Joseph Tripodi,
Chief Marketing and Commercial Officer,
Executive Vice-President
The Coca-Cola Company
When I first met Byron Sharp he told me, in very direct fashion, that the concept of marketing I had been applying for 20 years was the business parallel to medieval blood letting. That my brands survived despite my best ministrations, not because of them! Harsh, but in hindsight not completely unfounded.
His book takes us on a scientific journey that reveals and explains, with great rigour, the Laws of Growth. No hocus-pocus or slight of hand. In it we finally discover that the marketing world is not flat, and Byron has the empirical evidence to prove it!
Bruce McColl, Global Chief Marketing Officer, Mars Incorporated.
The evidence in this book should make any marketer think hard about how they manage their brands.
Kevin Brennan
General Manager Snacks
and Marketing Director
Kellogg UK
Much of our ‘marketing expertise’ today is based on a story about yesterday’s outcome, which often happened despite, not because of, what the marketer did. Dr. Sharp’s book brings science to marketing with practical findings that have been replicated, explained, and generalized into “laws” we can rely on. Until every marketer applies these learnings, there will be a competitive advantage for those who do.
Mitch Barns, President (Greater China) of The Nielsen Company.
Hans Christian Andersen tells a brilliant tale about two rogues who convince the Emperor they can weave the most beautiful cloth with the magical property that it can only be seen by those worthy of their position in life. The Emperor is fooled into wearing nothing but his baby suit in full view of the public who heartily praise the clothes because, like the Emperor, no one dares admit they see nothing. The bubble is burst when an innocent child loudly exclaims that the Emperor is naked. This book puts marketing’s rouge weavers, of which there are many, in their proper place. There are laws in marketing – all we have to do is to look for them.
Thomas Bayne, CEO and President, MountainView Learning, London.
This book should be required reading on any marketing course. It demonstrates that, contrary to what many believe, there is a corpus of well-established scientific knowledge about how markets work. These findings run counter to most marketing textbooks. Many commonly accepted nostrums such as concentration on loyalty, customer retention, brand differentiation and tight targeting, are shown to be self-defeating, because they go against the flow of real customer behaviour and the dynamics of market share growth. The conclusions may startle many, but the evidence is clear and convincing. Practising marketers dare not ignore the evidence.
Colin McDonald, the ‘father’ of Single-Source analysis and author of “Tracking Advertising & Monitoring Brands”.
There is competitive advantage here for those who understand and follow this book's lessons.
Jack Wakshlag, Chief Research Officer, Turner Broadcasting Systems, Inc.
Melding logic and science with compelling insight, this book lays out important principles that every manager should know and apply. A truly thought-provoking book.
Timothy Keiningham, Global Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Vice President, IPSOS Loyalty; co-author of The Loyalty Cure.
Don’t walk - run to get this book.
Herb Sorenson, Scientific Advisor, TNS Global Retail & Shopper Practice
This is a remarkable book.....read more....Franz Dill
The book is littered with wake-up calls...More than anything else, I’m just plain envious. It’s a book I wish I had the intelligence to write....read more
Marketing Week (UK)
Byron Sharp is a professor at the University of South Australia and his new book, How brands grow (Oxford University Press), swings a hammer at some of the key beliefs and rules running our marketing operations for half a century........Melbourne Herald Sun, 24 July 2010.
