Marketing book previews, free e-newsletters, association links.

We believe there is a lot to be learned by reading. We do a lot of reading.

Below are links to some of our recommended favorites (both classic and recent), listed in alphabetical order by author. (Click on book titles to link to www.amazon.com.)

(We make our marketing resource library available to clients … and have even been known to buy a particularly relevant book for new clients at the inception of an engagement.)

Harry Beckwith

What Clients Love: A Field Guide to Growing Your Business

2003

“Third time’s the charm.” Not always. But it is with Beckwith. Best of his three books, all published since 1997. Think of this one as common sense…on steroids. (Read previews below.)

Harry Beckwirth

The Invisible Touch: The Four Keys to Modern Marketing

2000

It takes an exceptional author to write a sequel that lives up to the original. Harry did it. If you have the chance, the only thing better than reading Harry’s books is to hear him speak in person. And if you have any questions about the effectiveness of his advice, ask the people at Lowry Hill (www.lowryhill.com) about their growth since they retained Harry and his firm.

Harry Beckwirth

Selling The Invisible: A Field Guide to Modern Marketing

1997

What a guy! Former copywriter (and associate) Harry Beckwith shares succinct insights bound to make you better at marketing and sales. It’s a quick read … and a worthy one. His “service marketing” insights are particularly appropriate as our economy shifts from product to service for growth and competitive advantage. (Just look at the shift in IBM revenues from hardware to consulting in the last decade.) We are particularly fond of the chapters, “Focus Groups Don’t,” “Fanatical Focus,” and “Presenting’s First Rule: Imitate Dick.” (You will have to read them to find out why. We were there. Dick Wilson also taught us that a marketing message has to be “understandable, meaningful, and true.” Simple to say; hard to do.)

Stanley Bing

Sun Tzu Was a Sissy : Conquer Your Enemies, Promote Your Friends, and Wage the Real Art of War

2004

This book was a gift from a client. While we are not big on marketing warfare metaphors, it proved to be a good, quick read. It turns out to be more about corporate war and the battlefield of the modern workplace than about marketing. If you have time for military satire and puns, pick it up. But if it is on your bookshelf, be prepared to explain why.

Brandenburger, Nalebuff et al

Co-opetition:
1. A Revolutionary Mindset That Redefines Competition and Cooperation;
2. The Game Theory Strategy That's Changing the Game of Business

1997

1. A Revolutionary Mindset That Redefines Competition and Cooperation; 2. The Game Theory Strategy That's Changing the Game of Business Sometimes you collaborate, sometimes you compete. As long as you declare your intent, retain your integrity, and stay flexible, this approach can lead to new relationships, capabilities, and competitive advantage. While the authors make a credible case with their game theory insights, the title captures the concept … and inspired the business model for Contract Marketing Resources and the Reciprocal Marketing Agreement we have with our independent marketing contractors.

John Caples

Tested Advertising Methods

1998

First copyrighted in 1932, our yellowed 1947 copy teaches contemporary lessons on testing and persuasion. The forward by David Ogilvy in the fourth edition says agencies and their clients “skid helplessly about on the greasy surface of irrelevant brilliance” because they never heard of the factors Caples explains so eloquently. No matter what edition you read, the lessons in advertising accountability are timeless. In 1983, he published the most important secrets of successful advertising that had been discovered in the last fifty years (mostly by mail order advertisers) in How to Make Your Advertising Make Money. While the case histories are dated, timeless principles are shared. If your agency account rep does not know about the techniques Caples advocates (or know who John Caples is) cancel your next meeting, spend your time reading a copy of the book, then fire your agency.

Jim Collins

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap … and Others Don’t

2001

Just read it. Just do it. (It’s as simple and complex as that.) Excerpts from reviews on Amazon.com:

Making the transition from good to great doesn't require a high-profile CEO, the latest technology, innovative change management, or even a fine-tuned business strategy. At the heart of those rare and truly great companies was a corporate culture that rigorously found and promoted disciplined people to think and act in a disciplined manner.

At the heart of the findings about these companies' stellar successes is what Collins calls the Hedgehog Concept, a product or service that leads a company to outshine all worldwide competitors, that drives a company's economic engine and that a company is passionate about.

