Gonzo Marketing is a knuckle-whitening ride to the place where social criticism, biting satire, and serious commerce meet...and where the outdated ideals of mass marketing and broadcast media are being left in the dust. As master of ceremonies at the wake for traditional one-size-fits-allContinue
Gonzo Marketing is a knuckle-whitening ride to the place where social criticism, biting satire, and serious commerce meet...and where the outdated ideals of mass marketing and broadcast media are being left in the dust. As master of ceremonies at the wake for traditional one-size-fits-all marketing, Locke has assembled a unique guest list, from Geoffrey Chaucer to Hunter S. Thompson, to guide us through the revolution that is rocking business today, as people connect on the Web to form powerful micromarkets. These networked communities, based on candor, trust, passion, and a general disdain for anything that smacks of corporate smugness, reflect much deeper trends in our culture, which Locke illuminates with his characteristic wit.
Gonzo Marketing is not yet-another nostrum for hoodwinking the unwary. It's about market advocacy. It describes how "the artist formerly known as advertising" must do a 180. It's about transforming the marketing message from "we want your money" to "we share your interests." It's about tapping into, listening to, and even forming alliances with emerging on-line markets, who probably know more about your company than you do. It's a hip-hop cover of boring old best practices played backwards. The paradox is that companies that support and promote these communities can have everything they've always wanted: greater market share, customer loyalty, brand equity.
Irreverent, penetrating, profoundly simple, and on-the-money, Gonzo Marketing is the raucous wake-up that no one interested in any aspect of twenty-first century business -- from the trading floor right up to the board room -- can afford to ignore.
(8)
Yicher 
Thought-provoking, funny and irreverent, probably one of the most important books about where the internet is taking us. It's written a couple years back so the examples and details could be outdated.
It's interesting that this book may sound "yesterday" at times, but many of the predictions ... (continue)
Thought-provoking, funny and irreverent, probably one of the most important books about where the internet is taking us. It's written a couple years back so the examples and details could be outdated.
It's interesting that this book may sound "yesterday" at times, but many of the predictions have just begun to come true. The main idea - that the internet allows unprecedented level of market segmentation and thus the burgeoning of micro-markets - is right on as testified by the growing popularity of wikipedia, blogs, youtube, and the so-called "Web 2.0" movement, if anyone knows what that is. (Meetup.com credits this book as an inspiration for its conception)
Less convincing is the degree to which big businesses will be impacted and his proposal to them on how to embrace the new trend. Overall, a fun ride. For a taste of what it's like, check out www.cluetrain.com.
*Warning: the ranting-style writing may get in the way of his arguments. Be patient. You may even enjoy it after a while
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