How Artists See Cities: Streets Buildings Shops Transportation (How Artists See)

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Yves Saint Laurent P
Crown
Manufacturer: Clarkson Potter
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0517553104
Release Date: 1988-12-12

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Pivotal to the plot. (display cases at the Yves Saint Laurent Boutique, Beverly Hills, California): An article from: Doors and Hardware
Karl P. Kinzer
Manufacturer: Door and Hardware Institute
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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ASIN: B00092VA12
Release Date: 2005-07-28

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Doors and Hardware, published by Door and Hardware Institute on October 1, 1994. The length of the article is 1326 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Pivotal to the plot. (display cases at the Yves Saint Laurent Boutique, Beverly Hills, California)
Author: Karl P. Kinzer
Publication: Doors and Hardware (Magazine/Journal)
Date: October 1, 1994
Publisher: Door and Hardware Institute
Volume: v58 Issue: n10 Page: p88(3)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

The best of the best Latin-American cartoon. A collection of strips selected from the original Mafalda books, divided by subject and character. Includes an interview with Quino.

Customer Reviews:

Not as good as "Todo Mafalda" .......2007-03-01

This book is good, but I bought it thinking it was the complete collection of comics as you can find in little books (12 issues). This is not the complete collection, therefore, I think that "Todo Mafalda" is better.

Timeless comic.......2006-07-04

I grew up reading Mafalda, and it is amazing to see how the political and social criticism that made us laugh 20 years ago still as valid today as it was back then. I was expecting the complete collection of stories, this volume provide you only with a sample of the best of them. But still a great collectors edition item.

Intelligent Humor.......2002-04-18

Just wanted to say that this is not only a book that tell you about the situation in Argentina in those days (in a very sutil way). This book is going to make you LAUGH. It is a briliant, smart and a sarcastic book. Its characters come to life after reading a couple of pages, and after reading the first one, you just can't stop reading the others.
I had all the book but lost them, and know I want to get them again. The problem is that the shiping lasts to long...
I don't know if I would recomend these books from people who are not spanish speakers.

Once you read it, you will love it!.......1999-08-17

Mafalda is my favority cartoon because of many reasons. First, it is a cartoon that will last forever even thought it was written in the '70s. Second, it represents the political and social reality of many developing countries. Actually, the cartoon is ambiented in Argetina but I heard that people from Brazil, Spain, Mexico, Venezuela, and Colombia enjoy the cartoon as well. Third, you can read it over the years and you will still find other interpretations to the stories. Definitely, it is a recommendable book.

La historia de una niña...la historia del país.......1999-05-27

10 Años con Mafalda son diez años con Argentina. Mafalda nos cuenta la historia, la sociedad, las costumbres de gran parte de los argentinos. Es un libro excelente!!!

Diez anos con mafalda/ 10 Years with Mafalda

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Diez anos con mafalda/ 10 Years with Mafalda

Manufacturer: Tusquets USA Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 9687723521

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10 Anos Con Mafalda
Esteban Busquets
Manufacturer: Editorial Lumen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MG06ZG

Customer Reviews:

Hooray for Edith Ann!.......2006-09-16

I adore this book! Edith Ann is so insightful, funny and charming. This book will truly brighten up your day and make you laugh. An absolute MUST for Lily Tomlin fans!!!

A Child's Eye View of Everything.......2006-01-27

As you read the pithy observations of Edith Ann, you have to imagine Lily Tomlin perched in the oversized rocking chair. I can hear her voice as Edith Ann says, "My mom says I have to be more positive and I say life has to be more positive too or it's just not going to work."
You can't help but smile (and sometimes laugh out loud) as you read Edith Ann's comments about being a kid. Sometimes she gives her opinions on grown up issues too. Fun...Fun...Fun
The book is 191 pages, but is a quick read with little sketches and plenty of white space. "Growing up can take a lifetime," according to Edith Ann.

Life at it's simplest.......2002-02-10

Edith Ann is charming. With the simplicity of a child, she faces fears that we all deal with. When I feel that I am losing any part of my childhood, I reach for this book. You should too.

