From Poop To Gold: The Marketing Magic of Harmon Brothers

by Chris Jones

You've seen the Squatty Potty, Chatbooks, Purple, Poo~Pourri (and more). You've laughed along with millions of others. And you've learned new euphemisms for poop, which can come in handy if you're ever apparated back to junior high. But who creates all these ads? Glad you asked. It's Harmon Brothers. Author Chris Jones pulls back the curtain and reveals the behind-the-scenesmagic including their innovative business model, one of the biggest secrets behind their success. With awards from AdAge, Unruly, ADWEEK, and a WEBBY for Best Writing, Harmon Brothers, and their revolutionary model, transform poop into gold, and can do the same for you and your company.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction

197 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 17, 2018

Reviews

[Vladimir Kudinov · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring read with no any knowledge inside

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been a fan of Harmon Brothers' ads for a few years now... ever since their Poo-Pourri and Squatty Potty ads. And I've been wanting to read this book since it was published.

It's a behind-the-scenes look at how Harmon Brothers created some of their most iconic work. And there are some business lessons mixed in. (The business lessons focus on the three pillars of Creative Culture, Creative Process, and Creative Partnerships.)

Some of my biggest takeaways:

1. A viral video ad can sell an enormous amount of product.

2. Creating a viral video ad is an enormous amount of work.

On the one hand, part of me wants to write ads like the Harmon Brothers. On the other hand, it's insane how much time and money goes into producing one of their hero ads.

Still, this is a really fun book to read -- especially if you're a Harmon Brothers fan like me.

P.S. Just got my Purple Hybrid Premier 3 a few weeks ago and LOVE it.

[Solem · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book, especially if you own or work for a creative company. Chris Jones does a great job keeping the content informative but also easy reading. I work in the creative field, doing many jobs for a small company. A lot of the books I end up reading about marketing are boring and very technical. From Poop to Gold covers the technical and helpful parts, while still keeping it light and more like a story. A lot of the ideas are really good and I look forward to sharing this around my company. I think there are several things we can take from it.

[Jami Balmet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a big fan of the Harmon brothers and love their marketing genius! This book was basically a biography of their business. However, I assumed it would be written by someone inside the Harmon brothers and was looking for marketing training on how they connect with their customers, etc. I thought it would be training and learning. Instead, it’s a biography written from someone outside the company sharing about their success. It was an interesting read (listen to) but not what I was expecting at all! Now I want a follow up book that shares their training ;)

[Cody Owen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good dive into the process and practices at HB. Would've appreciated more actionable steps - maybe at the end of each section, rather than at the end of the book.

[Trevor Winsor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyable and an easy read. Hilarious and light-hearted following of the Harmon Brothers media company. The author gives us a look into the culture and creativity of an amazingly successful company. Great stories and some solid marketing nuggets in here.

[Briana Ford · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn’t 100% sure what I was getting into with this book, but ended up being pleasantly surprised. A recommended read for direct to consumer brands and the agencies working with them.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic biography of the HB culture and company.

THIS IS NOT A TRAINING MANUAL FOR MARKETING! (It seems that many who reviewed the book were expecting this)

This is an in-depth look at the day to Day PROCESSES and approach about how HB became a successful ads company. This book is a fly on the wall look at how they balance the whimsical flow of creative energy with hard deadlines, raw numbers that show what’s working and what’s not, and having fun along the way.

If you like business bios, I highly recommend this book. Similar to ‘Creativity Inc’ about how Pixar came to be, this is a great high-level look at HB.

[Bethany Jett · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing story of the Harmon Brothers. The book is a fun read but also full of tips that we've started applying in our own business. AMAZING read for every entrepreneur!

[DeBora Rachelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Was hoping to gain a ton of knowledge but was sadly disappointed.

[Emily Rooker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this to read primarily as a marketing resource, as I am just starting my own business. I’d say it was actually more like 70% biography, 30% helpful practices and tips for creative businesses/entrepreneurs in general. However, I actually really enjoyed the biographical elements. If that’s not what you’re looking for or wouldn’t enjoy more of that info, this probably isn’t the book for you. There are definitely some helpful tidbits sprinkled within, but you have to read a lot to get to that stuff. So unless you’re a big fan of Harmon Brothers or are okay with reading about the history of their company, I’d skip this one. That said, I liked this book - it’s a quick, easy read, sort of like a really long blog post.

[Lindsay Bragg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been a Harmon Brothers fan from the beginning. This was a fun profile/biography of the business and the people in it. It is not a marketing book. It's a company culture book. But it's written to marketers (mostly only marketers would nerd out over ad producers), so only in rare cases would someone reading the book actually be able to use the strategies. Even if a CEO read the book, they'd be looking for marketing advice, not culture advice.

