1. Advertising and marketing people are swamped with books on branding. How will Personality Not Included be different?
Thanks for asking this - because it gets right to the heart of what I think most people want to know. Why another marketing book? Well, the first thing I should tell you is that I am completely swamped with marketing and business books perhaps more than most others. The first thing I did when I got my book deal was to go out and buy nearly 100 marketing and business books from the last 5 years so I had a good sample of what I was up against (so to speak). As a result, I think I managed to write a book that stands out from any others for two big reasons:
- It is full of stories. Not boring case studies, but real stories of more than 100 brands or individuals with lessons from each example packed throughout.
- It takes a unique approach, skipping the usual theoretical model for books where there is one big idea and then you are left on your own to implement it. Instead, I have split the book into two main areas. The first is all about personality, why you need one, how to define one for your brand and when to use it. The second section is all about using it and is a collection of action guides and techniques to help you do that.
2. Could the book's core premise be valid for someone not involved in new media?
Absolutely ... in fact, one of the things that you will probably hear me over and over again in interviews is that this is "not a blogging book." I don't think there is a need for another one of those. Even more broadly looking at new media or social media is a more narrow topic. I wanted to focus on what I thought was a major trend in business that encompasses social media, authenticity and word of mouth marketing. The nice thing about the topic I chose is that there is not too much discussion of it in a business context already, so it offers me an ownable idea.
3. You open with a quote from David Ogilvy. Was it because (a) You work for Ogilvy (b) You think generations of advertising people haven't quite deciphered the Ogilvy code about brands and people (c) You think brand theory has been missing a key ingredient (d) Other
I wondered whether this would be a question people would ask! I didn't choose him because I work for Ogilvy, but if you happen to be in a situation where you are seeking marketing quotes, I dare you to avoid spending more than half an hour searching without coming up with at least 4 or 5 brilliant quotes from David Ogilvy. He was simply one of the most prolific creators of sayings and quotes that you can find. And I happen to think he was a brilliant marketer in his time ... but honestly, the fact that I work at Ogilvy was secondary.
4. You are tapping into social media in a big way for the launch of this book. What appears to be the most successful element of this social media marketing mix so far?
I think this interview series has been far more successful that I could have imagined when I first launched it on Tuesday. I have had an extensive social media marketing plan for the book for a few months now, including Facebook pages, twittering, tagging content and just about everything else. The launch questions concept was something I came up with last weekend, and has turned into a great success in terms of the people that participated as well as the great buzz it is creating for the book and me, as well as (hopefully) for all the bloggers that participated. It's ironic that a last minute idea is the one that takes off, but it also says something about the power of social media and the value of taking a risk. I could have ended up with 0 questions and looked pretty stupid ... but the risk paid off and now I get the chance to share so many thoughts about the book and connect with lots of bloggers like you!
5. How did you balance a full time job, travel, a new kid, and writing the book?
I was surprised that you're only the second person out of 52 to ask this question! The short answer is that I have a really supportive wife and family ... and the other part of this is that I really don't sleep much (which I know isn't healthy). I think I'm used to about 4 hours a night and 5 hours is a good night. That and I've learned how to type pretty fast and distill my thoughts into words very quickly. It takes me time to edit what I write to make it more succinct ... which is probably why I'm rambling with these answers a bit!
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