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Book News, Guests | December 14, 2009

How to Be a Vampire

4 comments By Amy Gray

Oh, hi. I'm Amy Gray. I like smoking, carbs, and words. I live in the (currently) sleek humidity of Melbourne, Australia. When not lying... Continue »

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1. 
   $10.49 Sale Hardcover add to wish list

   How to Be a Vampire: A Fangs-On Guide for the Newly Undead

   Amy Gray

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Grady Harp, December 11, 2008

Re-personalizing Marketing

Even the casual reader who happens to pick up this book, CONVERSATIONAL CAPITAL: How to Create Stuff People Love to Talk About, out of sheer curiosity will be rewarded not only by fine writing style on the part of Bertrand Cesvet and his associates Tony Babinski and Eric Alper, but also by the warmly humanistic approach these gentlemen have taken in describing a manner of finding the source of interest and appeal to consumers of all types. And in making a book that encourages us to rethink the process of marketing these thinkers are encouraging a level of communication that extends far beyond their topic of discussion.

'Conversational Capital' addresses consumers' motivation in noticing and approaching a 'product ' and then becoming a spokesman for that decision at which they have arrived. In this fascinating exploration of the human psyche the authors delineate Eight Engines that are experience amplifiers: Rituals, Exclusive Product Offering, Myths, Relevant Sensory Oddity, Icons, Tribalism, Endorsement, and Continuity. In the most casual manner, yet in a style that is always literate and intelligent, the drivers that capture the interest and subsequent devotion on the part of a consumer are shown to be based on basic human needs - needs that assure success if each aspect of approach is successfully found by the producer and transmitted to the buyer. While there are many 'marketing tool texts' on the shelves, especially with the current emphasis on creating a 'buzz' as the goal for capturing an audience, this book takes the current concepts many steps further, incorporating psychology, sociology, tradition, and a respect for the history of human instincts. The results, as so well described in this book, make for a lesson in much more than marketing techniques!

'Simply put, Evolutionist word-of-mouth makes business a holistic phenomenon, and Conversational Capital is squarely in the Evolutionist's corner. That's why continuity and integrity are so important....Continuity between who you say you are and who you really are is what makes an experience conductive....In the world of Conversational Capital , integrity of experience is the name of the game.' Several famous 'businesses' are examined in detail - IKEA, Cirque du Soleil, Apple, Starbucks, addidas are only a few of the consumer/producer environments and bondings that are dissected.

The overriding aspect of this immensely interesting book that makes it significant and unique is the attitude and conversational aspect of the writing. The subject matter is interesting, very helpful and very much worth reading by everyone on both sides of the consumer stance, but the writing is so exceptionally fine that the book stands on its own as a resource of solid stimuli for reflecting on how we think as we approach the marketplace. Highly recommended - for both those who are searching for methods to capture their audience as well as for those who simply want to understand the psychology of successful selling.

Grady Harp

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