OK, this man has got heritage... best known as the founder of Wunderman Worldwide and Saatchi & Saatchi Direct Worldwide. For both Wunderman and Saatchi, he was responsible for opening offices in Europe, Asia and Latin America. Before founding Consult Partners he was vice-president of direct marketing and executive committee member at Grupo Abril, Latin America's largest communications company.
Phew! That's impressive, so the book has got to be really challenging, gripping, a breath of fresh air, just what we've all been waiting for?
The basic argument here is that businesses are increasingly concerned about measurability and accountability, particularly in the area of marketing.
Thus, as one would expect, executives and managers are searching for reliable methods to ensure that they are getting more out of their marketing efforts, as well as for ways to continue successful operations.
Makes sense so far.
Then Rosenwald goes on to say that if you could differentiate between your best customers, your marginal customers and your worst customers, would you spend your marketing monies the way you do today? If you're like most marketers, you would not.
All right, that's something we've all known, and been working with, for some time. It's what I do on a daily basis for my clients. In fact, as direct marketing has come of age, and is now recognised as the most effective form of marketing, it's what any intelligent marketer should be doing for their brand.
So this is all common sense to the average marketer in charge of a biggish customer database.
Nice twist though in adding a CD of 35 interactive templates to let the reader discover how to concentrate their marketing expenditures for greater profits.
And even nicer to offer a free personal consultation with the author if I register NOW at www.accountablemarketing.info.
From a self promotional viewpoint this man is firing on all cylinders and has turned his book, through a sticky label with genuine reader benefit (the publishing equivalent of a free pen) into a nifty little direct marketing campaign.
Sadly, overall, I would not agree with the publisher's blurb that this is a new rule book for "the new world of measurable performance".
We have all been looking to eliminate waste and be more efficient in our DM efforts for years. So, while I agree that companies have been slow to act on advice and even slower to smell the coffee of how this offers increased profits, the stuff in this book has been put into practice by many.
Therefore, not that revolutionary I'm afraid.
However, having said all that this is essentially a good book for those who are gearing up their marketing and want to ensure that they get the best ROI from their spend. It will also be a good set book for the many MBA courses now available.
So a classic? No. A good read and a valuable "how to" text? Yes.
Ian Stockley is managing director of The Entire Company, based in the UK. This book review on Accountable Marketing - The Economics of Data-driven Marketing was first published on Brand Republic's website at brandrepublic.com.