Life's too complicated...Read this!.......1999-01-09

This book tells stories through the eyes of a child that are more of parables to adults that take life WAY too seriously. I've read this book several times, and each time it brings back a piece of my childhood that I shouldn't forget, and it teaches me things about life that I should always remember. Edith Ann's life thus far should be an example to our lives as we continue to complicate things and remain over-stressed...Read it!

Average customer rating:

The slightly darker side of Edith Ann

My Life, So Far
Edith Ann
Manufacturer: Hyperion Books (Adult Trd Pap)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 078688133X

Customer Reviews:

The slightly darker side of Edith Ann.......2000-09-06

Remember the animated specials with Edith Ann in them? As much as I adore Lily Tomlin, as much as the little girl in the huge chair cracked me up, the Jane Wagner version, the smart, sarcastic, slightly sad little girl with the big head, is better. Her voice is perfect, and some of the things she says are things I say, or wish I'd thought of first. "Childhood is the leading cause of stress among kids my age."

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My Life, So Far
Edith Ann
Manufacturer: Hyperion
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000KPOS6C

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My Life, So Far : Edith Ann
Jane Wagner
Manufacturer: Hyperion Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000J2XFF6

Book Description

Alfred Hitchcock’s films are renowned the world over, and a mountain of literature has detailed seemingly every facet of them. Yet remarkably few studies have solely focused on the recurring motifs in Hitchcock’s films. Michael Walker remedies this surprising gap in Hitchcock literature with an innovative and in-depth study of the sustained motifs and themes threaded through Hitchcock’s entire body of work.

Combing through all fifty-two extant feature films and representative episodes from Hitchcock’s television series, Walker traces over forty motifs that emerge in recurring objects, settings, character-types, and events. Whether the loaded meaning of staircases, the symbolic status of keys and handbags, homoeroticism, guilt and confession, or the role of art, Walker analyzes such elements to reveal a complex web of cross-references in Hitchcock’s art. He also gives full attention to the broader social contexts in which the motifs and themes are played out, arguing that these interwoven elements add new and richer depths to Hitchcock’s oeuvre. An invaluable, encyclopedic resource for the scholar and fan, Hitchcock’s Motifs is a fascinating study of one of the best-known and most admired film directors in history.

Book Description

This popular standard provides the perfect materials for the one-semester, non-majors music appreciation course. With a topical approach emphasizing listening and the development of listening skills, the text provides students with a non-technical introduction to the diversity of music and of musical elements that will serve them throughout their lives.

Customer Reviews:

Good if you dont know much about music.......2000-12-12

Don't expect to learn about small details of songs in this book. It's more focused on learning the overall ideas of song forms, trends, and traditions. Easy to follow layout with outline subjects in the margins.

Average customer rating:

Great book for the poker fan-atic in your life!

Doyle Brunson is a universally acknowledged legend of the game

He's been everywhere

Fast Easy Read

My 50 Most Memorable Hands
Doyle Brunson
Manufacturer: Cardoza
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Full Tilt Poker Strategy Guide: Tournament Edition

Winning in Tough Hold 'em Games: Short-Handed and High-Stakes Concepts and Theory for Limit Hold 'em

Poker Wisdom of a Champion

Phil Hellmuth Presents Read 'Em and Reap: A Career FBI Agent's Guide to Decoding Poker Tells

Professional No-Limit Hold 'em: Volume I

ASIN: 1580422020

Book Description

This instant classic relives the most incredible hands by the greatest poker player of all time. Great players, legends and unforgettable events in the history of poker march in and out of fifty years of momentous hands. Sit side-by-side with Doyle as he replays the excitement and life-changing moments of the most exciting and crucial hands in the history of poker-his early games as a rounder in the rough-and-tumble “Wild West” years where a man was as likely to get shot as he was to get a straight flush, to the nail-biting excitement of his two world championship titles.

Doyle brings to life the high stakes tension of sidestepping police, hijackers and murderers, competes for hands worth more than a million dollars, and sweats out situations where his last dollar relies on the outcome of a card. Engrossing, captivating, riveting, and ultimately, educational, this is a momentous and thrilling collection of great stories and sage poker advice from the living legend himself.

