“Gotta get me some of that New Marketing. Bring me blogs, e-mail, YouTube videos, MySpace pages, Google AdWords . . . I don’t care, as long as it’s shiny and new.”
Wait. According to bestselling author Seth Godin, all these tactics are like the toppings at an ice cream parlor. If you start with ice cream, adding cherries and hot fudge and whipped cream will make it taste great. But if you start with a bowl of meatballs . . . yuck!
As traditional marketing fades away, the new tools seem irresistible. But they don’t work as well for boring brands (“meatballs”) that might still be profitable but don’t attract word of mouth, such as Cheerios, Ford trucks, Barbie dolls, or Budweiser. When Anheuser-Busch spends $40 million on an online network called BudTV, that’s a meatball sundae. It leads to no new Bud drinkers, just a bad case of indigestion.
Meatball Sundae is the definitive guide to the fourteen trends no marketer can afford to ignore. It explains what to do about the increasing power of stories, not facts; about shorter and shorter attention spans; and about the new math that says five thousand people who want to hear your message are more valuable than five million who don’t.
The winners aren’t just annoying start-ups run by three teenagers who never had a real job. You’ll also meet older companies that have adapted brilliantly, such as Blendtec, a thirty-year-old blender maker. It now produces “Will it blend?” videos that demolish golf balls, Coke cans, iPhones, and much more. For a few hundred dollars, Blendtec reached more than ten million eager viewers on YouTube.
Godin doesn’t pretend that it’s easy to get your products, marketing messages, and internal systems in sync. But he’ll convince you that it’s worth the effort.
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I am like the proverbial kid in a candy shop! New to the world of marketing and finding myself having to make my own way in it, I find the journey one of the most enjoyable and exciting that I have ever been on. Making it even better is Seth Godin and his wonderful books. Yes, maybe I know about some of things he talks about here in “Meatball Sundae”, but now I am EXCITED about their possibilities. I think sometimes you need a kick in the keister to get your mind focused and Seth provided me with it. I need to be reminded (constantly) to listen, to try to see things as others see them and not as I would see them. Seth points out that today you had better LISTEN, or you are going nowhere in marketing. This book is like a little pep talk, right when I needed it most.
If you are, or planning to, market your product or service on the Internet you have to read this book. Seth Godin is a genius with coming up with memorable analogies, and “Meatball Sundae” is no exception. There are also some great examples here to back up these concepts – which are reinforced sufficiently to have staying power. I have to say that I enjoyed this book much more than “Tribes,” however having read “Meatball Sundae” it has given me a deeper appreciation for “Tribes.” There are some great concepts in this book with some equally great examples to reinforce these concepts. Although some visuals would have been welcomed, the content is strong enough to stand on it’s own. Highly recommended.
Meatball Sundae is a resource to share the differentiation factor between “old marketing” techniques and “new marketing” techniques. Greatest quote, “don’t use a mass market technique in a micromarket venue!” Don’t layer whipped cream on a meatball…questionable metaphor for the title, but valuable content throughout.
I am a fan of Seth Godin’s writing, but this book seemed like a mish-mash of truths and half-truths. Seth examines the changes that have occurred in marketing and consumer behavior over the last few decades and suggests how companies can change this.
Most of the strategy related ideas are better covered in Peter Drucker’s book : Managing for the Future: The 1990s and Beyond.
A business and Marketing must read. Good case studies. Good insight with the 14 trends, starting with “Direct Communication”. Great insight into staying on top of trends. Poses some great questions for you to evaluate where you are stuck with your business.