How Brands Blow
Description
"I'd buy this book just for the brilliant art direction. The writing had me laughing and crying: laughing at how true it is and crying at how true it is." - Dave Trott
"Hilarious, hard-hitting and a hell of a way to learn to do better in the mess we've made of branding, marketing and advertising. Read it and weep - you will weep because you'll see yourself somewhere in all this and wish you hadn't." - Vikki Ross
You know those bands that constantly reinvent themselves and strive to go in bold experimental directions with every new album?
But then there are other bands that stick to what they know, without ever reaching the heights of their debut?
If you prefer the latter, you're going to like this book. It's basically the 'Weezer's second album' of marketing discourse. More of the same, albeit not quite as good.
But hey, if you're a fan, there's plenty here for you. How Brands Blow picks up where Delusions of Brandeur left off, with some laughs, some occasional good sense, and some deserved roasting of the marketing industry's clowns.
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Persons
Giles Edwards is the founder of Gasp, the award-winning marketing agency that's been"fearless and inventive" (The Drum) and hell-bent on making its clients more profitable for more than 10 years.
A student of Professor Mark Ritson, Giles believes in"proper (timeless) Marketing"; tactics change, people don't. And its vital role in the Boardroom. He rants about this and more, alongside esteemed guests, on the hugely popular UK Top 5 podcast, Call to Action. Launched in February 2019, he's subsequently hosted and interviewed some of the industry's greatest minds.
Giles recently collaborated with internationally acclaimed copywriter, Ryan Wallman (Dr Draper), to write, design and publish the #1 bestseller, Delusions of Brandeur; a no-holds-barred commentary on modern marketing and business. Industry legend Dave Trott remarked,"I love this book. Anything I spend my time on, I either have to learn something or be entertained, with this book I get both - along with great art direction. The only problem is that the people it takes the piss out of won't know how funny it is. But that's okay, they'll buy it thinking it's a genuine 'How to' guide."
Even more recently, in April 2020, Giles launched the charitable initiative ISOLATED Talks®. It's a rallying call across the lockdown divide for the advertising industry to unite and share ideas that help others whilst appealing for donations to the Samaritans; a charity under increasing pressure due to enforced isolation caused by the Coronavirus crisis.
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Ryan is Executive Creative Director and Head of Copy at Wellmark, a Melbourne-based creative agency that specialises in healthcare. In his former life, he was a doctor and worked for several years in psychiatry.
An internationally acclaimed copywriter and marketing commentator, he has written for numerous industry publications, including Marketing Week, the Australian Financial Review and The Economic Times. He is also author of the bestselling book Delusions of Brandeur and co-author of Eat Your Greens: Fact-Based Thinking to Improve Your Brand's Health.
Something of a contrarian, Ryan is known for his no-nonsense approach to marketing, and has twice been listed in Business Insider's 'Best 30 People in Advertising to Follow on Twitter'.
Along with his medical degree, Ryan has a Master of Marketing from Melbourne Business School and a Graduate Certificate in Professional Writing. He has vowed to never study again.