Finding a Novel Approach: 6 Must-Read Marketing Books
People love to escape into a good book—romance, fantasy, a classic espionage thriller. But marketing books are pretty exciting, too (and pretty helpful between the hours of 9 to 5).
That’s why we’re suggesting six must-read marketing books that spin some must-read takes on the landscape of marketing and branding. To do so, three members of the Lemonade team—Chris, Rowan and Aaron—each jumped at the opportunity to share some of their favorite recent titles with you.
Chris Staten, Senior Copywriter
How Brands Become Icons: The Principles of Cultural Branding
What it’s about: Harvard Business School marketing professor Douglas B. Holt asks a simple yet profound question, how do marketers create brands that iconically resonate with consumers? When he looks at brands like ESPN, Volkswagen, and Budweiser, he finds that each built identity myths around itself, myths that mollify collective social and cultural anxieties. This “cultural branding,” Holt argues, is a key difference between everyday day brands and resonant icons.
What Chris says: “Tracking the journey of how a small company transforms from an outfit with a great idea to a global icon is fascinating. This book is insightful and inspirational—a must-read for anyone who works on campaign ideation and brand building.”
Eating the Big Fish: How Challenger Brands Can Compete Against Brand Leaders
What it’s about: Marketing legend Adam Morgan breaks down how little guy upstarts sometimes manage to topple established market giants. Examining 40 “challenger brands,” Morgan considers the difficulties they face in their nascence before outlining eight credos that challenger brands must live by if they want to eat the big fish. With practical examples from the United States and Europe, Morgan encourages us to learn from both inside and outside our market, applying the lessons of successful challenger brands like Avis.
What Chris Says: “I love a good David vs. Goliath story. This book is a helpful reminder that smaller brands have a unique advantage because they have to try harder (yes, that’s a classic Avis reference).”
Rowan Brooks, Chief Creative Director
The Soulful Art of Persuasion: The 11 Habits That Will Make Anyone a Master Influencer
What it’s about: Mekanism founder and CEO Jason Harris outlines how to influence people in an era characterized by distrust of media, of marketing, and of public figures. Encouraging readers to be their own weird self, to be ethical, and to be honest, Harris urges us to abandon worn ideas of give-and-take, which he believes ultimately undermine trust. Instead, marketers and aspiring influencers should focus just on the give, which builds honest relationships and natural influence.
What Rowan says: “Harris’s advice for demanding radical self-honesty in advertising and leading with character in an industry that can be superficial and insincere is refreshing and truly inspiring. There are many great takeaways in this book; I continue to evaluate the strength of a creative idea on whether or not it has soul.”
Post Corona: From Crisis to Opportunity
What it’s about: The coronavirus pandemic will forever be a crisis in our consciousness, but NYU Business School professor Scott Galloway wants us to also see it as an opportunity. The pandemic, Galloway argues, accelerated every social, cultural, and business trend by roughly five years, setting the stage for massive disruptions in multiple industries. Education, healthcare, and transportation will all rapidly transform in the coming years, Galloway predicts, and many of the disruptions are already underway.
What Rowan says: “Scott Galloway is a uniquely brilliant dissenting voice in the crowd, unafraid to call bullshit on entire industries…I found his approach to identifying business weaknesses and opportunities for organizations of all sizes enlightening. As a result I took his online course in brand strategy (and loved it!).”
Aaron Amerling, Director of Strategy
Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces that Shape Our Decisions
What it’s about: We think we understand why we make the choices we do, but psychologist and behavioral economist Dan Ariel has got some news for us—we are all predictably irrational. Ariel examines everything from drinking coffee and dating to dieting and buying a car, showing how we all systematically and predictably make irrational choices like overvaluing free items and keeping our options open. Understanding these irrational choices at the foundational level is a boon for any marketer.
What Aaron Says: “I find the role that human nature plays in our decision-making fascinating, and figuring out how to use these inherent biases to a marketing advantage is a fun challenge."
Hacking Growth: How Today’s Fastest-Growing Companies Drive Breakout Success
What it’s about: Morgan Brown and Sean Ellis explain how companies like Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Uber propelled themselves from niche to mainstream, from startup to staple through “growth hacking.” Importantly, this is not a spaghetti-on-the-wall, let’s-see-what-sticks method but rather one built on rapid testing and iteration with a myopic focus on customer acquisition, retention, and expansion. Using a methodological approach, businesses can emulate this growth trajectory, or at least hack their way to it.
What Aaron Says: “I love the adaptation of the scientific method to amplify marketing campaigns through a rigorous process.”