Some chapters were way too long--usually the ones where he tried to tell the whole campaign story. It shouldn't have taken me so long to read a 200 page book.

Also, the personal tone of the narration started as endearing and interesting, but by about halfway through it felt heavy-handed and became a bit of a turn-off.

[Paul Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I were involved in a small business, especially one in which creativity was a key aspect, this would supply great ideas. As it is, I appreciate their willingness to follow a process (but being open to refining that process and being willing to ignore the process for good reason), taking input from everybody, giving chances for people to grow and prove themselves (backed up by parting with good relations if somebody doesn't fit), and letting people manage their own time and work (motivated by incentives to be valuable to the team).

As I read the book, I looked up several of the ads that I had not previously seen. They're all good entertainment!

I enjoyed Jones' sometimes-playful attitude in telling the story.

[Stacey Smekofske · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is for anyone who is interested in business and using a creative culture to encourage innovative and imaginative thinking. Of course, marketing requires this type of freedom so that people don’t end up with a blocked chi.
I am a small service based business and found this book very helpful in evaluating my own company and creative ways that I can approach and solve my clients’ problems.
It helps that the book is hilarious. I hope you enjoy the review. The link is below for the full review.
https://editsbystacey.com/from-poop-t...

[Rob Y · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the work that the Harmon Brothers do. They do fantastic work. So when I saw a book about them with the subtitle, “The marketing magic of Harmon Brothers,” I assumed it would be a book about... marketing. I was disappointed to find out that the book was actually focused on the companies culture. If that’s what you’re looking for, the book is good. If you’re looking to learn about how you can market like them, this is the wrong book. So my only real complaint is that the title was pretty misleading.

[Jonathan Hardy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun simple and quick read. I work in organizational effectiveness and am curious about how organizations build innovative cultures. Most books on that topic are very dry and dense which is great for meaty content (this has some, but not a ton) so this was nice in it's simple one company approach. I think it was humble in its approach as well in not trying to be anything more than what it is - the story of one company and what has worked for them.

[Mike Flippo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent read, had a few nuggets of solid info, but I feel this more heavily targets those working in already established companies, very little info for the individual, but, it's a very short read so I'd still recommend it. Tho, a lot of the meat of this is story telling about the company, you could likely summarize the actionable info in a handful of pages.

[Mark Manderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Share better stories.
Use unlisted link to A/B test before public launch.
To build culture ask their why. What is their life mission?
THE CREATIVE PROCESS:
1. DEADLINES: This forces urgency and productivity.
2. IDEAS FROM EVERYWHERE.
3. HAVE A BRAIN TRUST: One person points out problems. Poke holes but the team creates solution.
Look to understand the situation and not infer blame!

[Nick Armstrong · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're looking for the secret sauce, it's not in this book. There are some really interesting anecdotes from a really interesting marketing company, but if you're in it for the business insights and not just a fan of the company, you'd be better off picking up a copy of any Heath brothers book, ReWork, or most of Seth Godin's work.

[Shayla Raquel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really good book. I've always enjoyed the Harmon Brothers and their videos. They're hilarious! So it was interesting seeing how they got together, how their videos evolved, and what their goals are as a team.

The writer did a good job with humor and organization. Found some gold in this book for sure!

[Maryann Spady · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I gave this book three stars because I listened to it on audible. While it is a good book it is one that needs to actually be read and not listened to because there are extras at the back of the book that are referred to throughout

[Liza · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the author came off a bit self-absorbed and obnoxious, this book is a fascinating look into the inner workings of the Harmon Brothers ad agency. A quick read that left me wanting more... I'll certainly be following Harmon Brothers closely!

[Russsell Lundstrom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Legendary creators of some of the most successful advertising campaigns part the curtains and reveal what makes them special?

Heck yeah!

Sign me up.

Marketing geek extraordinaire.

Great book.
Immediate take away value too.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great information on how to build a business that allows for creativity and cultivates success.
Very interesting insight on the creative culture of Harmon Brothers. Loved the stories!

[Jake Bradshaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb read about the master minds behind the pooping unicorn.

I enjoyed it.

[RJ Bates III · Rating 5 out of 5]

An easy and fun business book to read.

[Trisha McGady · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was recommended by a customer, and I really enjoyed it. Only reason for not giving it 5 stars is that it’s specific to a marketing role and that’s not what I do. Good quick read.

[Jason Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book on the creative culture of Harmon Brothers. Good stories about their viral videos of their clients.

[Cailin Rocco · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting how the company came up with the idea for their commercials. The author has a few funny lines, but overall thought it was a bit of a waste of time.

[Ash.O · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great business and marketing book with plenty of useful insights. It was interesting to get an inside look at the process behind some of the viral campaigns I was familiar with (Squatty Potty, Poo-Pourri, Purple, etc.).