As chief marketing officer at the Coca-Cola Company, Zyman (The End of Marketing As We Know It) speaks from practical experience, but he also holds an MBA from Harvard. At Coca-Cola, Zyman both increased sales dramatically and oversaw the introduction of New Coke one of the most visible missteps in the annals of marketing. Advertising now is not effective, claims Zyman, because it is dominated by overly creative television ads that entertain and win awards but don’t generate sales. Expanding the definition of advertising to include everything from packaging to employee behavior, he argues that advertising must show a clear measurable return. One of his best arguments is that sponsorships should be reconsidered to make sure that every dollar spent drives increased sales.
Zyman does not introduce many new ideas, but he does advocate that CEOs and marketing managers take a more active role to reinforce the brand and value proposition. While walking readers through a series of real-world examples of what worked and what didn’t, he downplays his own mistakes and shows little sympathy for the mistakes of others. Ultimately, though, the book reaffirms the classic notion that a company must think through its strategies up front while also welcoming change. The writing style is refreshingly simple and easy to understand. Appropriate for any library that has a business section.
