Jim Holbrook is CEO of EMAK Worldwide, a family of marketing agencies including Upshot, Equity Marketing, Logistix and Neighbor. He was formerly president of Zipatoni, an independent agency that was sold to IPG. Prior to Zipatoni, Jim served in management and marketing positions at Ralston Purina (now NestlePurina) and P&G. Jim graduated from Washington University and Vanderbilt University. More about Jim Holbrook.
This is not exactly a book report. My 21 year-old son was recently assaulted and is suffering from head trauma (showing miraculous signs of recovery), and along the way a friend gave me Jill Bolte Taylor’s book, My Stroke of Insight. (http://www.amazon.com/My-Stroke-Insight-Scientists-Personal/dp/0452295548/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245162989&sr=8-1)
Well, ok but what does this have to do with doing better [...]
I recently had a wonderful, lengthy, wide-ranging conversation with one of our clients. I don’t do this nearly enough, and it’s always a top new years’ resolution for me. Anyway, upon reflection, I think our conversation covered the five universal truths in marketing. I submit them here for your consideration:
1. Good ideas come from anywhere. [...]
Marketing is under siege, and for at least twenty-five good reasons.
Here they are:
1. the definition of marketing has evolved from ‘meeting unmet needs’ to ‘getting rid of the shit we make’… being a pusher sucks
2. terminology like ‘audience’ is a farce- They aren’t your audience because they aren’t watching, sorry… ‘consumer’ is also misdirected, because [...]
With a nod to Edgar Degas, his quote about painting works well for marketing….
“Marketing is easy when you don’t know how, but very difficult when you do!”
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‘Communications’ is a funny thing.
But before I get there, I really want to talk about what I think is the absolute fundamental key to business success, and that’s ‘alignment’. If everyone knows the corporate goals, and is aimed at helping to achieve them in a meaningful and tangible way with all that they do, that’s [...]
… no, I am not pitching Guitar Hero or any of the other cool games made by Activision. But it’s a great name, and I am enamored with the idea of blending Vision and Activation. (I tried Visivation, but that’s just stupid-sounding.)
How do some companies get it right- finding the proper mix of Vision (direction) [...]
