In Search of the Obvious: The Antidote for Today's Marketing Mess

This is the first book that states the obvious: Marketing is a mess. Marketing guru Jack Trout intends to make a lot of people, who made the mess, very uncomfortable: Advertisers are criticized as people who look for the creative and edgy, not the obvious. They will not be happy. Marketing people are criticized for getting hopelessly entangled in corporate egos and complicated projects. They will not be happy. Research people are criticized for generating more confusion than clarity. They will not be happy. Some big companies are criticized for their ill-fated marketing programs or lack of proper strategy. They will not be happy. Wall Street is criticized for putting too much emphasis on growth that is unnecessary and can be destructive to a brand. They will just ignore this criticism and continue trying to make as much money as they can. But this is a book not written to make people happy but to explain to marketers what their real problem is. Only then will they begin to look for the obvious solutions that will separate their products from their competitors -- in a way that is equally obvious to customers. All this comes with no jargon, no numbers, no complexity, and a great deal of common sense.

Table of Contents:
Introduction. The Mess That Marketing Is In. Chapter One. In Search of The Obvious. This is the most important chapter in the book. It is simple, profound, and a secret because few know of it. And someone else wrote most of it. Chapter Two. What gets in the way of the "Obvious". There are forces in play that don't make the search easy or sometimes even possible. They tend to obstruct clear thinking. Some forces are external. Some are internal. They all are things of which you must be aware. Forewarned is forearmed. Chapter Three. The Internet Can Be An "Obvious" Problem. Nothing in the marketing and business world has received so much hype. But be careful, it is not the be all and end all. All it's about are new ways to reach people with your obvious idea. It's just another tool but it can confuse things. Chapter Four. Advertising People Can Be An "Obvious" Problem. Unfortunately, most advertising people look for the creative, not the obvious. For them, the obvious is too simple and not clever enough. The old guard of Leo Burnett, David Ogilvy and Bill Bernbach understood this. The new guard, whomever they are, don't. Chapter Five. Marketing People Can Be An "Obvious" Problem. I'm afraid that marketing people often don't appreciate on what they should be focusing. Most get hopelessly entangled in corporate egos and complicated projects. It's no wonder that the job tenure of a chief marketing officer is less than two years. Chapter Six. An "Obvious" Look At The Marketing Process. If marketing people are to do a better job, they have to have a clear understanding of the marketing process. What's important and how to evaluate and operate the functions in which they are in charge. Chapter Seven. Some Help In That Search For The "Obvious". The search should generally start with the competition. It's not what you want to do. It's what your competition will let you do. Also, you have to avoid making the kinds of mistakes often made. I'll also let you in on two of my favorite obvious strategies. Chapter Eight. Some "Obvious" Ground Rules Of Which You Must Be Aware. Long ago I wrote about the laws of marketing.* A number of these are very important in the search for the obvious. As we wrote, ignore them at your risk. Chapter Nine. Some Observations About "Obvious" Marketing Problems. To make this interesting, this section outlines the obvious ideas that could be used to solve some highly publicized marketing problems. Some are observations. Several were searches for the obvious that I conducted. Chapter Ten. The Future Is Never "Obvious". A search for the obvious is about today, not tomorrow. You cannot predict the future and you should never try. Today is today. Tomorrow is tomorrow.

About the Author :
Jack Trout is President of Trout Partners, one of the most prestigious marketing firms in the United States, with offices in thirteen countries. His client list includes Southwest Airlines, IBM, Merrill Lynch, Sears, and the U.S. State Department. He is the author of several marketing classics, including Differentiate or Die, Second Edition, from Wiley. For more information, please visit www.TroutandPartners.com.