Customer Reviews:

Great book for the poker fan-atic in your life!.......2007-09-03

This is a review of _My 50 Most Memorable Hands_ by Doyle Brunson.

This book consists of a series of very short chapters (typically 2-3 pages) describing hands from all over Brunson's career, from a family game to the WSOP Main Event final table. Brunson says that the hands are not in any particular order (p. 9). Some readers will enjoy this book an immense amount, but others will find it completely uninteresting. Do you know who Doyle Brunson is? Have you heard of Johnny Moss, Stu Unger AND Phil Ivey? Are you amazed that anyone would re-raise pre-flop and then bet out on the flop, turn and river with 22 and a board of KK767 (hand no. 30)? Do you even understand what that last sentence meant? If you answered "Yes" to all these questions, you will probably really love this book. (If you answered "No" to any question, don't even bother finishing this review.)

I have to admit that, prior to reading this book, I had a sort of romanticized image of the life of Doyle Brunson. I guess I really bought into the persona he projects in televised games. I assumed that he was born into some Bible-belt community where gambling was frowned upon, and had to hide his new profession from his family. I imagined that he had gambled in seedy places where people did things like pull a knife on him for having a higher flush. I fantasized that he had seen people literally drop dead of exhaustion at the table during marathon multi-day gambling sessions. I even supposed (don't laugh at me here) that Brunson had seen someone shot dead right at the poker table. Yes, that was my silly, unrealistic vision of the gambling career of the man known as "Texas Dolly."

Well, guess what? That's all true, and much more equally amazing stuff. (For the particular stories I just adverted to, see hands no. 22, 24, 10 and 2.)

But true poker fans will be even more interested in the details of the hands that Brunson played. The famous hands are certainly here, including Brunson's stunning back-to-back 1976 and 1977 WSOP Main Event wins with the same hand: 10-2 (nos. 3 and 6). He also includes his second-place finish to Stu Unger in 1980, a hand he admits he misplayed (no. 17). But for me, the single most spectacular hand was the one in which Brunson had AA, the board was A4224, no flush (hence no straight flush) was possible, and he folded to a bet on the river. Did you get that? Brunson had the nut full house, aces full of fours, he folded on the river - and it was the correct laydown! (See no. 7 for this one.)

This book is not perfect, even for its target audience. Sometimes I would have liked more information about the details of each hand. How large was the pot? Who bet how much pre-flop, and on the flop, turn and river? Sometimes this information is provided, but not always. But overall this is a terrific book for any big poker fans you know.

Doyle Brunson is a universally acknowledged legend of the game .......2007-06-09

A two-time world series champion poker player and winner of ten bracelets from the World Series of Poker (as well as the winner of a 'Legends of Poker' tournament on the World Poker Tour), Doyle Brunson is a universally acknowledged legend of the game who brings more than half a century of experience to bear in "My 50 Most Memorable Hands". Doyle began playing as a young man in Texas when poker was an illegal pastime involving dodging the cops and avoiding being robbed, all while constantly moving on the road from town to town and city to city in search of a game. In this fascinating little book Doyle offers a collection of terrific stories combined with practical advice connected to some truly remarkable poker hands he's played out against some of the finest poker players to ever play the game. Each poker hand cited begins with a biographical anecdote providing an historical context, then follows Doyle's hand along with a paragraph or two of description as to how it was played out. Very highly recommended reading and a simply superb addition to the growing library of books about poker, each of these individual hands will be read with interest border on fascination by both novice poker players and those with more seasoned experience at the game.

