Never let it be said that marketers and branding people can’t poke fun at themselves! If you thought branding wasn’t funny, think again. A new book was just released by Tom Fishburne called This One Time, at Brand Camp that is filled with sarcastic and witty cartoons related to marketing, branding and business.
I found out about this book from Tom Fishburne’s current virtual book tour through Post2Post, and I’m glad I did. John Moore’s Brand Autopsy is one of Tom’s stops on his virtual book tour, and John posted links to a number of Tom’s branding-related cartoons on Flickr in his review post. As far as Tom is concerned, no branding or marketing topic is safe from sarcasm.
Check out his cartoon called Ideation Nation that pokes fun at the many corporate brainstorming session that we all have to sit through too many times to count. One of my former bosses loved the word “ideation”, so this one hit close to home for me. I also love his cartoon called Brand Hookups where two brands walk into a bar….you’ll have to check out the cartoon to learn how this one ends.
This One Time, at Brand Camp is actually the second book in a series of branding and marketing-related cartoon books from Tom Fishburne. The first, Brand Camp, was released in 2004. If you like Dilbert, you’ll most likely enjoy the Brand Camp series, which is all to real in its humorous look behind corporate marketing and branding doors.
I love Dilbert, and I’m going to buy and will likely totally enjoy This One Time, at Brand Camp. Why? Because it looks like it provides one more reminder that corporations have a problem in terms of not being able to get out of their own way.
It’s hard not to get caught up in the “current way of doing things” and it’s even harder to be truly innovative for the sake of creating the best marketing and branding initiatives possible rather than just appeasing the execs and hitting the required numbers. When you find yourself up against those common barriers, reach for your copy of This One Time, at Brand Camp and remember, you’re not alone. Just keep on trying and don’t give up!
Image: Lulu.com
Susan Gunelius is the author of 10 marketing, social media, branding, copywriting, and technology books, and she is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company. She also owns Women on Business, an award-wining blog for business women. She is a featured columnist for Entrepreneur.com and Forbes.com, and her marketing-related articles have appeared on websites such as MSNBC.com, BusinessWeek.com, TodayShow.com, and more.
She has over 20 years of experience in the marketing field having spent the first decade of her career directing marketing programs for some of the largest companies in the world, including divisions of AT&T and HSBC. Today, her clients include large and small companies around the world and household brands like Citigroup, Cox Communications, Intuit, and more. Susan is frequently interviewed about marketing and branding by television, radio, print, and online media organizations, and she speaks about these topics at events around the world. You can connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Google+.
