May I please borrow your opinion? It’ll only take a sec.
Thing is, for the past year, I’ve been working on a book about the dawning Relationship Era, in which brands must find human connections between themselves and stakeholders as opposed to purchasing attention for the purpose of persuading strangers to buy something. It’s about how to emerge from the rubble of mass media and mass marketing to forge sustainable relationships based on shared interests and values -– and to lower marketing costs in the bargain.
Never mind the year of tapping at the keyboard. For me, this book represents the evolution of my thinking, a process that began in earnest 7-1/2 years ago. I’ve staked my reputation on it, and my career. For my co-author, Doug Levy, CEO of MEplusYOU, it represents something more like a spiritual awakening. This is a man who a decade ago had a soul-shaking conversion experience through which he came to understand that brands lacking a core purpose are hollow vessels, disadvantaged in cultivating any meaningful connection with stakeholders.
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And so our book is about how to simultaneously find customers and yourself. It’s part economic analysis, part case histories, part best practices, part data evidence and part manifesto. We got a handsome advance from a major publisher. We have a pub date in the spring. The manuscript will be finished in six weeks. There’s only one problem:
What to name the damn book.
The book will not be called The Human Element, although that was the working title for months. It will not be called The Relationship Era. No matter what you read in the publisher’s spring catalogue, it will not be called True Like. Nor That Thing Called Like or Money Can’t Buy You Like, because they may seem too Facebooky, and our book goes far beyond Facebook and social media in general. It won’t be called Meaningful Returns or Return on Intent. It won’t be called Significant Others or Virtuous Circles.
Even though the book is the natural evolution of my 2010 The Chaos Scenario, it won’t be called The Friendship Scenario, The Harmony Scenario or The Sustainability Scenario. It won’t be called The Trust Axis, The Trust Circle, The Trust Economy, The Trust Effect, The Trust Factor or The Trust Multiplier. It won’t be called Treat Me Like a Friend or Truth, Trust & Hot Donuts. It won’t be called We or Unmarketing, because somebody else published them first.
For better or worse, it won’t be called How to Venn Friends and Influence People.
And it won’t be called 150 other things. Nearly 200 possibilities have been tossed around, and every single one has been rejected by one party to the process or another. This may have something to do with how elusive a good title is. It also may have something to do with the dynamics of a committee. We have two authors, an agent, an editor, a marketing director and the publisher himself working on the problem -- and after months of back and forth, we are exactly nowhere.
Consensus is hard. Unanimity seems to be impossible. The only title everybody absolutely agreed on was Oprah’s Miracle I Love Cats Diet. It was unanimously rejected on the grounds of stupidity..
So do me a favor. Name the damn book for me. The title requirements are that it must jump out from the cover, fairly describe the book, be neither too narrow or too broad, be novel and memorable -- and in a perfect world, represent a call to action. Please hurry with this.
Seriously, how hard can it be?
Relationomics
How about: Can't Buy Me Love
Hello Bob,
I'm also working on a the same topic.
Branding Sales through Service
Face time is better than Facebook
Coming closer to the consumer
Let me know if I can add to or support your discussion.
Good Luck/ Best wishes,
Robert
Relationship Revolution
Revolationship
Build a Business Based on Relationships or Sink into Irrelevance
Trust Me: Forging Sustainable Brand Relationships Based on Shared Values
Your Company is Soulless and Everyone Knows It: how simultaneously find yourself and customers
HOW TO LIKE
I Gotta Trust You Before I Buy You!
The Relationship Era is a Fickle Teenager
"What's Your Name in the Game?"
1) THIS TITLE IS THE RESULT OF CROWD-SOURCING
(How to influence people by using the very ones you're trying to influence)
I used "revenutionships" in my book and everyone threw up all over it.. so I feel your pain.
And it can't just be about trust, relationships have so many other components -- commitment, credibility, satisfaction, integrity, control mutuality.
My subhead was "relationships are a brand's best friend" lame, I know..
Connections For Building Brands
SAUSAGES
It's all about the links
Would You Hold This Stake for Me?
