Top Marketing & Advertising Books via @YouBrandInc

Branding expert Baskin plays the merry iconoclast in this witty guide that marshals the latest research and a good serving of common sense to debunk branding's many myths.

The first book to deal with the problems of communicating to a skeptical, media-blitzed public, Positioning describes a revolutionary approach to creating a "position" in a prospective customer's mind-one that reflects a company's own strengths and weaknesses as well as those of its competitors. Writing in their trademark witty, fast-paced style, advertising gurus Ries and Trout explain how to:

Make and position an industry leader so that its name and message wheedles its way into the collective subconscious of your market-and stays there
Position a follower so that it can occupy a niche not claimed by the leader
Avoid letting a second product ride on the coattails of an established one.

Whether we're buying a pair of jeans, ordering a cup of coffee, selecting a long-distance carrier, applying to college, choosing a doctor, or setting up a 401(k), everyday decisions—both big and small—have become increasingly complex due to the overwhelming abundance of choice with which we are presented.

As Americans, we assume that more choice means better options and greater satisfaction. But beware of excessive choice: choice overload can make you question the decisions you make before you even make them, it can set you up for unrealistically high expectations, and it can make you blame yourself for any and all failures. In the long run, this can lead to decision-making paralysis, anxiety, and perpetual stress. And, in a culture that tells us that there is no excuse for falling short of perfection when your options are limitless, too much choice can lead to clinical depression.

In The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz explains at what point choice—the hallmark of individual freedom and self-determination that we so cherish—becomes detrimental to our psychological and emotional well-being. In accessible, engaging, and anecdotal prose, Schwartz shows how the dramatic explosion in choice—from the mundane to the profound challenges of balancing career, family, and individual needs—has paradoxically become a problem instead of a solution. Schwartz also shows how our obsession with choice encourages us to seek that which makes us feel worse.

A candid and indispensable primer on all aspects of advertising from the man Time has called "the most sought after wizard in the business"

Because if you think the ads you're seeing today are just pretty pictures with nice, creative copy, you're mistaken. Truth is, you are being powerfully influenced by dozens of proven scientific principles of advertising psychology... little-known techniques of consumer persuasion that go completely unnoticed by the buying public. And they're causing you--and millions like you--to spend enormous amounts of money every day on countless products and services.

Written in a narrative style combined with scholarly research, Cialdini combines evidence from experimental work with the techniques and strategies he gathered while working as a salesperson, fundraiser, advertiser, and in other positions inside organizations that commonly use compliance tactics to get us to say “yes.” Widely used in classes, as well as sold to people operating successfully in the business world, the eagerly awaited revision of Influence reminds the reader of the power of persuasion.

How much do we know about why we buy? What truly influences our decisions in today's message-cluttered world? An eye-grabbing advertisement, a catchy slogan, an infectious jingle? Or do our buying decisions take place below the surface, so deep within our subconscious minds, we're barely aware of them?

In BUYOLOGY, Lindstrom, who was voted one of Time Magazine's most influential people of 2009, presents the astonishing findings from his groundbreaking, three-year, seven-million-dollar neuromarketing study, a cutting-edge experiment that peered inside the brains of 2,000 volunteers from all around the world as they encountered various ads, logos, commercials, brands, and products. His startling results shatter much of what we have long believed about what seduces our interest and drives us to buy. Among the questions he explores:

In the age of e-mail and instant communication, great sales copy is indispensable to closing a deal. But too many sales letters end up in the junk file or the wastebasket. In this new edition of his top-selling book, author Dan Kennedy explains why some sales letters work and most don't. And he shows how to write copy that any business can use.

Waiting for Your Cat to Bark?: Persuading Customers When They Ignore Marketing (9780785218975): Thomas Nelson: Books

Mark Twain once observed, “A lie can get halfway around the world before the truth can even get its boots on.” His observation rings true: Urban legends, conspiracy theories, and bogus public-health scares circulate effortlessly. Meanwhile, people with important ideas–business people, teachers, politicians, journalists, and others–struggle to make their ideas “stick.”

