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Buying In: The Secret Dialogue Between What We Buy and Who We Are
by
Rob Walker (Goodreads Author)
“Fascinating … A compelling blend of cultural anthropology and business journalism.” — Andrea Sachs, Time Magazine
“An often startling tour of new cultural terrain.” — Laura Miller, Salon
“Marked by meticulous research and careful conclusions, this superbly readable book confirms New York Times journalist Walker as an expert on consumerism. … [A] thoughtful and unhurried i...more
“An often startling tour of new cultural terrain.” — Laura Miller, Salon
“Marked by meticulous research and careful conclusions, this superbly readable book confirms New York Times journalist Walker as an expert on consumerism. … [A] thoughtful and unhurried i...more
Hardcover, 320 pages
Published
June 3rd 2008
by Random House
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Much more than a simple, cocktail party business book -- it's an attentive, subtle and entertaining meditation that not only uncovers the latest trends in buying, selling and marketing but also pushes readers to consider larger questions beyond these subjects. Personally, since finishing the book, I've taken a harder look at my purchases and what they mean to my larger sense of identity. Not that this is some kind of Chicken Soup for the Marketing Soul, but Walker isn't afraid to follow his many...more
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Read the STOP SMILING interview with New York Times Magazine columnist and Buying In author Rob Walker:
While many of us fancy ourselves modern-day Holden Caulfields as we call out the phonies in the world of advertising and marketing, few have articulated their positions with the degree of clarity as Rob Walker. Rather than simply bristling at Doves’ “real beauty” ad campaign or railing on Nike’s purchase of Converse, the Savannah-based writer encourages us to consider how our behavior...more
While many of us fancy ourselves modern-day Holden Caulfields as we call out the phonies in the world of advertising and marketing, few have articulated their positions with the degree of clarity as Rob Walker. Rather than simply bristling at Doves’ “real beauty” ad campaign or railing on Nike’s purchase of Converse, the Savannah-based writer encourages us to consider how our behavior...more
Walker writes about brandonomics for Wired, and this book is an extension of his insights gained over the years.
I like that he writes about case studies and brands that most people will recognize, as I think it helps with "learning". His thesis is that, contrary to what people will tell you and pundits will tell you, it's not that advertising no longer works, it's that it's not driven by marketeers.
Walker calls this cultural shift "murketing", meaning a pl...more
I like that he writes about case studies and brands that most people will recognize, as I think it helps with "learning". His thesis is that, contrary to what people will tell you and pundits will tell you, it's not that advertising no longer works, it's that it's not driven by marketeers.
Walker calls this cultural shift "murketing", meaning a pl...more
Rob Walker, who writes an always intriguing NY Times column on marketing and consumer culture, pulls together what he has learned about brands, beliefs and what we buy in well-structured discussion with a number of fascinating stories. The book would still be worth the read if it contained only Walker’s expanded versions of his columns recounting unusual brand stories such as Hello Kitty (the secret to the logo’s power is its missing mouth), Red Bull (built by spending $100mil on goofy undergro...more
This sometimes fascinating, sometimes long-winded book explains about "murkablity". Murkablity = Murky + Modern
Marketing.
Walker draws on the such histories as Proctor & Gamble, Timberland, Red Bull, Axe, and Ecko. It gave me a pause because I, like most Americans, consider myself wizened to the ploys of modern marketing. If we are all so immune to marketing ploys how come our collective behavior and buying habits say otherwise?
Some of the points that...more
Eh. At first I was enjoying it because he calls on my favorite topic of framing reality using metaphor. Referencing the scientific study of how our brains work, that logic is informed by emotional content based on meanings we ascribe to everything, etc. etc. I was still enjoying it about half-way through because he kept coming up with neat little interesting points. But then it started to get boring. Sorry for that lame review, but, I'd heard enough about skateboard culture and... well, it was j...more
“Buying In” is about the role consumers play in modern advertising (or as Walker calls it, the “commercial persuasion” industry). Whereas in the past consumers were presented with a marketing message by the advertising company, consumers now have a much greater ability to shape that message. Through numerous examples of business that employ this “murketing” strategy (a neologism that conveys the murky quality of modern marketing), we see how companies can no longer expect to force a particular...more
Starting with investigating his own relationship with his Converse Chucks and his rejection of Nike (who now apparently owns Converse), Walker debunks the received wisdom of Old Advertising that consumers are manipulated into needing things they had hithertofore lived happily without. Advertising now seems to just validate what the consumer had already decided. Besides, who actually makes conscious decisions? Doesn't your brain just decide and then you spend time rationalizing?
