Wisdom at Work

Although Alex Wipperfurth’s book is oriented to large national and international companies, it contains much of value to smaller companies and solopreneurs. Ever since Tom Peters’ “Brand You” article appeared in Fast Company ten years ago, the importance of branding to solo professionals and small companies has been clear. And they’ve been struggling with it ever since. What Brand Hijack does for this group is reveal an approach to marketing and branding that’s accessible and scaled right for them. For instance: “offer up a vision people can identify with…market involvement…it’s about a better, richer, more sustainable product experience.” These are the things solopreneurs and small companies excel at – creating intimacy and relationships. Wipperfurth’s anti-traditional marketing approach and the data he offers to back it up, such as people’s distrust of mass media and our paradoxical desire for both belonging and anonymity, suggest ways for small companies and solopreneurs to build their brands. So, this is a very worthwhile read for these people, not because of the hijack part of Wipperfurth’s hypothesis, which is quite strong, but for the provocative ideas about what’s going on in our culture, what’s next in marketing and the suggestions and charts he offers to make the most of these trends.