{"id":5967,"date":"2012-07-18T06:00:23","date_gmt":"2012-07-18T13:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/?p=5967"},"modified":"2012-07-18T06:00:23","modified_gmt":"2012-07-18T13:00:23","slug":"cool-is-for-fools-makes-marketers-think-deeply","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/cool-is-for-fools-makes-marketers-think-deeply\/","title":{"rendered":"“Cool is for Fools” Makes Marketers Think – Deeply"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"image\"The world of marketing isn’t really known for its philosophers. \u00a0In fact, even the gurus of Marketing such as Philip Kotler or Michael Porter are more rooted in practicality than pondering. \u00a0But then there’s Romi Mahajan — now he is what I’d call a modern marketing philosopher. \u00a0Mahajan has just published a new book called\u00a0Cool is for Fools<\/em>. \u00a0I received a review copy the other day and wanted to share some of the insights with you here.<\/p>\n

A little about Romi<\/strong><\/p>\n

You might be familiar with Romi’s name because he’s a frequent contributor to our Marketing Access and Research Access blogs. \u00a0And in the interest of full disclosure – a friend and colleague of our CEO, Vivek Bhaskaran. \u00a0But that is just the surface stuff. \u00a0Have you ever heard the phrase “Know the rules so you can break them?” \u00a0Yeah – I’d say that’s Romi.<\/p>\n

Romi has had a broad range of marketing experiences; inside of large corporations like Microsoft as well as smaller companies. \u00a0He is currently the CMO of Metavana, a\u00a0leading\u00a0provider of social sentiment solutions for organizations and individuals. \u00a0Mahajan graduated from the University of California at Berkley at the age of 19 with a Bachelor’s degree in South Asian Studies and has a Masters Degree from the University of Texas at Austin.<\/p>\n

I’m sharing all of this with you so that you can get some understanding of his broad-minded thinking that combines both the technical with the philosophical. \u00a0And this is what\u00a0Cool is for Fools<\/em> is all about.<\/p>\n

How to Read\u00a0Cool is for Fools<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

You can read\u00a0Cool is for Fools\u00a0<\/em>from front to back — or not. \u00a0I didn’t. \u00a0This is a thin book of about 100 pages. \u00a0It’s really a collection of short essays on topics ranging from a few short words on “Buzz” to the creepiness of the Burger King mascot to tried and true topics of measuring marketing.<\/p>\n

This is a great book to read in small doses – like a chapter at a time, then stop and reflect on the thoughts and feelings that Romi’s words bring up in you. \u00a0Here is an example of how I reacted to the title chapter “Cool is for Fools”<\/p>\n

“The Burger King mascot is creepy” — Yeah, I thought it was stupid and creepy too. \u00a0But I’m a middle aged woman and I don’t think I’m the target audience. \u00a0I think the target audience is teenage boys who probably think the mascot is “cool” and who are the only humans on the planet that can eat the 3,500 calorie breakfast sandwich the guy was pitching a couple years ago.<\/p>\n

“Cool. is a stupid and empty word” — yeah, Romi, you got that right. \u00a0“Cool is for charlatans without substance” (I’m keeping and stealing that quote – with credit of course)<\/p>\n

“Burger King was trying to be cool and their sales sucked, while McDonalds was kicking ass” — A- HA! \u00a0Now we get to the root of it – there is no correlation between coolness and revenue. \u00a0 \u00a0Where am I substituting cool for conversions?<\/p>\n

Oh, by the way — you’ll want to be next to a dictionary<\/strong><\/p>\n

I hope that this comparison doesn’t offend Romi – because it’s meant as a total compliment. \u00a0Romi’s book is what you would get if Dennis Miller decided to write on marketing. \u00a0If you’re not familiar with Dennis Miller (especially from his old days before Fox News) – Miller is the master of intelligent, well-read metaphor. \u00a0He refuses to dumb it down and he isn’t sorry for using words, phrases and comparisons that show that he is an intelligent and well-read guy.<\/p>\n

Romi’s writing is much the same way. \u00a0He uses words, references and phrases that you may not be familiar with and quirkily plants them inside a writing style that is in-your-face, easy to read and irreverent. \u00a0You can skip looking up the words and phrases, but you will miss out on the\u00a0subtlety\u00a0of the message if you do.<\/p>\n

Look,\u00a0Cool is for Fools<\/em> may or may not change you, your life or your marketing strategy. \u00a0But it will certainly make you take a few minutes to think about how you go about the business of marketing and market research.<\/p>\n

You will also most definitely do a double take the next time you fall into the trap of being “cool” or finding some mundane way of measuring success.<\/p>\n

Another “cool” thing about the book is the invitation to connect with Romi and have a powerful conversation about what’s in the book.<\/p>\n

I’d recommend this book as a beach book or travel book for business book junkies. \u00a0It’s small enough to fit into a purse, computer bag or brief case, but the thoughts inside are big enough to make a difference in the world of marketing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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