"Some of the key concepts discerned in the study," comments Jim Collins, "fly in the face of our modern business culture and will, quite frankly, upset some people."

Crawford & Mathews

The Myth of Excellence: Why Great Companies Never Try to Be the Best at Everything

2001

The authors set out to prove their sub-title—and make a convincing case. Due to our respect for the firm, we try to read books published by Cap Gemini Ernst & Young consultants. Even though we were a bit skeptical of the premise, their research proves that many consumers rank values (respect, honesty, trust, and dignity) above value when they make purchasing decisions. Their model of “consumer relevancy” is an enlightened contrast to the long-in-tooth 4Ps of marketing (product, price, place, promotion), the more contemporary 4Cs of marketing (customer, cost, convenience, communication), and the newest 4As of marketing (addressability, accountability, affordability, accessibility) advocated by Stan Rapp in his latest book, Max-e-Marketing In The Net Future. For all those fans of In Search of Excellence and Well Made In America, this book will challenge conventional wisdom and expand your thinking.

Davis & Meyer

Blur: The Speed of Change in the Connected Economy

1999

While the accelerated growth of the 1990s has slowed, does anybody doubt the accelerating speed of change? You won’t after reading this quick-reading look at the present and future of business.

Malcolm Gladwell

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking

2005

(We will deviate from the brief "preview" format here for a book review by Dick Damrow published in the newsletter of the Cedar Rapids Advertising Federation.)

I was first exposed to Gladwell when reading Unleashing the Ideavirus (which he co-authored with Seth Godin) where they collaborated to expose readers to concepts like "viral marketing," "word of mouse," and "sneezers."

Gladwell is far less flip - far more academic - when writing solo. I found his landmark work - The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference - is pretty much summed up by its title. (If you buy it, buy it used for less than $10 at Amazon.com. Odds are slim there will be any highlighting by the previous owner.)

However, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking provides some tangible examples and support for theories good communicators need to keep in mind. Too often we tend to over-think our messages and fail to rely upon intuition and instinct to guide our marketing and communications decisions.

We have all heard the maxim, "You only have one chance to make a first impression," but so often fail to accept the reality of how little time we have to make one - especially in today's multi-media, multi-tasking digital world.

While many readers will find the J. Paul Getty Museum case history a bit overbearing and overdone (at least that was my first impression) Gladwell develops a compelling case for this theory of "thin slices" - how we too often look at input and information that is too "thick" with extraneous details. (This is often the case when we rely upon quantitative market research rather than qualitative marketing research to guide the creative process.)

Two of the more refreshing anecdotes are about how Warren Harding was elected president more on his looks (first impression) than on his competence and about how Coke and Pepsi taste tests are influenced (biased) by pre-existing brand perceptions.

With the growing pressure to reach conclusions quickly, there is merit to understanding how marketers can use the conscious and unconscious decision-making process to our competitive advantage. We have to accept that the audience we are trying to reach and influence makes quick decisions - in a blink - even on what have traditionally been defined as "considered purchase" products.

(When I wrote this review on July 8, 2005, The Wall Street Journal ranked Blink #2 on its Best Selling Business Books list. Ranked #3 was The Tipping Point, also by Gladwell. If you believe the premise the author worked so hard to develop in Blink, readers probably made a snap judgment that since Blink was a worthy read, The Tipping Point would be, as well. This only proves that snap judgment and the instinctive decision-making process can also be wrong.)

Malcolm Gladwell

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference

2000

(See Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking for a review/preview of both books.)

Seth Godin

All Marketers Are Liars: The Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low-Trust World

2005

Possibly the best book we added to our marketing library in 2005.

This may be Godin's most significant work since Permission Marketing - and as thought provoking as Purple Cow. The essence of his thesis is not that all marketers are liars, but that successful marketers enable consumers to lie to themselves. How? (The answer is in the sub-title - by telling authentic, engaging stories.)

Quotable insight: "Stories let us lie to ourselves. And those lies satisfy our desires. It's the story, not the good or the service you actually sell, that pleases the customer." - page 84.

Godin confesses that the book would have been more aptly titled All Marketers Are Storytellers - but who would have bought a book by that title? Definitely worth reading and reflection. Is your story authentic? Are you telling a story worthy of consideration by customers and prospects? If not, take notes. This book will give you a new perspective on marketing communications.

