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Book
Reviews
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Why
We Buy: The Science of Shopping
Paceo Underhill, Simon and Schuster Trade, 2000
Is there a method to our madness when it comes to shopping?
Paco Underhill answers this question with a definitive
‘yes’ in this witty, eye-opening report on our ever-evolving
consumer culture. Why We Buy is based on hard data derived
from thousands of hours of field research in shopping
malls, departmental stores and supermarkets across America.
With his team of sleuths tracking our every move, from
sweater displays at the mall to the beverage cooler
at the drugstore, Paco Underhill depicts the struggle
among merchants, marketers and increasingly knowledgeable
consumers for control. In his quest to discover what
makes the buyer tick, Underhill explains the shopping
phenomena that often go unnoticed by retailers and shoppers
alike. The book also alerts the consumers to the traps
retailers set for them. For those in retailing and marketing,
Why We Buy is a remarkably fresh guide offering creative
insights into how to adapt to the changing customer.
EBrands: Building an Internet Business at Breakneck
Speed
Phil Carpenter, Harvard Business School Publishing,
2000
This book provides the necessary strategic context in
which the true eBrand builders make names for themselves.
Through thoughtful analysis of the overall marketing
strategies of six Web innovators— yahoo!. CDNow, iVillage,
Onsale, Barnesandnoble.com and Fogdog Sports—veteran
Silicon Valley marketing executive Phil Carpenter takes
a hard look at how companies develop powerful Internet
brands. Recounting the successes, failures and fears
of eBrand pioneers, the author assesses the opportunities
and vulnerabilities of his case study companies compared
to those of their on- and off-line competitors. His
analysis shows how several ‘pure play’ Internet ventures
have established brand awareness and credibility, how
an offline leader has boldly asserted itself in this
new medium, and how a start-up has battled to distinguish
its brand among the many deeper-pocketed players. For
any one with a stake in e-business— from CEOs to entrepreneurs,
from marketers to customer service and PR specialists
and from venture capitalists to financial analysts—eBrands
will prove an essential guide to creating truly durable
brands.
Emotional branding: The New Paradigm for Connecting
Brands to People
Marc Gobe, Allworth Press, 2000
Leading brand designer Marc Gobe reveals cutting-edge
marketing strategies to engage today’s increasingly
cynical consumers on deeper emotional levels. The author
argues that marketing executives have ignored at their
own risk the powerful emotional dimension of branding.
Supported by case studies from Gobe’s high-profile client
list, the book analyses and responds to major upcoming
demographic and behavioral shifts in consumer populations
and distribution channels at the retail and e-tail level.
The book introduces a ground-breaking branding paradigm
that utilises high-impact sensory experiences to facilitate
an intense, emotional relationship with the consumer.
It reveals two acclaimed propriety brand management
tools designed by Desgrippes Gobe—Brand Focus and Sense.
Gobe details how to: 1. Develop unforgettable brand
personalities 2. Customise brand presence to different
consumer segments 3. Incorporate brand strategies into
product and retail architecture design 4. Facilitate
interactive access to your products through the Internet.
Emotional Branding proposes innovative ways of creating
powerful and effective branding programs for meeting
the challenges and opportunities of the new emotion-based
economy.
The Electronic B@zaar: from the Silk Road to the
eRoad
Robin Bloor, Nicholas Brealey Publishing, 2000
According to Robin Bloor, the electronic market that
is emerging at a rapid pace in all national economies
worldwide is a huge noisy place, where traders assemble
to sell everything from silk stockings to timeshare,
and its reach is growing everyday. What differentiates
it from the traditional modes of businesses and commerce
is the ease and speed of execution. In this book, the
author explains the evolution of the Internet and where
it will finally lead us. His opinions are bolstered
by extensive statistics and models contributed by Bloor
Research Consultants. Bloor teaches the companies to
create the right kind of shop on the Web, one in which
visitors are encouraged not only to surf through but
even to make purchases. On a higher philosophical terrain,
Bloor discusses the future of humankind in the Internet
Age by saying, ‘Like it or not, a revolution of some
kind is brewing.’ |
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