John Fox wrote a book called
The Marketing Playbook a few years ago and just came out with his new lessons online. This is an incredible resource for any scrappy marketer (kinda like guerilla marketing but less political sounding). Luckily, we are included in this new version replacing LandsEnd and club colors, but that is not my reason for commenting on it favorably.
I've been in our business for 12+ years and got my MBA at Babson so I have seen a lot of marketing and business books in my time. Probably more than most my age since I have managed a small business and not worked in a specific function at a large company. This just means I'm a generalist and have been exposed to a more varied list of functional books like marketing, direct marketing, selling, finance, HR, etc than someone working at GM.
Anyway, my point is I've read a lot of these books in the past......but rarely read them any more. i have become not only a sceptic of what i can learn from them but I also have less time to pour into long prose for a single elusive point that can be explained in a bullet with the research and references.....so the reader can draw their own conclusion.
The Marketing Playbook has become this new standard.....set-up how every reference book should be. It is precisley what the title says it is: a Playbook. This is not a book (in my opinion) that should be read at the beach or ever put in a bookcase. It should remain on your desk at work as your quick reference guide. John has done all your research and effectively organized each lesson so you can quickly and easily use it as your primary marketing resource on a regular basis.