anyone can find helpful.
After all, even if you aren’t directly selling products or ideas we are all bombarded with messages from those who are — amid the deafening noise, Cone’s book can actually help you sort out who might be worth listening to.
CEOs and other company executives must read Cone’s book — it’s critical that those in leadership understand that marketing is a team effort, and that they should work to create an environment which nurtures and supports all the elements of the craft.
It’s virtually impossible for an ad or marketing department to operate effectively without someone at the top making certain that basic concepts and standards are integrated throughout the organization.
For example, Cone stresses that producing a truly great product is the foundation of good marketing. Designers need to keep in mind why and who they are creating aproduct for in the first place.
He discusses the need to differentiate oneself from the competition, engage in a multilayered media barrage to spread your message, and warns against ad campaigns that are too wordy, too academic, or so “clever” no one can figure out what the heck you’re trying to say. And for pity’s sake, Cone warns repeatedly, steer clear of boring!
“Steal These Ideas!” isn’t about marketing theory, it’s about what works. But don’t feel guilty when you “steal” the hundreds of ideas just sitting there for the taking — feel proud that you were smart enough to spend $18.95 on a tool that could make you and your company shine.
Rebecca Hagelin is the vice president for communications and marketing at the Heritage Foundation (heritage.org) and a weekly columnist.
