Buying In: The Secret Dialogue Between What We Buy and Who We Are

by Rob Walker (Goodreads author)

book data

192 ratings, 3.65 average rating, 68 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		15%
4		44%
3		30%
2		8%
1		1%

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published

June 3rd 2008 by Random House

binding

Hardcover, 320 pages

isbn

1400063914 (isbn13: 9781400063918)

description

An Intrepid Business Journalist's Counterintuitive Look at the Convergence of Marketing and Culture in Contemporary Life.

Using fascinating profiles o

...more

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06/18/08

Gk rated it:

bookshelves: nonfiction

Read in June, 2008

recommends it for: Jamie Schweser

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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01/05/09

Stop added it

bookshelves: interviewees

Read in July, 2008

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 ...more

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12/03/08

Mark rated it:

bookshelves: one-book-per-week---08-09

Read in December, 2008

“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 ...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 message about their product onto customers. In other words, the top-down approach to selling a product is disappearing, being replaced by something much more complex.

I won't go into a synopsis of all the various ideas and anecdotes in “Buying In”. It's an easy and enjoyable read, and even if you consider yourself a fairly savvy consumer you could probably learn a lot from it. One of the interesting insights has to do with the reasons we buy what we buy; while most of us claim to buy a particular product for a rational reason, the reality is that most of us buy something and then rationalize why we did so. This discrepancy between our presumed “rational” behaviour and our actual “rationale” behaviour is an interesting phenomenon. As I read it, I found myself wanting to believe that I was not one of the rationale buyers that Walker was talking about. I like to think that I buy things for a good reason and give appropriate amount of thought to my purchases. But of course that's not true of me and it's not true of you. Denying that we are affected by advertising is likely to make us more susceptible to marketing messages. This sort of consciousness raising is what makes a book like this useful.

It has not escaped my notice that this review, and Goodreads as a whole, is exactly the sort of marketing that Walker describes in his book. I get no direct benefit from writing this review, except the chance to possibly influence others, while the author and the publisher stand to benefit financially if someone reads my review and goes out to buy the book. And yet I'm happy to do it. I enjoy encouraging people to read books that I find interesting (as I suspect do most people on Goodreads), and I enjoy telling people to avoid lousy books. Some people might bristle at the idea of becoming an unpaid shill for a corporation, but I think they have it wrong. By definition, we communicate in order to influence other people's behaviour. Influencing others about what they buy, use, listen to, read, etc is normal human behaviour. Companies are completely within their rights to tap into this preexisting drive (so long as there is some kind of system in place to ensure that companies do not take advantage of people and are not promoting their products deceptively).

My only real beef with this book is that, while describing consumer behaviour as being post-hoc “rationale” decision-making, the author does the exact same thing throughout the book when describing various brands that have become popular due to murketing. He offers no predictions or suggestions for how other companies could do the same. Just after-the-fact rationalizations and explanations for why certain brands have become successful (whatever that means). The whole notion of murketing could be bunk, for all we know, because the book presents no prospective research into the effectiveness of this approach. While this books has many of the trappings of pop consumer psychology, it would best be described as pop consumer history. The various stories and theories in this book are interesting but they simply don't help us to make predictions about the future.

Oh, and “Buying In” was scooped by theonion.com 5 years ago: http://www.theonion.com/content/node/284...
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12/08/08

Amy rated it:

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

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01/05/09

Emily rated it:

Read in January, 2009

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

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02/27/09

Elizabeth rated it:

bookshelves: to-read

Read in February, 2009

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

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08/25/08

Todd rated it:

bookshelves: kindle

Read in August, 2008

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 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 obvious to me know) is that every generation is lamented as being too advertising savvy and therefore too hard to market to. I remember reading these articles back in 1989 about how my generation (Generation X) is just too hard to market too, and being sort of proud of this in a weird way.

Well, after reading a quote from Dorothy Parker mocking claims that the youth of her time are impossible to market to, I now realize that the exact opposite is true. Rob Walker, the author, then sketches an interesting connection between children of immigrants helping their parents adapt to America and the focus on marketing to youth today.

Mr. Walker uses the term "murketing" to describe the latest, counterintuitive marketing techniques that companies are gradually beginning to master and turn to their advantage. Converse, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Timberland, Red Bull, and others are used as fascinating case studies to back this up.

(Aside: The term "murketing" is so clunky and annoying that I wonder if Mr. Walker's colleague at the Times, Thomas Friedman, came up with it. It just sounds like him. But don't be put off by this term. "Murketing" is no "freakonomics.")

A running theme in the book is the complex relationship that America has with brands. There is an interesting section that shows how Nike is able to have it both ways -- being a mainstream brand and having ultra trend-setters lining up for limited edition sneakers at the same time.

In fact the discussion about the concept of "brand" is so convoluted that it becomes difficult to tell which statements are from marketing agencies, performance artists, Fortune 500 executives, early hip-hop heroes, or skate punks. Somehow what we get from the brands that surround us has become such a part of us that it takes great effort just to bring it to our conscious minds.

I'm only scratching the surface of what is covered in this book. I highly recommend reading it, even though once you finish it you won't be able to trust casual conversation with acquaintances again.(less)

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08/24/08

Nicholas rated it:

bookshelves: marketing

Read in August, 2008

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

Takes a look at marketing from a different perspective. Basically the idea is that brands used to be defined by their companies. Today brands are defined by the individuals that decide to consume the product. What happens is that companies now purposefully keep their brand vague so that different demographics will apply their own meaning and story to the brand. This leads to Red Bull and PBR, which do nothing to define their brand and so a ton of disparate groups adopt them as their own.

...more

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08/01/08

Benjamin rated it:

bookshelves: non-fiction

Read in September, 2008

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

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07/03/08

Gphatty rated it:

Read in July, 2008

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

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06/15/08

Sarah rated it:

bookshelves: filthylucre, non-fiction

Read in July, 2008

recommended to Sarah by: consumerist.com

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

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03/25/08

William rated it:

bookshelves: marketing-pr-social-media, socio-poli-religio-cultural

Read in April, 2008

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

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11/30/08

Karen O'leary rated it:

Read in November, 2008

recommends it for: readers of Malcolm Gladwell

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).

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11/20/08

Christina rated it:

bookshelves: 2009

Read in May, 2009

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

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01/23/09

Elizabeth rated it:

Read in January, 2009

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.

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03/31/09

Kristen rated it:

bookshelves: consumerism, fromlibrary, nonfiction

Read in May, 2009

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

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01/21/09

Michael Foley rated it:

Read in January, 2009

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.

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01/05/09

Paul rated it:

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.

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08/22/08

Racquel rated it:

Read in September, 2008

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 disma...more

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09/26/08

Sam rated it:

bookshelves: authenticity, consumption

Read in April, 2009

This book just come out, and so it is current. Much of the theory in marketing is dated, considering the constantly updating technology. This author articulates the relationship between identity, authenticity, experience, and marketing. Although previous generations have been concerned with price and then quality, consumers now are interested in what products say about them. Since all products are pretty much the same, we make buying decisions based on minute differences in price and quality and...more

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