A (much delayed) miniBookExpo: Business Edition review | Relevance by Tim Manners

Relevance took me a long time to read. I want to state that up front and for the record. But I also want to say that it’s not really the fault of the book. When I signed up for the mBE:BE at OneDegree, I didn’t expect  my life to become as hectic as it did this fall. So, it turns out that I’m lucky to have ended up with a book like Relevance, one that was written in small, easily digestible chunks. I could leave the book and come back to it days (and sometimes a month) later, and still be able to pick up the thread of author Tim Manners’ argument.

And what is Tim Manners offering up in Relevance? Using bite-sized case studies of well-known brands (think Starbucks, Disney, Wal-Mart and Toyota, just for starters), the book is split into three parts: Relevant Problems, Relevant Solutions, and Relevant Outcomes. Manners discusses what he believes to be the most important aspect of marketing – relevance.  And in a tautly written 256 pages, he does a masterful job.

The well-researched and interviewed case studies examine the concept of relevance from a number of perspectives (including design, advertising and investment), giving marketers a lot of new ways to consider the way they market their own brands. The main thing I’ll take away from this book is something that I (and probably other marketers) allow themselves to forget when we get bogged down in the day-to-day: Only one thing is relevant to consumers, and it’s always been the same thing: The product. Definitely something for marketers to always keep in mind, especially in times like these.