World Book Day 2021
Today marks World Book Day and, to celebrate, we asked some of the CIM South West’s board members to share their favourite books…
One of my favourite books I have read is ‘From A-Biba’.
Written by the brains behind the famous fashion brand, Barbara Hulanicki, the books charts the rise and fall of the 60s and 70s generation’s favourite clothing brand. From its humble beginnings as a one room shop to its meteoric rise to the large 5 storey department store, the book gives a fascinating insight into the world of retail and how, sometimes, you can be a victim of your own success – especially when the larger companies want a piece.
Claire Bryant, Student & Education Ambassador
My two favourite business and marketing books are:
- Known by Mark Schaefer - superb book for any entrepreneurs or small businesses using social media. Demonstrates how you need resilience and why you don’t need to be fixated on game and influence to establish authority, credibility and gain an audience. Very relatable and easy to read too!
- The Click Moment by Frans Johansson. When opportunity meets inspiration! Frans shows how “luck” and randomness can be used to achieve success in life. The book offers advice on how to be “luckier “and where random connections have been transformative.
Gerry Vincent, Events Ambassador
Without any shadow of a doubt my favourite marketing book was On Brand by Wally Olins. Full of examples and great ideas. Easy to read, very relevant and made lots of useful links. Made me realise how the employee is now our most important asset, if we intend to provide a world class customer experience.
Brian Doidge, Chair
It's not a marketing book, but an inspirational book for me is 'The things you can see only when you slow down' by Haemin Sunim. I bought this book a few years ago and first read it and loved it then, I've recently re-visited it what with everything going on. I find myself reading the whole book being inspired and actually feel calmer whilst reading it. It is difficult mind to actually take its teachings into everyday life, when everyday life is so fast paced - but I think we all need grounding and reminding once in a while and this is my book to do that.
Verity Studley-Wootton, Development Ambassador
My favourite book would be Watertight Marketing by Bryony Thomas. Not being a natural reader unless it is a psychological thriller, I found this book easy to read and follow. It’s down to earth approach to what can be a very jargon filled environment was a real breath of fresh air. The book has well timed tips, practical exercises, and academic sections. There is a natural flow to the book, and I still pick it up and look for solutions or consider different angles when approaching a new project. I actually have a signed copy!
Sarah Patten, Vice Chair
"The purpose of a headline is to pick out people you can interest. You wish to talk to someone in a crowd. So, the first thing you say is, “Hey there, Bill Jones” to get the right person's attention. So, in an advertisement - what you have will interest certain people only, and for certain reasons. You care only for those people. Then create a headline which will hail those people only. Perhaps a blind headline or some clever concept will attract many times as many. But they may consist mostly of impossible subjects for what you have to offer. And the people you are after may never realize that the ad refers to something they may want."
- Scientific Advertising, Claude C Hopkins
While it might seem strange to choose a book that was first published in 1923 to recommend in 2021, Scientific Advertising is a timeless classic and essential reading for any marketer. Despite being written almost a century ago, its 95 pages are packed full of valuable lessons and principles - of testing, targeting, copywriting and customer profiling - that are just as relevant today as they were then. I think this paragraph sums that up perfectly, as it reminds us to keep every element of our marketing tightly focused on our target audience.
Adam Jones, Tourism Ambassador