(If you notice a conspicuous absence of Godin's Free Prize Inside and The Big Moo - there is good reason. Both serve as tangible proof of the potential danger of brand extensions. But to his credit, he keeps at it - and has authored at least three of the most influential, thought-provoking marketing books of the decade.)

Seth Godin

Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable

2002

If you ever needed proof that good enough is not good enough, Godin's latest quick-read takes some pretty compelling swipes at the communications business as we have known it. Here's the kind of candor you can expect:

• "In a crowded marketplace, fitting in is failing. In a busy marketplace, not standing out is the same as being invisible."
• "Don't try to make a product for everybody, because that is a product for nobody."
• "In exchange for taking the risk—the risk of failure or ridicule or unfulfilled dreams—the creator of the Purple Cow gets a huge upside when she gets it right."

The essence of the message is that it's safer to take a risk. (We especially enjoy the metaphoric experience on page 2 that led to the title.)

Seth Godin

Survival Is Not Enough: Zooming, Evolution, and the Future Of Your Company

2002

Same author; another potent message. (See below.) This one is on change. Godin shares his prescription for business survival, a concept he calls "zooming," which he defines as "stretching your limits without threatening your foundation."

Seth Godin

Unleashing the Idea Virus

2001

We've all heard about "viral marketing." This work explains how (and why) it happens—complete with compelling examples. Taking up where Permission Marketing left off, Godin explains in great detail how idea viruses have been launched by companies such as Napster, Blue Mountain Arts, GeoCities, and Hotmail. He also describes "sneezers" (influential people who spread them), "hives" (populations most willing to receive them), and "smoothness" (the ease with which sneezers can transmit them throughout a hive).

Seth Godin

Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers into Friends, And Friends into Customers

1999

If you haven’t read this book and adapted the principles to your marketing and communications program, it is a must read. It differentiates between “interruption marketing” and “permission marketing.” If you follow the author’s metaphor on dating in Chapter 2, you will never again try to collect some of the data many marketers request in their initial prospecting mailing. Godin suggests that permission marketing is an old concept with new relevance. We agree.

Oren Harari

Leapfrogging the Competition: Five Giant Steps to Market Leadership

1999

The author’s advice is simple: “The leapfrogging organization is not obsessed with either imitating or avoiding them [competitors]. The leapfrogging organization simply vaults over them. It does so with explosive speed and outrageous product-service offerings that simultaneously amaze customers and reshape industry.” The five steps advocated by the author are easy to grasp—so hard to implement. But they sure beat conventional wisdom. Are you ready to “eat change for breakfast…to serve it up for every meal”? Do you have the courage to “make yourself obsolete before someone else does”? Rely upon the author to spark some new thinking. Then you decide if it applies to you and your market.

Russell Kern

S.U.R.E.-Fire Direct Response Marketing

2001

If you sell products or services primarily to other businesses, Kern’s focus on business-to-business marketing, lead generation, and e-Cultivation is well worth your time. Log on at www.kerndirect.com and see if his B2B Refinery™ concept or his eCapture Technology is relevant to your marketing strategies and plans.

Dick Lee

The Customer Relationship Management Planning Guide

2000

Respected former client and competitor Dick Lee tones down his “stream of sarcasm” style of communication in this critical and helpful look at CRM. The workflow mapping he recommends are essential before software is considered. Lee reminds us that CRM is more than software evaluation and installation—it is a philosophy of doing business that changes individuals and organizations. He forces us to ask why we keep trying to develop customer-centric strategies using traditional planning tools designed to produce traditional, company-centric strategies instead. You can also join members who read his candid column “You Betcha!” in CRMGuru email newsletter. Visit www.crmguru.com to sign up.