He's been everywhere.......2007-05-23

In his 50+ years as a professional poker player Doyle Brunson has played the game almost everywhere you can imagine, from seedy pool halls, to home games on the "Texas circuit", to the biggest cash game in Vegas, to the final table of the WSOP. He recounts all of his adventures here with 50 colorful and interesting tales of the greatest hands he has ever played and some of the personalities he played them against. The mere fact that Brunson can even remember 50 hands out of all the millions he's played is quite an accomplishment, especially when you consider that one of the standard poker dictums is that you should try to forget the hand as soon as you've played it. There's no doubt that Doyle's phenomenal memory is one of the tools that separated him from his competition and has enabled him to stay at the top of the game for more than 30 years. Players expecting in-depth hand analysis should look elsewhere. You basically get pre-flop-flop-turn-river followed by a few anecdotal comments about the hand. I do have to say that the graphics are very high quality, among the best I've seen in a poker book. Although this book is not essential to your continuing poker education, it is a fast and very enjoyable read, one that will only increase your esteem for this living legend.

Fast Easy Read.......2007-05-06

From the title you can tell that Doyle is going to give an acount of his most memorable hands and that is exactly what he does. He gives about a 2-3 page description of each entailing why the hand is memorable. Sometimes it is Doyle laying a bad beat on someone or someone dying at the table. I guess that would make a hand memorable for me too!

Obviously, this book is not technical. There is no hand analysis or percentages listed. Just a first hand account of some interesting poker hands from one of the legends of poker.

As always, I hang on ever word that doyle writes, and he writes precious few. The book ends abruptly after the last hand. Too bad Doyle isn't half the writer that he is a poker player, otherwise this would be an outstanding book.

All-in-all this is a very light book and an easy read. I laughed a couple of times, and gained a little more respect for the legend... About a 2 hour read.

My Most Memorable Games (Progress in Chess, Volume 12)

Average customer rating:

Excellent book
Best game collection

My Most Memorable Games (Progress in Chess, Volume 12)
Boris Gelfand
Manufacturer: Georg Olms Verlag AG
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 3283004536

Book Description

For more than ten years, Boris Gelfand has been one of the world’s top–ranking players. Now the 33–year–old grandmaster presents his best games, which he has annotated in great detail and at a level suitable for every club player. Covering topics as diverse as combinations and endgame analysis, the book also includes a chapter on the Grünfeld Defense.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent book.......2007-08-23

Gelfand is an interesting player, and I found myself going over most games to a point.

Best game collection.......2006-08-20

Boris Gelfand is one of the great players of his time, and a genuine "good guy" to root for in the elite chess scene. The chess analysis is fantastic, all critical variations are covered suitable for club player and above. The first chapter on his best games in the Gruenfeld is worth the price of the book alone, there are plenty of headspinning variations in these games. If you like to play with initiative you will immediately want to play this from both sides in your own games. Gelfand is also an expert in the endgame and there is a lot of practical work to do in this book.

Amazon.com

There are no two ways about it with Jack Trout. Either you've got a product or service that you can say is different, or you don't have much at all. In today's global marketplace and at its lightning-fast rate of change, there's no point in inventing and presenting a product only to sit back and hope that consumers everywhere will discover its greatness. It's not simply about what you or your product can do, it's about what you do differently from everyone else. Coauthors Trout and Steve Rivkin say it all in their no-holds-barred title, Differentiate or Die.

A disciple of the marketing guru Rosser Reeves, who introduced the concept of the "unique selling proposition," Trout relays his vision of what can help you differentiate in blunt, tell-it-like-it-is prose. First he breaks the bad news that product quality, advertising creativity, price advantage, and breadth of product line are rarely successful ways to differentiate your business. Consumers expect the best quality, he says; they don't think it's a bonus. In the same vein, your competitor can slash prices just as quickly as you. After dismissing these common marketing techniques as futile, Trout concentrates on which differentiating ideas will set you apart from the pack: Being first (and staying there), owning a discernible attribute, having a heritage, becoming the preference of a particular consumer group, or even being the most recent arrival in a product arena are just some of these useful differentiates. Though the book's fast and quippy narrative style may leave some readers looking for more substance behind his adamant assertions, Trout's recommendations act as inspirational spurts of energy. A slim manual packed with punchy points, Differentiate or Die won't take you long to read but could make a lasting--you guessed it--difference to the success of your business. --S. Ketchum

