By Kent Wertime. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 240 pages
Kent Wertime begins by talking about the Image Economy we live in and how industries have arisen around stars like Michael Jordan. Through this, there is only a fleeting mention to the relationship between images and the values those images are meant to embody (for marketers, the essence of the brand). He then talks about six growth trends like how branded products create a sense of meaning and brands have to function in a global economy.
Page 56 - with no big 'aha' so far, I re-read the inlay. "Understanding the sub-conscious enables better consumer motivation. Expect to have the DNA of today's imagery revealed with practical tips for communicators on how to manage images and much more". I'm sure it's all coming up...
Section II - we're on how mythological archetypes are the source code of our psychological being and form the basis for much of modern communications.
We have so far jumped from superstars to The Sopranos to Jung to mythology.
Most of the concepts are either sweeping generalisations or oversimplifications with a few examples thrown in. Suddenly, on page 72 I understood what was nagging me when I read - "But in no previous time in history have people been able to reach the masses so readily, nor has the living environment been as fast-paced as it is today. I'm stunned; I'm confounded by this insight of epic proportions. Goodness me - finally, the secret of the universe has been revealed! I'm only joking but I did realise at this point that I'm not the target audience for this book - read on to see who is.
Section III - we now explore 12 different mythic profiles (Hero, Siren, Loyalist, etc.). Wertime himself summarises my comments - "The archetypes profiled by no means constitute a complete list of all possible archetypes.
Additionally, each profile offers a snapshot, rather than an exhaustive study, of each of the figures. There are some interesting insights scattered through 115 pages but again mostly generalisations.
Final section (The Source Code in Action) - I'm quite excited and expecting all kinds of specifics - while there are some, alas not enough for me.
We are, however, treated to more theory on management best practices, the importance of consistency, message relevancy and creative, etc. The book signs off by telling the reader he now truly has the power to harness the source code of archetypes and connect with consumers; so I asked myself - do I? Unfortunately, the answer is no.
The proof of the pudding is in the eating. What would have made this an insightful book is a detailed look at how the understanding of archetypes has been the foundation for certain successful brands. Or, how Wertime as a veteran of the business (he is CEO of OgilvyInteractive) has been able to apply this understanding to impact the destiny of brands and businesses he has worked on. Unfortunately, the book is too wide and not deep enough.
I would recommend this be handed to someone still in the early years of their brand building career. I am now in deep trouble, not only have I antagonised Wertime but also disagreed to some extent with Philip Kotler's comments on the back cover. I guess you could archetype me as the "Anti-hero".
