April is over .. Yeah… I mean.. I am totally freaked out about it. How comes it is really true that time does fly by faster the older you get. SAD!
Anyway, I am giving away 2 books .. "Chasing Cool". I got them for promotional purposes … they are new (even though one of these books will look a little like someone read it) and will read it too, since it sounds really interesting.
Cool isn’t just a state of mind, a celebrity fad, or an American obsession — it’s a business. In boardrooms across America, product managers are examining vodka bottles and candy bars, tissue boxes and hamburgers, wondering how do we make this thing cool? How do we make this gadget into the iPod of our industry? How do we do what Nike did? How do we get what Target got? How do we infuse this product with that very desirable, nearly unattainable it factor?
In this wide-ranging exploration the authors Noah Kerner, a celebrated marketing maverick, and Gene Pressman, legendary creative visionary and former co-CEO of Barneys New York, have uncovered surprising and universal patterns and trends. They systematically parse the successes and failures of the last few decades — in music and fashion, magazines and food, spirits and hip-hop culture. Their discoveries are pulled together in this definitive book on the commerce of cool.
Nike and Target endure as relevant brands not because of a shortsighted and gimmicky campaign. A dash of bling and a viral website don’t amass long-term value. Brands are effectively developed when companies take substantial risk — and face the possibility of real failure — in order to open up the opportunity for real success.
Chasing Cool includes interviews with more than seventy of today’s most respected innovators from Tom Ford and Russell Simmons to Ian Schrager and Christina Aguilera. And through this accomplished assemblage, Pressman and Kerner dig beneath the surface and reveal how emphasizing long-lasting relevance trumps a fleeting preoccupation with what’s hot and what’s not. In a multidimensional, entertaining, and eminently readable book that redefines how to appeal to today’s savvy consumer, Kerner and Pressman explore the lessons to be learned by America’s ongoing search for the ever-changing concept of cool. Readers will learn how to apply these lessons to their own businesses and creative projects in order to stand out in today’s cluttered marketplace.
Amazon Link: Chasing Cool – In case you can’t wait to get your own copy.
How can you win this book .. well it’s pretty easy .. just stumble a story on Random Good Stuff. But only stumble if if you really, really like it. We don’t just want to spam Stumble .. right? 
Make sure that you are on the permalink of the RGS story and not just on the main url…
Don’t know what Stumble Upon is? Well visit them … it’s a social surfing tool .. which is just plain addicting. I also heard it is a great way to make new friends .. or new husbands/wife .. lol.
And while were at it … Check out my Stumble Profile and add me as your friend.
Once you stumbled a story .. come back here and leave a comment with the stumble page of that blog entry and also add you profile link as well .. to get some extra visitors.
I will randomly chose 2 winner and announce them on May 15th.
The Winner of the monthly Linksubmit Contest…
Bear from from Funkyvideo won this month’s $20 Amazon Gift Certificate! Congratulation.
Do you win too .. you just have to submit a link .. more info here.
Happy Mayday … XOXO… RGS
Technorati Tags: Book, Free Stuff, Link submit, Giveaway, Winner, Contest, Stumble Upon
britney wrote,
“Chasing Cool†is an inspiration for anyone in the marketing business. I absolutely loved hearing the insight of successful people in marketing and design. The interviews that were integrated into the book give it a lot of credibility and just shows that you can’t “Chase Cool.” This book really gives you something to think about. I found myself taking breaks to go and google the people and products in the book to learn more about the inventors. Nobody can be a copycat and be cool in today’s society because by then we have already seen it….it’s not new and exciting. Especially engaging was the hip, witty style of the book.
Link | May 21st, 2007 at 2:55 am