I've just read a sweet little book (says it all really - appreciative but slightly disparaging) called "never mind the sizzle...where's the sausage?" by a chap called David Taylor. He sets out to write about "branding based on substance not spin". And that pretty neatly sums up the content of the book.
It isn't such a radical idea that he puts forth. To do really well in today's competitive market, you can't just get away with a super-duper advertising campaign (although clearly that can help!), you need a product that's a bit out of the ordinary. And he dresses up his point in the diarised tale of some guy who gets plonked into the marketing department for a year on a placement to prove himself, knows nothing at all about marketing at the beginning, but wouldn't you know it, bumbles his common sense way to revitalising the company's core product and consequently saving the company.
Having been so disparaging, I should say that while I started out tutting at the early diary entries ("As I drove home the immortal words of the Pet Shop Boys rang in my ears, as they continue to do now: 'What have I, what have I, what have I done to deserve this?' "), I did find myself warming to the fellow so that by the end of the year in his life, I was racing through the 'diary' to find out what happened to him.
The book is also noteworthy for claiming to be the first of its kind to link references in a book to further info on a blog. Where you can find more of the same slightly self-congratulatory but reasonably sensible commentary on brands that market themselves well. There's nothing earth-shattering there - he talks of the Stellas, innocents and Prets of this world. But again, nicely presented. I'm sure I'll find myself using it as a reference some point soon.
In summary, I'd say it would be more valuable to those starting out in this industry than those long in the tooth. But then the chap says that himself. And it's certainly one of the most entertaining Wiley offerings I've read for a while. So not a ringing endorsement but equally, you could do a lot lot worse.