Walker wa...more
Walker wa...more
Just finished this book--spooky look at ourselves and the lengths the big corps will go to convince us that we need their nonessential products: Red Bull, $300+ tennis shoes, etc. From revealing traditional advertising tactics to the more insidious advertising "secret agents" that walk among us, Walker dissects the advertising industry with curiosity, diligence, humor, and disbelief.
A thought provoking read, a bit dry in points, but understandably so as the author cites va...more
A thought provoking read, a bit dry in points, but understandably so as the author cites va...more
I decided to read this book after seeing it on a booklist on a craft blog. There is only a very small section - not even a full chapter - on marketing, consumerism, etc in the diy/craft world, but it was a great section. This book was great for thinking about how marketing pervades our lives, and how we participate in that. Walker is both suspicious of the marketing techniques of companies, and aware of the pleasure that we get from consuming and having marketed to us products that we use to ...more
I was really expecting to like this book more - the premise was far more interesting than the book itself.
My main complaints are that it felt disorganized to me - Walker would be discussing murketing in the 80's for example (murketing = murky marketing), and then switch gears to discussing brands, only to jump back to talking about murketing in the 90's. There was too much back and forth between time periods and topics, which gave the overall feeling of disconnectedness. There was a...more
My main complaints are that it felt disorganized to me - Walker would be discussing murketing in the 80's for example (murketing = murky marketing), and then switch gears to discussing brands, only to jump back to talking about murketing in the 90's. There was too much back and forth between time periods and topics, which gave the overall feeling of disconnectedness. There was a...more
Wow was this book disappointing. Rob Walker is a columnist and it showed in the superficial, anecdotal treatment of the topics. While the book has an ambitious subtitle, it does not actually get into the psychological aspects of buying on the consumer end, which is to what I assume the subtitle alludes. Granted, I only read halfway through before having to return to the library, but I flipped through the remainder to see if I was missing anything and it didn't appear that I was.
The ...more
The ...more
from the library c2008 murketing.com
Everything I have read so far is great. e-ching reading
ch 1 the pretty good problem is what is there to choose when the field is full of adequate competiters
"the goal of the rational consumer is 'maximize utility'"
the desire code:utility, economical, and authentic
authentic is "you can't help but be attracted to them because they lived by their instincts." referring to some skateboarders who st...more
Everything I have read so far is great. e-ching reading
ch 1 the pretty good problem is what is there to choose when the field is full of adequate competiters
"the goal of the rational consumer is 'maximize utility'"
the desire code:utility, economical, and authentic
authentic is "you can't help but be attracted to them because they lived by their instincts." referring to some skateboarders who st...more
I work for an advertising/media company (albeit one that thinks of itself as a technology company), so I was very interested to read a glowing review of this book about marketing in the New York Times a few weeks ago.
This book is an attempt to sum up the latest trends in marketing and to shine some light on the American consumer's twisted and complex relationship with the concept of "brand."
The most shocking thing I learned in this book (which seems sort of obvi...more
This book is an attempt to sum up the latest trends in marketing and to shine some light on the American consumer's twisted and complex relationship with the concept of "brand."
The most shocking thing I learned in this book (which seems sort of obvi...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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An interesting book profiling corporate america's desire to sell you stuff and people thoughts about how they are immune to it while at the same time company's are still sneaking things into your subconscious. The author coins the term "Murketing" to descibe the combination of murky, somewhat underhanded marketing that this entails. The promotion of this book on GoodReads makes me think that the author has learned a thing or two about promotion during his interviews...
A se...more
A se...more
I'm a little late writing this review, so I don't remember as much as I would like. The jist of the book -- how marketing has changed in the last couple of decades -- is pretty much what the whole book is about. Each chapter takes an idea of marketing, or a brand, or a company, and demonstrates how modern marketers are trying to get the word out there about the products they have been paid to sell. Lots of anecdotes and examples; some over-arching theory.
It is definitely a quick &...more
It is definitely a quick &...more
This is a wonderful look at the modern state of the marketing industry in light of the decline in importance of the thirty-second spot.
As Walker points out, via several choice quotes from articles from the 20's and 30's, the advertising industry has been mourning the appearance of the "savvy young consumer" who "sees though advertising" since before television sets made their way into American homes. But there's a vast difference between seeing through advertising...more
As Walker points out, via several choice quotes from articles from the 20's and 30's, the advertising industry has been mourning the appearance of the "savvy young consumer" who "sees though advertising" since before television sets made their way into American homes. But there's a vast difference between seeing through advertising...more
It is quite likely, although by no means assured, that when it comes out this summer Buying In: The Secret Dialogue Between What We Buy and Who We Are will take its rightful place alongside such paradigm shifting titles as The World is Flat, Freakonomics, Applebee's America, The Tipping Point, etc. Like most of its compatriots Buying In relies heavily on expert interviews and case studies to explore how the world has changed over the past 10 years or so. In this case -- marketing, branding and c...more
So, we're too smart to be 'marketed' to in traditional ways.........so we create our own brand identities......by assigning attributes to PBR and Timbaland and Red Bull that weren't originally there. Word of mouth marketing is big........limited editon quantities........being part of something........a brand as the subculture itself. Not so sure it's a 'secret dialog' but it was a good read and some interesting antecdotes (love the quote from Prada).