Levine, Locke, et al

The Cluetrain Manifesto: The End of Business as Usual

2001

If you are stuck in the status quo or still believe in command-and-control management, you will be challenged by all 95 of the authors’ theses. Here are some of our favorites: #10 – “… markets are getting smarter, more informed, more organized. Participation in a networked market changes people fundamentally.” #12 – “There are no secrets. The networked market knows more than companies do about their own products. And whether the news is good or bad, they tell everyone.” #14 – “Corporations do not speak in the same voice as these new networked conversations. To their intended online audiences, companies sound hollow, flat, literally inhuman.” #20 – “Companies need to realize their markets are often laughing. At them.” Perhaps our favorite is #23 – “Companies attempting to ‘position’ themselves need to take a position. Optimally, it should relate to something their markets care about.” Perhaps most the most predictive of the 95 is a combination of #51 and #52 (best when read together): “Command-and-control management styles both derive from and reinforce bureaucracy, power tripping and an overall culture of paranoia. Paranoia kills conversation. That’s its point. But lack of open conversation kills companies.” They also tell us in #74, “We’re immune to advertising. Just forget it.” Are we listening? It’s a good place to start.

Michael Lewis

Next: The Future Just Happened

2001

The reviews aren’t that great, but we found the case histories and insights into the impact of the Internet made a compelling case for how the democratization of information will impact marketers. Case histories include a teenage on-line trader with enough clout to attract the attention of the SEC after running his account up to $800,000 in six months. Another is about a teenager who provides on-line legal advice—even though he has no formal legal training and isn’t even old enough to drive. Let us know if you agree with the notion that adulthood may indeed be overrated.

David Maister

Practice What You Preach

2001

We first got hooked on the author when he published Managing the Professional Service Firm in the early 90’s. Since then, we find helpful client insights in all he writes. The author’s research proves that firms that are perceived by their employees to actually practice what they preach are more financially successful than their competitors. If this is true, why do so many employers neglect the leverage they can achieve from better employee attitudes and morale? A worthy read for managers looking for competitive advantage.

David Maister

The Trusted Advisor

2001

If we are going to list Practice What You Preach, it is only fair to list another by this author we consider “required reading.” After you read and reflect on the authors’ insights into trust development, our only request is that you hold us accountable … and that you not recommend this book to our competitors.

Tom McGehee

Whoosh: Business in the Fast Lane Unleashing the Power of a Creation Company

2001

The author examines three trends (cultural, technological, and structural) which will eventually determine whether or not a given organization survives. He characterizes the first as the “Death of the Corporate Myth”: there are no jobs for life, no careers even, not in the traditional sense. The second is manifest in the rapid rise of portals for real time, instant information sharing, and Internet communities. As for the third trend, organizations (willingly or not) are being changed from stand-alone hierarchies to interconnected webs of alliances, partnerships, and outsourcing relationships. McGehee endorses leaders who emphasize freedom, not control. He differentiates “compliance companies” from “creation companies.” Creation companies have an understanding that success means creating the new, not replicating the old, and have a work style that values individual expression and collaborative work. (As do we.) Compliance companies have a work style that values group conformity and individual effort which ensures that conformity. His most compelling insight may be that creation companies are (by nature) a serious threat to compliance companies. They have unleashed, nourished, and sustained a creative spirit which achieves for them a decisive competitive advantage. McGehee urges his readers to challenge and test the examples and models he provides. “Use them to change yourself and your organization. Use them to develop creative possibility, and to unleash your own whoosh.”

Regis McKenna

Total Access: Giving Customers What They Want In an Anytime, Anywhere World

2001

This one is the most recent and relevant of the four McKenna books listed here. All are worthy reads, packed with insights, reminders, and challenges.

Geoffrey Moore

Inside The Tornado: Marketing Strategies from Silicon Valley’s Cutting Edge

1999

It can happen to you. Are you prepared?

David Ogilvy

Ogilvy on Advertising

1987

A classic. (The book and the man.) Enough said.

Don Peppers & Martha Rogers

Enterprise One to One: Tools for Competing In The Interactive Age

1999

Already dated, but forever relevant.

Don Peppers & Martha Rogers

he One to One Future: Building Relationships One Customer At A Time

1997

This one started it all—and changed marketing vocabulary and strategies forever. It provides a (then) provocative summary of their vision … before CRM evolved from software to a business philosophy.

Tom Peters

Re-Imagine

2003

We have to confess, we have been disappointed in Peters' sequels since 1982 when he published In Search of Excellence. But Re-Imagine validated our continuing search for excellence since then. From relevant lifestyle marketing case histories like Harley-Davidson (they sell the experience of the rebel, not a motorcycle) to Starbucks (they sell a place of refuge, not coffee), Peters entertains and informs. Chapter 13 "Women Roar" alone is worth the inflated price of the book. The statistics challenge our testosterone-laden thinking about marketing. Most surprising of all, Peters claims to have discovered design as the "ultimate edge." Let us know what you think of how he employs design to communicate with his readers.

