What do shells, instruments made from tortoiseshell and Spotify have in common? They all have music in common. The first pieces of music were performed on shells, the mythological Mercury made a lyre out of a turtle shell to create music. Some centuries have passed and now all we need to listen to it is Spotify. One thing that hasn’t changed is the need to listen to music, and with it: to play, dance, entertain and work.
And it is exactly the same with marketing. Its tools are changing, technologies are developing, ways of communicating are being modified. Still, at the centre is the human being, whose fears, barriers, motivations, needs and desires do not change. Our psychology does not change. Only things change.
We have a list of books for you, which are our author’s picks. They’re not the best, they’re not the latest, worse, they’re not all written in the American self-help style, light as the TV series Friends. One thing we can promise: they will stay with you for longer, they open you up to other aspects of marketing, how companies operate, the relationship between design and marketing, communication and sales. They teach, less entertain. They make you think.
Michael Bierut, Once you see me, once you don’t and other essays on design
The author is one of today’s most important graphic designers, a disciple of the legendary Massimo Vignelli. He has worked for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign, UPC, Mastercard, The New York Times, among others. This collection of his essays on design introduces you to the fascinating world of design, the challenges and struggles, and shows you the kitchen of working with the greatest. Not all of them are equally passionate, and at times they are also boring, but a few are real gems. Like the description of working with Clinton, or those describing the mythical world of New York agencies from the Mad Men era. There’s also a great column about the curse of knowledge called the fallacy of familiarity – when in designing (we can put in writing, speaking, ad creation, for example) we take a solution for granted, assuming that if we know something – everyone else knows it. Hence so many mistakes and misunderstandings, called exceptional creation by the authors.
Donald Miller, StoryBrand model – build an effective message for your brand
As the book’s description reads, ‘Donald Miller has already helped thousands of clients clarify their marketing message, so that their business gains momentum’. After such a recommendation, there is nothing left to do but take the advice in this revealing book. And seriously, it is the only American handbook-style item in this compilation. Not bad, because it addresses some of the most important trends in marketing – branding and storytelling. From the book, we learn how to tell the story of our brand, how to create messages that draw us in. And how not to make mistakes that cost companies thousands or even millions (golden tips).
Philip Kotler and one of his 100 books on marketing
You can take ‘Marketing 4.0’, or the monumental ‘Marketing. Introduction’. Regardless of which of Kotler’s textbooks we read, one thing is certain: we will learn all the basic aspects of marketing. It is a must-read for anyone starting out in the world of communication in the broadest sense of the word, whether in sales, design, social media, public relations or sales. Although we also recommend it to anyone running a business. Kotler’s books allow you to grasp the bigger picture of marketing, and strategic, multi-faceted thinking is now key in brand communication. Unfortunately, many in the industry lack this approach, preferring to fixate on the most important part of marketing – their own.
Don Norman, Everyday design
The book is not the first choice for a marketer or PR person. Nor is it the easiest to read, it’s more of a textbook. However, it is worth the effort, especially if you are not an agency marketer but work in a product development company, for example.
The sensitive relationship between designers and marketers is touched upon, and there is also a book about research or design thinking. Above all, however, this is a book about how we perceive objects and use them. And why they are badly designed. The author, who has worked, among others, for Apple and many other big brands, analyses how human perception limits product development, which, thanks to technology, has virtually no limits. Except for one: humans.
The first edition of the book was written in 1988 (he Design of Everyday Things), the second edition was translated into Polish in 2013. Even the former, apart from a few examples, has not become outdated. And there is a huge possibility that this new edition will be up to date in 20 years. Why? The author himself explains: ‘The reason is simple. Designing technology to suit human needs and capabilities is subject to psychology. Yes technologies change but people remain the same’.
There are also interesting subsections about the collaboration of key teams in the communications industry: ‘Designers make an effort to determine people’s real needs and meet them, while marketers want to know what people will actually buy. People’s needs do not cover
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