Even as a designer who needs to (begrudgingly) keep up on business trends, books like these usually bore me to death, let alone tell me anything new or interesting. But Walker, who writes the "Consumed" column in the New York Times magazine, is more insightful than most authors in this vein. His candid, intelligent commentary on "murketing" should interest anyone remotely interested in why we buy the things we do, and the ends (and unintentional forces) companies engage to sn...more
I really wanted to like this book, because I agreed with the author's premise: the old rules of advertising and marketing no longer apply, we have reached the age of "murketing"- stunts, word of mouth campaigns, etc. I also identified with Rob Walker's assessment of the consumer's desire code: everyone wants to be known as an individual yet at the same time be identified as part of a group.
I just didn't identify with many of the brands discussed in this book: Red Bull, ...more
I just didn't identify with many of the brands discussed in this book: Red Bull, ...more
Very interesting, readable, and relevant to just about anyone's life. After I read the chapter on publicity stunts as marketing, I noticed a ping-pong tournament in my own student centre that was sponsored by Stride gum. The chapter on word-of-mouth marketing is, for lack of a better word, CREEPY.
I now have new perspective on brands including Red Bull, Hello Kitty, and etsy.com.
I now have new perspective on brands including Red Bull, Hello Kitty, and etsy.com.
The focus here is on the specific brands we choose when we buy things, rather than on just how much stuff we're buying in general. Although there is some of the latter too, especially in the context of creating new markets. Some nicely-balanced examples of how our choices are more complex and less shallow than popularly assumed and how brand communities are real communities. The line between using stuff to reflect your self vs using it to build a self. His arguments for the virtues and artistic ...more
This was a fascinating book about marketing practices and why people shop for them. The history behind Hello Kitty, Red Bull and other brands is very interesting. I will never buy an energy drink thanks to this book.
It's interesting how snake oil salesman are alive and well and working for Beverage Companies.
It's interesting how snake oil salesman are alive and well and working for Beverage Companies.
Not merely another white-jacketed Gladwellian knock-off. Important topics -- consumer behavior, branding, the evolution of marketing -- covered with sharp journalistic intelligence. Skeptical and probing without being judgmental or dismissive. Anyone with an interest in marketing should read it.
Although "Buying In" is a non-fiction book, the writing is so good I was completely transported into the settings and situations Rob was describing.
Buying In is a memorable, fascinating journey in "murketing". Several years after reading the book I still ruminate over it.
Buying In is a memorable, fascinating journey in "murketing". Several years after reading the book I still ruminate over it.
The author argues with numerous examples, that marketing, as we know it, is a dying art. If nothing else, Mr. Walker as caused me to consider new directions for my products. I recommend "Buying In..." for anyone who is responsible for marketing products.
Having always wondered why the launch of the Scion seemed to pass right by me unobserved, I was interested to learn that it wasn’t as a result of my generally insular existence at all, but rather the fact that I don’t read “Frank” or “Yellow Rat Bastard.” Who knew?
Although the current youth market is not the target audience of my businesses, the new ways in which products are being marketed to this demographic is a fascinating read. I don’t know whether to be dismayed at just ho...more
Although the current youth market is not the target audience of my businesses, the new ways in which products are being marketed to this demographic is a fascinating read. I don’t know whether to be dismayed at just ho...more
if you know me, you know that rob walker is up there with every writer i find truly great. it should come as no surprise that i like this book, and if you live in the world and buy things, and like wondering why you do (why do i always fly delta, despite obvious frequent flyer miles reasons? why do i trust delta over all other airlines?), this is probably a book you should read.
some of the examples seem fairly close to home if you fall into a certain category (PBR and american apparel...more
some of the examples seem fairly close to home if you fall into a certain category (PBR and american apparel...more
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I joined Goodreads in April 2008, and my bookshelf tracks a) only what I've read since then, and b) only voluntary reading, leaving out the [many] books I *have to* read for work and research.
PS For whatever reason, Goodreads can't get its act together on making it easy for me to remove superfluous books that are listed here as things I've written. If you see something that seems unli...more
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PS For whatever reason, Goodreads can't get its act together on making it easy for me to remove superfluous books that are listed here as things I've written. If you see something that seems unli...more
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