Stan Rapp and Chuck Martin

Max-e-Marketing in the Net Future

2002

Positioned as “The Seven Imperatives for Outsmarting the Competition in the Net Economy,” Rapp collaborates with the author of Net Future, updates us on ways to take advantage of the opportunities and avoid the pitfalls in today’s digital age. He defines and indicts the dichotomy between traditional marketing and more contemporary approaches to align the brand perception with the brand experience. The authors add the “four As” (addressability, accountability, affordability, and accessibility) to the old product-driven “four Ps” (product, price, place, and promotion) and the more customer-driven “four Cs” (customer, cost, convenience, and communications).

Stan Rapp and Tom Collins

The New Maximarketing

1996

In their earlier three books of the MaxiMarketing trilogy, Rapp and Collins showed the progression from "mass-marketing" advertising to "marketing to a segment of one." Now they take a bigger-picture and more aggressive editorial approach to show how the decade-long revolution in marketing has affected businesses worldwide. While already a bit dated, it provides a primer (or refresher) on the fundamentals of this multi-media, global discipline.

Stan Rapp and Tom Collins

The Great Marketing Turnaround

1990

What a shame it’s out of print. But for less than $2 or so on www.amazon.com, you can buy a used version of the book we consider best of the Rapp and Collins series. It explains and chronicles ten broad trends of MaxiMarketing in a way that will make you glad you have your highlighter handy. This classic confirmed more than a decade ago that mass marketing is a solution for which there is no longer a problem. Be sure to take in the discussion on “integrated communications” vs. true integration on pages 39 through 45. If you are new to direct marketing, the glossary of terms (while somewhat dated) will help clarify and simplify much of the confusion created by those with a limited grasp of the fundamentals. For example, “Share of Mind advertising asks, ‘What shall we say to the people we want as customers?’ Direct-Relationship Marketing asks, ‘What shall we do for the people we want as customers?’” Knowing how to implement this subtle (but essential) strategic difference can give you a distinct competitive advantage. (With due respect to the authors, we find the differentiation between Brand Marketing and Direct Marketing almost identical, more contemporary, and easier for many to grasp.)

Stan Rapp and Tom Collins

Maximarketing: The New Direction in Advertising, Promotion, & Marketing Strategy

1987

Before Rapp and Collins, founders of one of the largest direct marketing agency networks, created a new word, “direct marketing” was too often thought of as “direct mail” or “mail order.” While dated, the revolution revealed by these authors proved that direct marketing is a multi-media discipline…in a way that helped revolutionize marketing as we knew it.

Al Ries

Focus: The Future of Your Company Depends On It

1997

Best of the bunch. (Also the hardest to implement.)

Al Ries and Jack Trout

The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing

1993

If you don’t know these laws, you won’t know when you violate them. And indeed you violate them at your own risk. Much as we respect “The Law of Candor,” the two hardest laws to live by appear to be “The Law of Sacrifice” and “The Law of Focus.” A favorite quote from the chapter on focus: “The essence of marketing is narrowing the focus. You become stronger when you reduce the scope of your operations. You can’t stand for something if you chase after everything.” While the case histories are a bit dated, the insights are relevant and timeless.

Al Ries and Jack Trout

Positioning: The Battle For Your Mind

1981

Now you can check out the 20th Anniversary edition. We consider this the foundation book for all that followed by the prolific team (now separated) of Ries and Trout. Good as they were together, they are doing quite well as they pursue separate paths in their publishing and consulting practices.

Al Ries and Laura Ries

The Origin of Brands: Discover the Natural Laws of Product Innovation and Business Survival

2004

An extension and update of previous books on marketing and positioning, it is a struggle to find much new. If you already bought it, try to take it back and trade it for the original Trout & Ries Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind or for more insightful and inspiring insights by this father-daughter team, The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR.

