Note: In part 9 of this slightly deeper blog series on new marketing and brain research, I provide my thoughts on one of the two books that inspired these posts.
Marketing with meaning: a model worth believing in (Book cover ©2010 Bridge Worldwide, used with permission)
Knowing my interest in nurture marketing, a friend forwarded me an article about the release of Bob Gilbreath‘s new book. I purchased it because it sounded like the type of marketing I believe we need more of…
In keeping with my other posts, I like to define marketing terms to facilitate understanding and meaningful discussion. So, here’s my take on marketing with meaning:
- marketing with meaning (mär´kit´ing with mēn´ing) n. promotion designed to gain voluntary engagement by adding value to people’s lives
Cut to the chase: Should I read Marketing with Meaning?
Read this book if you’re…
- …a marketing or business leader
- …in the business-to-consumer space
- …who seeks a new methodology to better engage prospects
- …and also could benefit from over 100 case studies, examples and words of wisdom from industry experts.
(This book is also a good read if you’re a B2B marketer looking for ideas and inspiration to embark on a meaningful marketing initiative.)
Overall rating
Worth the climb (Reading this book is time well-spent.)
Quote that says it all
[M]ost traditional marketing is meaningless…Today’s consumer is retaliating against traditional marketing…Marketing with meaning…engages customers and wins their business by adding value to their lives.
- Bob Gilbreath (from Marketing with Meaning)
What’s brilliant?
- Demonstrates the cost-effectiveness of marketing with meaning and provides a process to define target markets, set objectives and sell the approach internally
- “On the money” in recommending engagement—how deeply people are involved with marketing—as the new metric of marketing success…but also discusses gauging how marketing is improving people’s lives
- Provides other valuable metrics and tracking methodologies
- Good discussion about the role of research to understand what’s meaningful to potential customers
- Filled with great case studies to generate ideas
What’s surprising?
- Opens minds to new and different interpretations of what’s “meaningful” (for example, how to add relevance to the marketing of a bag of snack chips)
- The cognitive psychology experiments that show how people develop an aversion to brands that stand in the way or require them to ignore a stimulus on the way to achieving another goal
- How much the Millennial generation is ignoring traditional advertising and how important they feel it is to help others
What’s missing?
- No discussion of business-to-business marketing or case studies for this space
- As mentioned in part 8, in my opinion, the pyramid analogy and layout of the book give the impression that cause marketing is the end-all-be-all for marketers seeking meaning
Coming up next in part 10, I’ll conclude this series with a review of David Rock‘s new book: Your Brain at Work.
How does your marketing add meaning to customers’ lives?
You might also like…
What motivates us: new marketing and brain research (part 1 of 10)
NEW brain research part 2: Setting the record straight on Maslow’s theories
NEW brain research part 3: Become a marketing status symbol
NEW brain research part 4: Nothing’s certain but death, taxes and marketing
NEW brain research part 5: Autonomy and irrational decision-making in marketing
NEW brain research part 6: Can you relate to marketing?
NEW brain research part 7: Life’s not fair for marketers
NEW brain research part 8: The marketing implications of Maslow’s hidden levels
NEW brain research part 10: Book review: David Rock’s Your Brain at Work
Nurture marketing: a strategically superior alternative to drip marketing
The 10 golden rules of marketing white papers
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