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Book review: Where’s the sausage? by David Taylor

Monday, November 5th, 2007 at 1:16 pm

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I’ve read a fair number of marketing books in the course of my career. They seem to typically fall into one of two camps: they’re either dense, academic texts stuffed with theories and principles, or they’re dumbed-down idiots’ guides to the profession.

David Taylor’s recently published book seems to fall somewhere between the two. I’ve not read a professional book that takes this approach before - “Where’s the sausage?” is a story about a year in the life of a sales manager in a sausage company who is transferred to become brand manager for a year.

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What unfolds over the year is the story of his discovery of how branding can work and how it can contribute positively to the development of a business. Along the way he also sees how branding shouldn’t be done, courtesy of his boss Hugo.

David provides a number of practical tools and techniques that readers can easily take away and think how they might apply to their own brands or situations.

The narrative ticks along quite nicely and provides useful context for the real gems in this book - the practical and bullshit-free approach to developing and managing brands. Somehow putting the theoretical stuff into a practical situation makes it seem more relevant and helps the theories fit into a logical brand management process.

It’s an easy read and covers a lot of ground, but at several points in the book I found myself nodding, chuckling aloud and recognising situations that I’d seen in real life.

If you’re expecting a full technical guide to branding then this isn’t the one for you, but for a well thought out and practical guide to branding basics I’d definitely take a look at this book.

If you like David’s approach to branding, then it’s also worth subscribing to his blog for more of the same.

Disclosure: free review copy supplied

[tags]david+taylor, brandgym, where’s+the+sausage, brand+management, book+review[/tags]

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Simon Wakeman

I've been on the web since 2001 and have been blogging about marketing and public relations since January 2006.

I'm currently Head of Marketing at Medway Council as well as a freelance marketing and PR consultant.

The content and opinions expressed on this website are not endorsed by nor reflect the views of any company or organisation I work with.

Simon was always ultra-professional with an excellent knowledge of his field, and worked to ensure that his projects were delivered on time and on standard. His enthusiasm and pleasant personality make him a pleasure to work with. Jules Kirk, Egg

When I worked with Simon I found him to be postive, forward thinking and a pleasure to work with. Mark Pearson

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