Al Ries and Laura Ries

The Fall of Advertising And The Rise of PR

2002

The keynotes below do not necessarily reflect the opinion (or experience) of Contract Marketing Resources—but are worthy of consideration:

• The purpose of advertising in not to build the brand, but to defend the brand once the brand has been built by other means, primarily public relations or third-party endorsements.
• Creating a brand and defending a brand are the two major functions of a marketing program:
  • PR builds the brand
  • Advertising defends it
• The rise of advertising volume has coincided with a decline in advertising effectiveness.
• The average advertising agency spends more money on award entries than on independent consumer research.
• Perception is everything. The only question is how to create a favorable perception in the consumer’s mind. Advertising has racked up a poor record in this respect.

Al Ries and Laura Ries

The 11 Immutable Laws of Internet Branding

2000

A relevant extension of the “immutable laws” series.

Al Ries and Laura Ries

The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding

1998

Sub-titled “How to Build a Product or Service into a World-Class Brand,” it tells you how (and how not to) make it happen.

Ernan Roman

Integrated Direct Marketing

1995

For proof that a picture is worth a thousand words, turn to page 62, Exhibit 3-4 of the current edition to see the principle of response compression illustrated. This insight alone is worth the price of the book. It presents a persuasive case for compressing the time between the receipt of direct mail and the deployment of outbound telemarketing. While results are market (and marketer) dependent, the author contends this strategy can increase your aggregate response by 200 to 700 percent. Based upon testing, we know it can dramatically lift both the quality and quantity of response, yet some people continue to view their direct mail and telemarketing as separate (sometimes competing) initiatives. Or they fear that lower-cost direct mail response will be “cannibalized” by higher cost outbound telemarketing. Roman has the experience and case histories to validate his case for integrated direct marketing (IDM)—which he has advocated since publishing his first book on the discipline in 1988. (If you ever get the chance, be sure to hear him present in person, especially if you want to generate more qualified leads, build customer relationships, reduce marketing costs, and enhance lifetime value of your customers.)

Schultz, Tannenbaum, Lauterborn

The New Marketing Paradigm

1996

An update of their 1993 landmark work, with even more insights and examples.

Schultz, Tannenbaum, Lauterborn

Integrated Marketing Communications

1993

Dated. But full of insights too often ignored.

Bob Stone, Ron Jacobs, et al

Successful Direct Marketing Methods

2001

This is the direct marketing “bible” that started it all. The oldest copy in our library is the Second Edition, published in 1979 when Bob Stone was head of Stone & Adler. Bob documented his insights and experience and served as a leading mentor and advocate of the then-emerging discipline. Subsequent updates assured that the content was always current and available for use by professors and practitioners alike.

Jack Trout

Trout On Strategy

2004

As former partners and co-authors Jack Trout and Al Ries continue to publish and pontificate, the winner is the reader. With few exceptions, they continue to clarify the confusion that so many marketers cannot work through on their own. Trout gets at it from the get-go by suggesting strategy is all about survival and identifying what he calls "the tyranny of choice." If more marketers read this book and its predecessor Simplicity: A Management Guide to Cutting Through the Nonsense and Doing Things Right there would be less confusion and more marketing success stories. Think of Trout on Strategy as a 30-year summary of his thinking and writing, updated for a rapidly changing digital world. (Bet you'll read it more than once.)

P.S. If you are a higher education marketer, click here for a complimentary whitepaper based upon an interview of Jack Trout by Dr. Robert A. Sevier, Senior Vice President of Strategy, Stamats, a leading higher education consulting and communications firm. .

Jack Trout

Differentiate or Die

2000

Easier said than done. (But so true.)

Jack Trout

The Power of Simplicity

2000

Market-proven insights into the K.I.S.S. formula that is the key to so many business success stories. It pays off the sub-title: A Management Guide to Cutting Through the Nonsense and Doing Things Right. To order along with Differentiate or Die, click on “Buy Both Now” and you’ll save some (and make some) money.

Lester Wunderman

Being Direct: Making Advertising Pay

1997

The first four pages are well worth the price. Wunderman lists the “Nineteen Things All Successful Direct Marketing Companies Know.” It’s the closest thing you may find to a user’s manual on how direct marketing should work. At least half of the points on Wunderman’s “List of 19” are routinely ignored by many direct marketing agencies. This isn’t a case of knowing the rules and then choosing to break them. It’s more a case of many direct marketers never learning the rules in the first place. Ignore them at your own peril.