Book Description

"Any damn fool can put on a deal, but it takes genius, faith, and perseverance to create a brand."-David Ogilvy
In today's ultra-competitive world, the average supermarket has 40,000 brand items on its shelves. Car shoppers can wander through the showrooms of over twenty automobile makers. For marketers, differentiating products today is more challenging than at any time in history yet it remains at the heart of successful marketing. More importantly, it remains the key to a company's survival.
In Differentiate or Die, bestselling author Jack Trout doesn't beat around the bush. He takes marketers to task for taking the easy route too often, employing high-tech razzle-dazzle and sleight of hand when they should be working to discover and market their product's uniquely valuable qualities. He examines successful differentiation initiatives from giants like Dell Computer, Southwest Airlines, and Wal-Mart to smaller success stories like Streit's Matzoh and Connecticut's tiny Trinity College to determine why some marketers succeed at differentiating themselves while others struggle and fail.
More than just a collection of marketing success stories, however, Differentiate or Die is an in-depth exploration of today's most successful differentiation strategies. It explains what these strategies are, where and when they should be applied, and how they can help you carve out your own image in a crowded marketplace. Marketing executives in all types of organizations, regardless of size, can learn how to achieve product differentiation through strategies including:
* Revisiting the U.S.P.
Rosser Reeves's classic unique selling proposition approach, updated for today's marketplace
* Positioning
Understanding how the mind works in the differentiating process
* Owning an Idea
Techniques to seize a differentiating idea, dramatize it, and make it your own
* Competition
How to use differentiating ideas against your competitors in the marketplace
Consumers today are faced with an explosion of choices. In this environment, distinctive product attributes are quickly copied by competitors, perceived by consumers to be minimal, or both. Still, those who fail to differentiate their product or service in the mind of the consumer won't stand a chance.
Differentiate or Die outlines the many ways you can achieve differentiation. It also warns how difficult it is to achieve differentiation by being creative, cheap, customer oriented, or quality driven things that your competitors can do as well.
Praise for Differentiate or Die
"Another great book by the king of positioning!"-John Schnatter, CEO, Papa John's International
"Differentiate or Die differentiates itself on the groaning marketing bookshelf with its lucid prose, its clear vision of the future marketplace . . . and its sensible solutions for surviving the frenzied competition we're sure to find there."-Dan Rather, CBS News
"What I like about Differentiate or Die is the book's emphasis on the power of logic, simplicity, and clarity-getting to the essence of a problem. In Silicon Valley, attributes like that can make the difference between having lunch and being lunch."-Scott McNealy, CEO, Sun Microsystems, Inc.
"Trout and Rivkin marvelously illustrate that differentiation is the cornerstone of successful marketing." -Philip Kotler, S.C. Johnson Distinguished Professor of International Marketing,
Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University
"We've built our business by being first-and executing best. Jack Trout and Steve Rivkin are doing the same, delivering the timely, powerful insights that will drive tomorrow's marketing strategies. A must read for anyone looking to win in an unforgiving competitive marketplace."-Mike Ruettgers, CEO, EMC Corporation
"Dotcom executives must learn the lessons of Differentiate or Die. If they don't, I pity their investors."-Aaron Cohen, CEO, Concrete Media; Co-Founder, Bolt.com

Customer Reviews:

Tactically sound, despite the hype.......2006-03-04

Today markets are driven by customer choice, and there are more possible product choices than ever before for the customer. Companies that fail to address the whims of the marketplace will not survive. It is more important that ever before to differentiate your product from its competition. According to the authors, companies must address differentiation in three ways:
1. If you ignore your uniqueness and try to be everything to everybody, you will undermine what differentiates you from the competition.
2. If you ignore changes in the market, your differentiation can become less important.
3. If you stay in the shadow of your competitors, without establishing your "uniqueness" you will always be weak.

The authors then outline four steps to successfully differentiate yourself from competitors:
· Step 1: Make sense in context. Your message must make sense within the context of your market category. Start first with a "snapshot" of customer perceptions about yourself and your competitors.
· Step 2: Find the differentiating idea. There are many ways to set your company apart from the competition. However you differentiate yourself, set the difference up as a benefit to the customer.
· Step 3: Have credentials. Your claims to the customer must be real and believable. You should be able to demonstrate the difference to the customer. That demonstration becomes your credentials.
· Step 4: Communicate your difference. You need to build a strong perception of your product in the market. Every aspect of your public communication should emphasize your difference.

