Pow! Right Between the Eyes: Profiting from the Power of Surprise - Hardcover

Nulman, Andy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0470405503 ISBN 13: 9780470405505

Publisher: Wiley, 2009

Synopsis

Pow! Radical new methods for reaching jaded, cynical consumers

Put simply, when it comes to your business, your new idea, even yourself, this book can be the difference between a "Who cares?" and a "Holy cow!"

Business, both big and small, is in desperate need of new ways to inspire bored and cynical consumers who have grown weary of the same old song and dance. In today’s information economy, it doesn’t matter how many people you reach, but how much attention they pay. And the best way to get attention is with the powerful, but largely misunderstood, element of surprise.

Pow! Enter Andy Nulman with the art of surprise marketing. An explosive new outlook, surprise marketing solidifies the bond between you and your customers like nothing else, and keeps them coming back for more by providing a continuous flow of what they never expected. Pow! Right Between the Eyes reveals the secrets, theories, and tactics of surprise marketing, and wields outrageous real-world examples (and even more outrageous tools like "The Lubricant to Yes" and "Euphoric Shock") to help expand the boundaries of the extreme and create a bigger bang for bigger profits.

On his quest to unlock the secret of why some things knock your socks off and others put you to sleep, Nulman shares insights from director Alfred Hitchcock, designer Philippe Starck, playwright David Mamet, Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane, Harvard psychologists, songwriters, bloggers, and even the inventor of Pirate Booty snack chips. And he shows how today’s smartest companies are winning big with surprises stories like:

· How Oprah’s shocking announcement that "Everybody gets a car!" sent her Web site traffic up 800% and helped the Pontiac G6 outsell its competitors by 20%

· How Target earns $7 billion a year in free publicity with stunts like a floating temporary store in New York’s Hudson River or putting on a vertical fashion show where acrobat models walked down the side of Rockefeller Center

· How Bear Naked Granola reversed the trick-or-treat tradition by sending costumed street teams door-to-door to give away granola samples on Halloween

Andy Nulman is a wildly-successful businessman and even wilder public speaker who first learned the power of surprise working with Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld, Jim Carrey, and many other comedians as the cofounder and CEO of the Just For Laughs Festival, the world’s largest comedy event. His book shares hilarious and effective surprise promotions that he himself dreamed up for the event and in his current position as cofounder, President, and CMO of Airborne Mobile, which brings brands like Maxim, Family Guy, and the NFL to the mobile media world.

Don’t forget to read the book’s two forewords by the legendary John Cleese and CBS Late Late Show host Craig Ferguson. Surprising choices for a business book? Well...what did you expect?

About this title

From the Inside Flap

Here's a Surprise statistics show that only the smartest and most dedicated of readers actually take the time to peruse the inside flaps of a book cover. By doing so, your deed speaks volumes of your commitment to doing something different and separating yourself from the rest of the pack. Way to go!

Rest assured that this commitment will not go unrewarded. You're about to learn how to change your business and delight your customers. By following this book's Tao of POW!, you'll discover how to apply the "Lubricant to Yes" to deliver "Euphoric Shock," and how to generate lopsidedly influential POW! moments. You'll realize why "Everyone's a Kid in Disneyland," learn how to "Time-Bomb," see through "Virgin Contact Lenses," understand the reason why there doesn't always need to be a reason . . . and then get to use these tactics to grab attention and earn a special place in the hearts--and wallets--of your customers.

On his quest to unlock the secret of why some things knock your socks off and others put you to sleep, author Andy Nulman shares insights from director Alfred Hitchcock, designer Philippe Starck, playwright David Mamet, Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane, Harvard psychologists, songwriters, bloggers, and even the inventor of Pirate Booty snacks. And he shows how today's smartest companies are winning big by expanding the boundaries of delightful extremes. Drawing on real-life examples from recognized corporate giants like Oprah, Target, Harvard University, Nintendo Wii, Kraft, and P&G--and featuring dollar-bill explosions, rogue wirecutters, sexy thongs, and insanely expensive hamburgers--POW! takes you where no other business book has gone before and gives you the tools to take yourself, your projects, and your bottom line further, right now.

So get set for a wild ride. ReadY ...take aim ...and POW!

From the Back Cover

Pow! Right Between the Eyes! features the following:

Two surprising forewords by John Cleese

"Buy this book. Or you will die."

Craig Ferguson

"Andy is that rare thing in this world―courageous. He has a steel trap, commercial mind . . . nothing short of a business genius."

ONE EYE-POPPING AFTERWORD BY DAVID ALLEN, bestselling author of Getting Things Done

"Who knew that there was a veritable science of Surprise, as well as an art? Kudos to Andy Nulman for demystifying such a universally valuable component of the human experience."

AND DOZENS OF AMAZING IDEAS TO LEAVE YOUR CUSTOMERS TINGLING WITH EUPHORIC SHOCK

In today's information economy, it doesn't matter how many people you reach but how much attention gets paid. And the best way to get attention is with the POW!erful but largely misunderstood force of surprise. Done right, surprise ignites word of mouth and solidifies the bond between customers and your business like nothing else. It doesn't matter what you're selling―your product, your service, even yourself―this book provides you with an easy-to-use secret weapon to help open eyes, open mouths, and open wallets. Put simply, it's the difference between your customers saying "Holy Jeez!" or "Who Cares?" So, what are you waiting for? You've already picked up the book and read this far . . . you might as well just buy it and get started!

About this edition

• Publisher: Wiley
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0470405503
• ISBN 13: 9780470405505
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 240