I was at Barnes & Noble looking for a marketing book to read outside of class. I couldn't bring myself to buy one from the "For Dummies" collection, so I got this: Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead. It looked different, and let's face it, it's a conversation starter.
I'm definitely too young to have grown up with the Grateful Dead, but it's interesting to hear my parents and other adults talk about the band. I even found out that my mom went to a Grateful Dead concert back in the day. Cue surprised face. Some have rave reviews. Others... not so much. Either way, you can't deny that the band did a great job of building a loyal fan-base (and this was before the age of facebook and social media).
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| Photo from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame |
The book is a very quick read (156 small-sized pages) broken down into chapters like "Encourage Eccentricity," "Establish a New Category," "Cut Out the Middleman," and "Create a Unique Business Model." It shows how the Grateful Dead used a concept for their business and then how other businesses (Rue La La, Dropbox, the U.S. Department of Defense, New Belgium Brewing Company, and more) have successfully used the same ideas.
Read it if you want something easy to read that's different from the normal marketing book.