Why do some ideas thrive while others die? And how do we improve the chances of worthy ideas? In Made to Stick, accomplished educators and idea collectors Chip and Dan Heath tackle head-on these vexing questions. Inside, the brothers Heath reveal the anatomy of ideas that stick and explain ways to make ideas stickier, such as applying the “human scale principle,” using the “Velcro Theory of Memory,” and creating “curiosity gaps.”

The fifth edition of this work on how to create successful advertising features new coverage on small businesses with limited revenues, non-profit advertising, as well as techniques of headlines, illustrations and layouts. There is also new information useful to smaller businesses.

Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: The Classic Guide to Creating Great Ads [Luke Sullivan, Sam Bennett] on Amazon.com. FREE super saver shipping on qualifying offers. The classic (and irreverent) bestselling guide to creating great advertising Hey Whipple, Squeeze This has inspired a generation of ad students

How can the latest brain research help increase your sales? Because people are inundated daily by an average of 10,000 sales messages, selling is now tougher than ever. That's why you need to learn what neuroscience has uncovered that will immediately increase your selling and influencing effectiveness.

Want to make a bad year better or turn a good year into a blockbuster? Stop leaking profits and discover the untapped gold mine that exists in your products. The Art of Pricing is the first practical, easy-to-understand guide to solving one of the most important dilemmas in business: how to use price to uncover a product’s hidden profits and find new opportunities for growth.

Why do some ideas break out and others fade away? What causes people to become so excited about a product that they can?t wait to tell their friends? How can an idea be communicated so that it catches fire in people?s imaginations?

Drive more value from all your marketing and communications channels--together! Demolish your silos and sync all your messaging, strategies, and tactics (really!). Optimize every medium and platform, from iPad and Facebook to TV and direct. This book is a must-read for every senior marketing, communications, and PR decision-maker. It’s not about social media. Or new (or old) media. It’s about results—and there’s only one way to get results. You must finally bite the bullet, tear down your silos, and integrate all your marketing and communications. That’s how you choose the best platforms and messages for each customer. That’s how you make research and metrics work. That’s how you overcome today’s insane levels of complexity and clutter.

The traditional model of growing your business—by relying on employees in sales, marketing, and product development—is dying. Today’s most successful companies are taking a different approach: getting customers to market, sell, and create products for them.

Amazon.com: Emotionomics: Leveraging Emotions for Business Success (9780749461898): Dan Hill D.V, Sam Simon: Books

Brand executive Hogshead (Radical Careering) argues that exploiting certain "triggers" can boost relationships with customers, employees, and friends. Fascination is ultimately an instinctive drive that catalyzes countless behaviors, including purchasing decisions.

Your Attention Please: How to Appeal to Today's Distracted, Disinterested, Disengaged, Disenchanted, and Busy Consumer (9781593376871): Paul B. Brown, Alison Davis: Books

Amazon.com: Don't Think Pink: What Really Makes Women Buy -- and How to Increase Your Share of This Crucial Market (9780814408155): Lisa Johnson, Andrea Learned: Books

Dramatically increase your ability to sell by learning how to control the mind of your prospect using 30 powerful psychological triggers to motivate, influence and persuade. Discover the one secret very few sales professionals know, yet it doubled response to a simple offer. Discover how to make your prospects feel so guilty that they can't help but buy from you. Discover how to take an impossible situation and turn it around to your advantage through a simple sales technique. Buy this book now to improve every aspect of your selling and marketing skills.

Amazon.com: My Life in Advertising and Scientific Advertising (Advertising Age Classics Library) (9780844231013): Claude Hopkins: Books

Differentiate or Die: Survival in Our Era of Killer Competition [Jack Trout] on Amazon.com. FREE super saver shipping on qualifying offers. Any damn fool can put on a deal, but it takes genius, faith, and perseverance to create a brand. -David Ogilvy In today's ultra-competitive world

How to Write a Good Advertisement Publisher: Wilshire Book Company [Victor O. Schwab] on Amazon.com. FREE super saver shipping on qualifying offers.