Two weeks ago, I appeared onscreen during a business symposium in Montreal to answer a series of questions about, “How to Advertise Effectively.”
Toward the end of my hour with them, a person in the audience asked, “What do you consider to be the top 3 books about Advertising?” The moderator smiled and said, “I can answer that,” and held up copies of The Wizard of Ads, Secret Formulas of the Wizard of Ads, and Magical Worlds of the Wizard of Ads.
The audience laughed.
I smiled and shook my head, “no.”
“Number one is Marketing Outrageously by Jon Spoelstra. Number two is The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Al Ries and Jack Trout. Number three is Ogilvy on Advertising.”
The audience went silent as everyone wrote those titles down.
Prior to the publication of Jon Spoelstra’s book in 2001, my recommended reading list contained only two books. But I discovered a kindred spirit in Jon Spoelstra. Even better than that, the thing Jon does best is the very thing I try to avoid.
Let’s take a look at the similarities and differences between Jon and me.
Similarities: Jon and I agree that it is your message, not the media, that determines your success or failure. Likewise, we agree on the vital importance of avoiding the predictable by employing the new, the surprising, and the different. Thirdly, we both appreciate the role of intuition and agree that, loosely speaking, rules are for fools.
Difference: Jon enjoys making big things happen fast, I do not.* When your back is against the wall and time is of the essence, Jon is the man to call.
On numerous occasions, Jon has generously agreed to teach at Wizard Academy and he’s always done it for free. But now he needs something from you and me.
Don’t worry. Like all of Jon’s offers, this one is irresistible: Jon has a new book coming out next month and he’s giving each of us an immediate download of it in exchange for our promise to post a book review on Amazon. You can say whatever you like in the book review. The goal is for Jon to have at least 100 reviews posted on the day his book is officially launched.
100 Amazon reviews sounds like it would be easy to accomplish, right? Trust me, it’s not.
Are you in?
Roy H. Williams
*Although I understand how to make big things happen fast, I find the anxiousness of it to be exhausting. Adrenaline is not my friend. It gives most people an energizing rush of excitement, (flight,) but in me it triggers only the rage of combat, (fight.) Consequently, I avoid clients who need an immediate miracle. This is undoubtedly selfish of me, but hey, I’m self-indulgent. You already knew that, right? – RHW
Alex Kantrowitz studied Microsoft, Google, Apple, and Amazon for more than five years before he learned the secret they all share: those biggest of the big boys still run their companies with the risk-taking attitudes of a startup. Alex recently published, Always Day One: How the Tech Titans Plan to Stay on Top Forever. In this week’s episode of Monday Morning Radio, Alex explains to roving reporter Rotbart why every company should adopt an “Always Day One” approach and execute it better than the tech titans do themselves. According to Alex, “Day Two” is stasis, stagnation and irrelevance, followed by a gradual decline into total failure. I’d tune in right now if I was you. MondayMorningRadio.com