FallLineup for PMP Books

We at Paramount Books are very excited about our fall lineup of books. In addition to a new book by Tom Asacker, which we mentioned in our last post, we are also tackling some new topics and bringing new insights to some older topics.

Erin O. Patton, founder of The MasterMind Group is working on a book on the effect of the hip-hop Generation X on pop culture. If you've ever wondered why urban trends among minorities have such a powerful impact on the rest of American, and indeed, global, culture, Erin explains it and gives many examples of how and why hip-hop culture has made it into the mainstream.

Mickey Brazeal is bringing us a book on RFID and the Customer Experience. (Radio Frequency Identification). RFID is widely in use at the present time to track shipments of goods, but Brazeal explains how it will be used in the future to improve the customer experience. Its uses could include greater safety in our food supply by tracking which farms (and in some cases, fields and animals) exactly the jalapeno peppers, lettuce, tomatoes, beef, etc. have come from. RFID can also be used to cut down on health care costs. By using RFID to track hospital equipment and drugs, for example, hospitals would not have to have twice as many wheelchairs and respirators as they really need, and they would know when drugs are walking out the pharmacy door.

Miriam Muley will bring us a new book on women and diversity which will help businesses understand why catering to and employing women of all colors improves bottom line results. Miriam will be a featured speak at the PME M2Moms conference in Chicago October 22 and 23 and her book will be available for all attendees.

These books are not yet posted on the Paramount Books site, but they will be shortly. If you want to be among the first to know when they are available and receive a pre-publication (discounted) offer, visit www.paramountbooks.com and sign up for our email newsletter, What's New in Marketing.

Are marketers talking too much?

Many of you have enjoyed Tom Asacker's little book, A Clear Eye for Branding, in which he and a seat companion on a flight have an extended conversation about what branding is and how marketers need to rethink their approaches to branding.

Asacker has been working on a new book called A Little Less Conversation. It will serve as a great companion to A Clear Eye. In it, he commiserates with an executive he meets in an airport after both their flights have been cancelled. Almost any business traveler can relate to that.

But over lunch they have an engaging conversation about why the hard-sell approach to marketing no longer works and why marketers need to forget about their products and establish an emotional connection with their customers, talking to them less and listening to them more.

Several PMP titles have expanded on this theme recently. Dan Herman's book Outsmart the MBA Clones isn't really a slam against MBAs. It is simply a challenge to think outside the box, to consider fresh approaches to bringing the consumer inside the marketing circle instead of leaving him out in the cold and assuming that if you sell features and benefits hard enough your product or service will flourish.

Outsmart the MBA Clones is already available and you'll be hearing more about Tom Asacker's book in the near future as we prepare it for the printer. If you want to make sure you are among the first to have it, sign up on www.paramountbooks.com for the bi-weekly email announcements of new books and special offers called What's New in Marketing?

Making you think

In my last comment I referred to the work of Tom Asacker, one of our favorite authors at Paramount Market Publishing. Today I got another thought-provoking article from him about the use of the word "authentic," which seems to be the buzz word of the year. Unlike bloggers who are writing just to talk to themselves, Tom often shares thoughts that he has been sorting through for a long time. Hence, the name of his book and website, A Clear Eye. You can sign up to receive his occasional thoughts. It is absolutely free, well-written, and always thought provoking. Before you use the word authentic again, hit this link and you may never use the word again.