Too simplistic to rest business success primarily on uniqueness .......2006-02-28

I work for a book summary company. One of the books selected for summary is this.

In today's proliferation of products, what sets a product or idea apart is its distinctness or uniqueness. And authors Jack Trout and Steve Rivkin focus on the idea that unless companies strive to make their product or concept interestingly different and evolve a unique identity, their business is bound to bite the dust. The book reiterates the need for companies to promote the `unique selling proposition' or the USP in their product in order to stand out from the `also-rans'. Indeed Jack Trout, who had pioneered the concept of `positioning' which has become the fad word in the ad world today, makes blunt assertions on the common practices adopted by most companies to gain that competitive edge over others. He dismisses the well-entrenched marketing ploys such as stress on product quality, use of creative advertising, competitive pricing, and unveiling range of product line as futile exercises that could prove unsuccessful in the long term. To him, being a pioneer, having a distinct attribute and peerless heritage, cultivating particular consumer group (s) or being the first or new arrival are the features that single out a product from the cluttering crowd. The author provides success stories alongside some others that failed. It seems rather too simplistic to build the entire logic of success on a single attribute of uniqueness or distinctness. Indeed while there is no gainsaying that exclusivity undoubtedly lifts a product, there are other concomitant factors, which are too real and important to be ignored, for ensuring the long term success of a product. Nonetheless, this slim book could be an interesting read for gaining additional inputs to ensure success in business.

Great book on positioning.......2005-10-28

This is a wonderfully written book with one of the best book titles ever. I loved how Jack gets to the point and makes you think about establishing your product. No punches pulled in this book...he points out "Being first with a stupid idea is just, well stupid, it won't get you anywhere." One of his best books.

One of the best business books.......2005-08-05

I have read several books of Jack Trout's books before, but when I first listened to the MP3-CD audiobook (...), I was amazed as how true Jack Trout's research about companies trying to be everything in the name of Market Share and tainting their "brand" in the process. Every business has to clearly distinguish themselves as what kind of business they are in or they are lost in the shuffle of consumer minds. Jack's book gives a straight forward data about companies trying to be everything. I sometimes wonder why companies like Amazon keep selling "Pet Supplies" and "Gourmet Foods" when a consumer thinks of Amazon as book company. In this digital world when a consumer is bombarded with hundreds of advertisements a day, it is clearly very important that a company has to distingush what business they are in and how to leverage that strength.

A must read for every business professional and a good read to take plenty of notes.

Line Extension and questionable concepts........2005-04-03

I liked very much Trout and Ries, Positioning and Marketing Warfare. Reading this book, I had an impression that most of the professional knowledge the author has, was distilled in his previous books.

Mr Trout is doing something he said was not a good practice in Advertising (see Positioning): Line Extension. The good parts of this book you will find in his previous books, maybe with different phrases and examples.

The other thing that is hurting is that he is trying to give advice in areas where he has limited knowledge and experience.

Looking at some titles of the chapters in this book you will find:

Chapter 4 - Quality and Customer Orientation are rarely differentiating Ideas.

Toyota and Honda achieved a position in the mind of customers worldwide that they make high quality products for a good price. Well, it will be difficult for the other automakers, who are actually working to catch up in quality, to differentiate themselves on quality, for they are also runs. I would say that is a hell of a strategy, maybe is not for everyone, but them differentiation is by definition for a few, and not for everybody.

How many companies have positioned themselves as high quality products? Does it pay? Go ask Nikon, Zeiss, Leica, Volvo, Patek Philippe...

Chapter 5 has as title: "Creativity is not a differentiating Idea"

I guess I cannot believe that Mr. Trout has read his own phrase. Does he mean that lack of creativity is a differentiating Idea? Does not make sense. I think quite the opposite, when you are not able to create something unique, is when you go out trying to do something else to differentiate yourself.

