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Didn't See It Coming
Marc Stoiber, a 25-year veteran of the marketing trenches, has stewarded the reputation of brands ranging from global multi-nationals to local pizza shops. He’s witnessed tectonic shifts in the marketing landscape - from rapidly changing values and beliefs, to consumer hyper-engagement and the messy implosion of sacred marketing cows.
In Didn’t See It Coming, Stoiber describes a brave new world. He gets into the head and heart of skeptical consumers as they decide who they want to believe in – against the backdrop of economic meltdown, cultural chaos, climate change, and technological overload.
Didn’t See It Coming is honest, fun to read and packed with great thinking. There are ideas to mull, wisdom to consider, and practices to rip off and claim as your own. Best of all, there isn’t a word of marketing bafflegab to be found.
Join Marc as he pulls back the curtain, rolls up his sleeves and redefines how marketers can get their groove back.
In Didn’t See It Coming, Stoiber describes a brave new world. He gets into the head and heart of skeptical consumers as they decide who they want to believe in – against the backdrop of economic meltdown, cultural chaos, climate change, and technological overload.
Didn’t See It Coming is honest, fun to read and packed with great thinking. There are ideas to mull, wisdom to consider, and practices to rip off and claim as your own. Best of all, there isn’t a word of marketing bafflegab to be found.
Join Marc as he pulls back the curtain, rolls up his sleeves and redefines how marketers can get their groove back.
- GenresBusiness
148 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 15, 2015
6 people are currently reading
13 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 16, 2015
Didn’t See it Coming is written by a former ‘big marketing’ person, the type of person that tried to sell you a different smell of Mr. Clean for each season because who on earth would want a house in the summer with a winter scent? Yup he was a bastion of vapid consumption, but no more.
In this book Marc Stoiber talks about how he became jaded with what big brands were doing and got out of that marketing game. He shows us some companies that breath sustainability (like Patagonia) and culture which he feels will be the leading things that people look for in brands moving forward.
Overall, the book was…okay. There are some blatant factual errors like the ‘fact’ that Patagonia doesn’t advertise. All it took was for me to open my copy of Backpacker Magazine and flip a few pages in to find a Patagonia ad. Now I do love Patagonia (had one of their jackets for 15 years) but they do advertise regularly.
The early part of the book felt like a tirade for the environment and our care of it. Now I don’t disagree with any of the core arguments, it just felt a bit like that crazy uncle making them with hair and spittle flying. That’s the type of person I generally avoid (even as I do lots of work to save our rivers in BC from Micro Hydro).
So would I recommend the book? Not really. There are some decent sound bites (well quotes it’s a book I read) but you could get them from any number of other sources that probably have a more coherent thread through their material.
In this book Marc Stoiber talks about how he became jaded with what big brands were doing and got out of that marketing game. He shows us some companies that breath sustainability (like Patagonia) and culture which he feels will be the leading things that people look for in brands moving forward.
Overall, the book was…okay. There are some blatant factual errors like the ‘fact’ that Patagonia doesn’t advertise. All it took was for me to open my copy of Backpacker Magazine and flip a few pages in to find a Patagonia ad. Now I do love Patagonia (had one of their jackets for 15 years) but they do advertise regularly.
The early part of the book felt like a tirade for the environment and our care of it. Now I don’t disagree with any of the core arguments, it just felt a bit like that crazy uncle making them with hair and spittle flying. That’s the type of person I generally avoid (even as I do lots of work to save our rivers in BC from Micro Hydro).
So would I recommend the book? Not really. There are some decent sound bites (well quotes it’s a book I read) but you could get them from any number of other sources that probably have a more coherent thread through their material.
December 26, 2015
Marc Stoiber is a successful marketing wiz who gradually lost faith in the purpose of the work that once consumed him. What seemed so meaningful to him now rings hollow. While it's not an uncommon transformation for young ad execs (and others in fields like entertainment) as they transition from ambitious young turks into adulthood, his clear-eyed walk through the thought process as his new world unveils itself is insightful, encouraging and unrelenting.
I highly recommend this book for it's simple truths, funny observations and its genial admonition to "keep doing better". It's a fast and easy read that serves as a wonderful collection of wisdom and ideas that I used as a quick daily boost and reminder to return my focus to purposeful work.
I highly recommend this book for it's simple truths, funny observations and its genial admonition to "keep doing better". It's a fast and easy read that serves as a wonderful collection of wisdom and ideas that I used as a quick daily boost and reminder to return my focus to purposeful work.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews