Book Review: Brand Hijack by Alex Wipperfirth

Brand Hijack
Marketing Without Marketing
by Alex Wipperfirth






Review Rating Scale: "Yawn." "Eh." "Hmmn." "Wow."
AKI'S REVIEW: "Wow."

So far, this seems to be the only book detailing the fast-evolving phenomenon of User/Brand Co-Creation (what this author terms a "Brand Hijack"). While it sorta offers some techniques and methodologies for fueling co-creation, it mostly PROVIDES CASE STUDIES usable for our decks and exploration on the subject. From Red Bull, Doc Marten's, iPod, to Napster, to Howard Dean campaign to Converse and Pabst Blue Ribbon, you can gleen some usable references for what has been done right/wrong in the marketplace to help develop your own theories. I recommend this book because I (and Ferch) have been beating this Co-Creation drum alot recently, and there seems to be little official reference to what to do with it. And I feel this is more than a clever trend to track, but a true workable brand/business platform model for brands looking to nurture consumer passion by fueling consumer interaction with their brand. All internet-centered brands must attend to the demand for consumer co-creation. Yet, even non-internet brands should look to this platform as a unique positioning differentiator, too, as well as a route to defining the role of communications. This book cautions that this platform is not for all brands, and all needs. Agreed. Yet, Consumer Co-Creation will be big, and increasingly necessary, and it needs someone to write the book on how to manage it. Hmnn, write the book...