A Review of Accidental Branding by David Vinajamun

I have been asked to review the book Accidental Branding by David Vinajamun.
It was a well written and enjoyable book about how "accidental marketers" break the conventional rules of marketing to create very successful companies. Some of the entrepreneurs interviewed were from companies like: Burt's Bees, Clif Bar and J. Peterson & Company (a successful catalog company who tried a different, more personalized approach to marketing).

Vinajamun's 6 rules of accidental branding/marketing are:
1. Sweat the Small Stuff--pay attention to details
2. Pick a Fight--take a stand against the existing brand
3. Be your own customer--keep your initial customer instincts
4. Be Unnaturally Persistent--this is probably the hardest part of the game
5. Build a myth--tell a story that appeals to some basic instinct of the target consumer
6. Be Faithful--keep in view your faithful fans and followers even when you become famous

As the author interviews different entrepreneurs, he realizes that many of them starting the product because they were trying to solve their own problems--they were all personally involved with the creation of the brand and they continued to keep the ability to think like real consumers.

He applied three test to create a definition of an Accidental Brand:
1. An Individual who is not trained in marketing must create the brand
2. This individual must experince the problem that the brand solves
3. The individual must control the brand for at least 10 years.

The author also does not discount the influence that luck and timing also had on these brands and gives many examples. One of the examples he gives to illustrate the trait of perfectionist is at Disney World. "You'll see horses in the parades at Disney World, but you will never see any horse droppings. Why? Because Disney realizes that they are creating a fantasy world and that horses doent make a mess in a fantasy world. A lot of work goes into getting these small details right. Disney has networks of tunnels running under all of its properties to the guy with the shovel can inconspicuosly dieappear afer he has--ahem--made the mess go away."

The book gives many real life examples and tries to point out the lessons learned if you want to be an "Accidental Marketer". In this world of new rules for Marketing---there may be lessons in this book for all Marketers.

A Seminar on Industry Analyst Relations in Israel

I am organizing a Seminar on How to Work with Industry Analysts in Israel on April 28th 8:30-12:00 with speakers from both the analyst side and the user side with case studies and tips on how to get the most out of this important Marketing Tool. I invite you to attend.
http://www.gk-biz.com/ (in hebrew)
Please call me if you have any questions +972-54-4863888

The Future of Analyst Relations and Analyst Groups

Great post on the Future of Analyst Relations by the VP, Analyst Relations for IBM, John Mihalec.
Some of my favorite excerpts:

When asked to describe his job John says: Sometimes I tell people it's like being an attorney in a courtroom with no judge and no rules of evidence, but just a jury….a professional jury that has heard case after case, and they've heard it ALL. And it's our job to bring before that jury whatever facts or logic we can muster to make the case. Because IBM's success in the marketplace depends on it.

His vision of the future of AR:
My vision is that we will help IT analysts to increasingly focus on business issues (not just technology), that we will improve IBM's ability to leverage their output to drive business results, especially in emerging markets, and that we become change agents and allies with them on societal and governmental issues where we have a common view, on behalf of the industry we both serve. And get home by 6 o'clock.

I am really interested to hear from you what your vision is AND if you think that this industry: both the Analyst Industry with the business models of today (subscriber) and AR have a future at all....

Analyst Relations at a Big Company

Analyst Relations from the perspective of an AR professional at a big company (in this case IBM) --good insights on how to navigate the complicated and challenging process of bringing together not only different messages but different parts of the company-and with a sense of humor.

"Coordinating communications across multiple disciplines, to different constituencies and from different area’s of the company and still seem congruent at the end of the day is also sometimes a feat. When it works, it is a charm, when it doesn’t…you wonder if we all work for the same company. Not only do you have message issues can conflict, you have executive issues…..and conflict." http://www.johnsimonds.com/2008/03/analyst-relations-at-a-big-company/

Are Industry Analysts Objective?

Many vendors think that Industry Analysts can be bought.
According to Bill Hopkins from KCG-the Knowledge Capital Group who are an Analyst Relations Consultancy Firm, "While there is truth to the view that you can buy the opinions of many sell-side analysts (and maybe some Point Players on the buy-side), it's absolutely not true when it comes to Deal Makers and Breakers (Forrester and Gartner)."

What do you think?

The New Rules of Marketing and PR

If you read one book this year, read the New Rules of Marketing and PR by David Meerman Scott. If you don't have time for that, you can download his complimentary e-book from his blog.
The Rules have changed for both PR and Marketing and anyone working in Marketing today should start changing their perspective on the new world. Although the old world of print is still important, a shift has begun and cannot be ignored.

Starting a New Analyst Relations Consultancy

At the age of almost 50 (yes that is a current picture), I have decided to do what I love to do and believe in: Advise companies on their Analyst Relations programs and in some cases to create AR programs. I am very excited about my new journey and I will be taking this journey together with my partners at Gelbart Kahana Analyst Relations http://www.gk-biz.com/
and the Knowledge Capital Group (KCG) http://www.knowledgecap.com/ who I will be representing in Israel. More to come shortly.....