Evans & Wurster

Blown to Bits: How the New Economics of Information Transforms Strategy

1996

If you don’t read it, it could happen to you. The Encyclopedia Britannica case history alone is worth the read. Find out why your competitive advantage is up for grabs.

Free e-newsletters

You may want to subscribe to some of these free newsletters to help you stay current:

• INSIDE 1to1 A free email newsletter published weekly. Written by the partners and staff of Peppers and Rogers Group, it is quick, easy-to-read update on the latest one-to-one strategies, success stories, technologies and trends. The complete archive is accessible and searchable by keyword.
• Internet Advertising Report Published by internet.com; one of a number of email newsletters available at no cost to subscribers.
• ClickZ Today Another internet.com newsletter with some interesting insights and updates available at no cost to subscribers.
• MarketingProfs.com In spite of the “academia” perception created by the title, this email newsletter provides thorough insights on emerging marketing and media trends. Be prepared to have some of your assumptions challenged if you subscribe or accept their membership offer. To make an informed decision, check out their top 10 tutorials and their top 10 articles.
• Research Brief (From the Center for Media Research) Every time we begin to question the relevance of some of the insights and findings, we are hit with one we can apply that very day. It’s a quick read and typically focused on a single topic.
• Marketing Sherpa/Email Sherpa Take your pick of weekly email newsletters that include timely tips and case histories. (Yes, they offer samples first, agree to protect your privacy, and do not resell the names and addresses of their subscribers.)
• Chief Marketer Provides insights and perspectives for high-level marketing executives. Published weekly by Primedia, publishers of DIRECT, PROMO, Catalog Age, and American Demographics. Provides news and analysis of specific marketing disciplines like CRM, direct mail, advertising, and event marketing, as well as high-level business challenges including measuring ROI and improving customer service.
• Others To be sure, there is no shortage of information. What we all seek is knowledge. to avoid email in-box clutter, you can rely upon Contract Marketing Resources to monitor alerts@adage, DM News Daily, TM Tipline, CRM Forum Newsletter, CRMGuru.com, and 3D (The DMA’s Daily Digest).

If you have favorites you think we are overlooking or that we should publish here, send an email to inquiry@contractmarketing.com. We value and look forward to your feedback. Thanks.

Associations

It takes a lot of time to attend association meetings and conferences … but we always emerge with some new idea and insights, as well as relationships and contacts. Below are links to some of the associations we find especially helpful:

	Ad Club of Kansas City www.kcadclub.com
	Advertising Federation of Cedar Rapids www.adfedcr.com
	Advertising Research Foundation www.arfsite.org
	American Advertising Federation www.aaf.org
	American Association of Advertising Agencies www.aaaa.org
	Association of Interactive Marketing www.kingproc.com/examples/imarketing.html
	American Marketing Association www.marketingpower.com
	Business Marketing Association www.marketing.org
	Chicago Association of Direct Marketing www.cadm.org
	Direct Marketing Association www.the-dma.org
	Kansas City Direct Marketing Association www.kcdma.org
	Marketing Agencies Association (formerly Association of Promotion Marketing Agencies) www.maaw.org
	Midwest Direct Marketing Assocation www.mdma.org
	Marketing Research Association www.mra-net.org
	National Agri-Marketing Association www.nama.org
	Promotion Marketing Association www.pmalink.org
	Public Relations Society of America www.prsa.org
	Sales & Marketing Executives International www.smei.org

If you want help prioritizing your limited marketing resources and propelling your business forward, contact Contract Marketing Resources, any one of the following ways:

• Explore Possibilities. Complete our Inquiry Form, and click “Submit.”
• Email us at inquiry@contractmarketing.com
• Call us at 1.319.294.8333, leave a detailed message, and a good time to get back to you.

If you are not ready to talk about an engagement but want to stay in touch, register to receive our “Captain's Blog” by completing the Inquiry Form, or send an email request to captainsblog@contractmarketing.com. “Captain's Blog” is an idea and opinion exchange for our clients, network partners, suppliers, associates, and friends. You will be added to the email list at no charge and can unsubscribe at anytime if you do not find it to be a valuable resource and a good use of your time. (See privacy policy.)