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Unleashing the Ideavirus
Book

Unleashing the Ideavirus

Stop Marketing AT People! Turn your ideas into epidemics by helping your customers do the marketing for you.

Seth Godin
Hyperion, 2001

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Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Innovative

Recommendation

In Unleashing the Ideavirus, Seth Godin says your idea is contagious, like the flu. But hold on - he’s not being insulting. If you think of your idea as a virus, says he, you can "infect" the marketplace by motivating customers to talk about your product. He stretches this metaphor to explain how to captivate powerful "sneezers" so they will spread the word. Not a pretty picture, if you are a literal type of person, but you get the concept. For the right product or service, this is an alternative to advertising (or, as Godin calls it, "interruption marketing"). Though he builds on multi-level marketing concepts, Godin distances himself from their negative image. He writes in a breezy, easy style, with examples, charts and illustrations. If you want to spread the word about this book, getAbstract.com suggests that you just cough politely on someone in marketing, advertising or sales.

Take-Aways

  • An ideavirus is an idea that spreads like an epidemic.
  • Take an idea that can replicate easily and spread it to many people, thus increasing its power and value.
  • People resist traditional "interruption" marketing, but word of mouth still works well.

About the Author

Seth Godin is the author of many marketing books, including the national bestseller, Permission Marketing. He founded Yoyodyne - the first direct marketer on the Internet - which Yahoo! acquired in 1998. He served as the Vice President of Direct Marketing for Yahoo! until 2000, when he left to devote his time to writing and speaking.

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    J. S. 1 decade ago
    This was recommended to me by getAbstract as I was looking for the Tipping Point mentioned in the Blue Ocean Strategy abstract. The tipping point has greater application for customers and colleagues. This abstract is more targetted at the consumer and prompting and multiplying customer behaviour. A good read if you want to look at marketing to your customers.