"The Book With The Crowdsourced Title"
Agree with Tom & Ron! "NAME THIS BOOK: Why I Crowdsourced My Book Title"
Tell me a story I want to hear.
or
The BOOK of STORIES. The brands book to relating their message in the digital age.
book title:
"You are my new BFF"
"Goin' Steady; Marketing in the Dawning Relationship Era" Bob, we at American Pop are big fans since you spoke at the Southwest Media Group's digital forum a couple years ago. Keep telling the truth and making people feel uncomfortable!
Thanks for all of the great ideas!! I'm refreshing this page every few minutes and really enjoying the creative contributions. Please keep 'em coming. THANK YOU!!
Matchmakers
The Nexus Project
Death of the Brand
Rethinking Branding
Death to the Masses
How to build a brand
Agree with Tom, Ron, David Brody! "NAME THIS BOOK: Why I Crowdsourced My Book Title"
Or...
"Hey Dude!: getting under the skin of the Relationship Era"
"Wot u like?"
"Linking, liking and aliteration"
"If we can't work out the title how can we expect you to?" ;)
Seriously, what a clever way to get subscribers to your blog and mailing list. +1
Those are actually 4 different titles. Death of the Brand. Rethinking Branding. Death to the Masses. How to Build a Brand.
Can you really love a brand?
"Connecting" or "Connecting in a Connected Time"
In a Relationship: The New Brand-Consumer Dynamic and Why Love Letters Are More Powerful Than Ads
Will you still Love me tomorrow?
Pssst Brands
Share This Conversation: Influencing the Post-Advertising Consumer
Brand Enlightenment
or
Nirvana - the Quest for Brand Enlightenment
"Intent..."
It's the Cornbread, Not the Corn: Baking Relationships that Nourish Brands
New World Marketing
Getting Personal: Forming Real Relationships in a Virtual World.
You, me, and everyone else.
Cross branding Doug's site. Simple, elegant, and can appeal to broad sets of people, but still can be suggestive with the right over art.
Best of luck. Great marketing thought to ask the crowd...
Connection.
Connections.
Connect.
Doing it with the Lights On: The end of anonymity in the brand/customer relationship
-and your opening line -
"I did it with all of you... and it was GLORIOUS."
Title: "Don't I know you?"
Sub: "How a brand can forge relationships in a mass media world"
True Love: Building brand value with brand values
"Nothing Under the Kimona: A Naked Appeal for Brands to Connect With Consumers:
Are you listening or talking? How to listen in an interactive world.
"Happy Brandiversary: How Great Brands Thrive on Committed Relationships"
Let's see now - you have either tapped into the creative genius of thyousands, or expanded your committee one hundred fold. Good luck if it's the latter.
You may kiss the brand.
Getting to Know You: Forming meaningful brand relationships by knowing yourself and your stakeholders
"Close To You" or "Closer than You Think" with the subtitle "Helping Brands Understand and Deal with their feelings" or something in the direction of eHarmonizing brands.
"Souligration - How corporate ethos defines the new age of brand relationships"
Soul Brand
Put Your Money Where My Mouth Is
Thanks Bob !
What a great idea.
Ok, here's some of our ideas.
Brand Business.... It's Personal
Branded Love
Branded Living
Brands With A Heartbeat
Core Sponsors
Everyone's Branded
Me and Media
Media is Me
Life in a Branded World
Lovevertising
Social Brains
Sponsored Living
Branded, Life as it is...
There you go Bob.
But something to consider, Seth Godin is now "Crowdsourcing" his new book's distribution.....and giving folks a "vested" interest in helping to make it a success...
Got any offers for us ?
Know yourself, know your audience
1: Company Seeking Consumer for Lifelong Relationship
2: I Take Thee for My Brand
3: For Better or Worse
Sub: Engaging Brand Partners for Life
"Keep Your Friends Close and Your Brands Closer"
"Brandversationally Speaking"
1. Marketing in the Post-Advertising Era
2. Connection-Based Marketing
3. Fourth-Generation Marketing (first was feature/benefit, second was positioning, third was branding)
4. Marketing to Millennials: Trust, Not Spin
Consumers are from Mars, brands are from Venus [or vice versa]
Brand Trek: TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO MARKETING HAS GONE BEFORE
XXIst Century Brand: the Age of Trust
Brand Unity: Putting the "Us" Back in Customer