Murketing - who knew?

"Our consumerist society is awash in marketing, and no one has thought more critically and intelligently about it than Rob Walker. Buying In chronicles the shift to what he calls “murketing,” or marketing that’s parading as not-marketing, and tells compelling stories of the 21st Century’s most deft purveyors of it. This is one of the few “business” books where the ideas that hold the stories together are as captivating as the stories themselves." Buying in: The Secret Dialogue Between What We Buy and Who We Are by Rob Walker

I saw the quote above when I was flipping through Fast Company magazine's slideshow - Best Business Books 2008. It has been a big year for reading for me. I have to admit that the rise of books about economics has left me somewhat cold while information about anthropology and sociology is hot. I'd add the Robert Caldini book about persuausion to the list. Actually I will think of a list over the weekend - lists are the editorial cop-out of choice - but, hey, you gotta give the people what they want, right.

It sounds pejorative but I think that murketing is a good word. It describes rather nicely the kind of thing my company, BrandWorld, does. Our products, like Family Health Diary, Eating Well and Discover present information and ideas withing the commercial constraints of 30-60 seconds, but the emphasis is in news and useful information. So, in a sense we err more towards editorial and educational messaging than the kind of brand message that was popular last century (and certainly nothing like the post-modern style that is common now). Here's where we fit into the world:

Buying In: The Secret Dialogue Between What We Buy and Who We Are (Amazon)

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