I have seen creativity applied to Advertising, the results were fantastic. In Brazil, sometime ago, Brastemp, (a Home Appliances company with financial links with Whirlpool) run an ad campaign that stressed the Quality of Brastemp products using the phrase: " it is not a Brastemp !". Each ad told a story about something (not related to appliances) and the concluding remarks would be " it is not a Brastemp !". The phrase got so popular, that became incorporated as an expression of our language. The end result was that Brastemp established itself in the market so strongly that still today people in Brazil position Brastemp as the top quality producer of home appliances. In the mind of the Brazilian consumer Brastemp is top quality, better than GE, Electrolux, ex-Westinghouse, etc...

I have seen creativity applied to Product Design with similar results.

This book should be read with a critical eye, for it has some impressive phrases but when you think a second time and compare with some practical experience you find problems.

I am not an advertising professional, I just enjoy reading books that come with good new ideas.

Differentiate or Die: Survival in Our Era of Killer Competition

Average customer rating:

Good Summary of How to Overcome the Me-Too Brand Stall

Differentiate or Die: Survival in Our Era of Killer Competition
Jack Trout , and Steve Rivkin
Manufacturer: Blackstone Audiobooks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 0786196866

Customer Reviews:

Good Summary of How to Overcome the Me-Too Brand Stall.......2004-09-17

Jack Trout returns to make his now-familiar argument that brand positionings have to be very differentiated in the customer's mind to create a successful business. The reason for this: Customers have little time or patience for those who offer nothing different than everyone else.

The task of getting and building that differentiation is actually pretty simple. Few alternatives exist. You can be the first and hang in there as the most real choice (Coca-Cola). You can have a heritage that is more authentic than the alternative (Stolychnaya, the Russian vodka, in its initial positioning). You can have a differentiated product (toothpaste with baking soda and whiteners, when no one else has both). You can be the newest and most up-to-date (the latest Intel microprocessor). And a few others are offered up.

If it's that simple (something any fifth grader could grasp and apply at some level), why do most people miss this point? The authors do a good job of looking at the organizational thinking that goes on in many companies that creates a stall in this area. I thought that was a unique and very valuable contribution to the subject of proper branding and marketing.

A trap for many companies has been to focus on the latest management fad rather than create and increase perceptual differentiation (which can be partly based on physical differentiation). Some of the fads that the authors warn against include too much focus on quality, price promotions, and line extensions of existing brands. Although they do approve of everyday lower prices if you have the business model to sustain it (like Wal-Mart and Southwest Airlines do).

I liked the point (that was repeated often) about increased competition making it more difficult to obtain and sustain a differentiated position in the marketplace.

Overall, I think this book is the best summary of how to think about branding and marketing in the right way and overcome the stalled thinking that normally harms organizations of all types and sizes.

Well done!

Average customer rating:

Differentiate or Die: Survival in Our Era of Killer Competition
Jack Trout , and Steve Rivkin
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Leadership | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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Book Description

A revision of the handbook that taught marketers to differentiate in order to dominate the competition

Since Differentiate or Die was published seven years ago, competition for mindshare in a world of look-alike products and services has only intensified. The message of the book is more important than ever: that companies often fail to recognize their own most powerful and unique attribute and fail to implement a strategy that emphasizes and supports that attribute. Differentiation is not branding, but the essence of what branding is about. Trout demonstrates successful differentiation through examples from around the world, using core ideas like heritage, market leadership, and "being first" to rationalize consumers' unconscious emotions so that managers can bind them to products. This revised Second Edition includes new and updated examples, new research, fresh case studies, a deeper discussion of specialization, and an in-depth explanation of the ways line-extension can undermine differentiation.

Jack Trout (Greenwich, CT) is President of Trout Partners, one of the most prestigious marketing firms in the United States with offices in 13 countries. He is the author of several marketing classics, including Big Brands Big Trouble (978-0-471-41432-2). Steve Rivkin (Glen Rock, NJ) is President of Rivkin & Associates, a marketing and communication consultancy.

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