I’ve just started reading Seth Godin’s new book titled “Meatball Sundae“. His analogy is pretty simple (and brilliant). To sum it up, New Marketing - blogs, social media, word of mouth, viral, etc. are like toppings on a Sundae. Add these to a “sweet” organization and you have a winning recipe. Sadly, many brands want to embrace New Marketing without evolving and changing who they are and how they operate.

They are meatballs.

Here’s a short extract from Amazon’s editorial review:

Meatball Sundae is the definitive guide to the fourteen trends no marketer can afford to ignore. It explains what to do about the increasing power of stories, not facts; about shorter and shorter attention spans; and about the new math that says five thousand people who want to hear your message are more valuable than five million who don’t.

The winners aren’t just annoying start-ups run by three teenagers who never had a real job. You’ll also meet older companies that have adapted brilliantly, such as Blendtec, a thirty-year-old blender maker. It now produces “Will it blend?” videos that demolish golf balls, Coke cans, iPhones, and much more. For a few hundred dollars, Blendtec reached more than ten million eager viewers on YouTube.

Godin doesn’t pretend that it’s easy to get your products, marketing messages, and internal systems in sync. But he’ll convince you that it’s worth the effort.

This is really phenomenal stuff… HIGHLY recommended reading! Check it out!

And if you’re not familiar with Seth Godin’s work, be sure to check out his blog - he is a marketing genius.