📚 3 books, 2 podcasts, 1 newsletter - your marketing and strategy boost
Looking for the perfect start to the new year? Here are my reading and listening recommendations for your path to strategic and sustainable marketing success in 2024.
Hi 👋 I’m Florian Schleicher. This is the FutureStrategies newsletter of FUTURES. Thank you so much for reading along 💚 If you want to learn strategic marketing from me, then my Simple & Sustainable Marketing Academy is the perfect fit for you.
For me, reading is the best way to find new knowledge about marketing, strategies, and sustainability, and it's a great way to relax.
This year, there were also a lot of books, newsletters, and podcasts that inspired me and helped me grow in projects and my own business (You can find my recommendations from 2023 right here).
So if you're still looking for your marketing and strategy boost for 2024, here are a few tips to get you started.
📚 3 books - from strategies to brand building and psychology
1️⃣ How to be Strategic by Fred Pelard
Perfect for:
Strategist who want to go one level better.
Being strategic is a skill. Like sudoku, taking selfies or flossing your teeth. Some people are born great at it. But everyone can learn the techniques and become good at it quite quickly, and better over time. At its core, being strategic is a mindset. It’s a way to solve problems.
Fred Pelard
With these words, the book begins with a great description of what strategic thinking and action is and uses examples to show models and methods that also introduce new perspectives for strategy experts.
2️⃣ Obsessed by Emily Heyward
Perfect for:
Entrepreneurs who want to understand how to build a successful brand.
Emily Heyward has advised and supported both large and small start-ups (e.g. Allbirds and Casper) in building successful brands. In her book, she reveals what a real brand needs and how it is created. I particularly liked her strategic approach, which she backs up with lots of practical examples.
Brand is about having clarity around who you are from the beginning and baking it into the foundation of your business. Your brand is not your logo. A logo is an important expression of your brand, and an unbelievable amount of work, thinking and skill goes into creating a powerful logo - but it has to start with strategy, or it is meaningless. What is the idea this brand stands for, that you want to express across different forms?
Emily Heyward
3️⃣ Blindsight by Matt Johnson & Prince Ghuman
Perfect for:
Marketing managers who not only want to understand human behavior, but also want to influence it.
Human behavior influences marketing. And most people (and marketers) only perceive behavior subconsciously. This year, I have also been working intensively on several projects on psychology and the tricks that brands can use to change the (buying) behavior of target groups.
In their book, Matt Johnson and Prince Ghuman describe how new things influence us, what design does to us psychologically and what significance colors have in marketing:
What do Burger King, McDonald’s, In-N-out, Wendy’s, KFC and Carl’s Jr. have in common, aside from selling fast food? They use red and yellow in their logos. Red has the opposite effect of blue (an appetite suppressant), having a stimulating effect, communicating urgency as well as yellow communicates friendliness and happy feelings. Urgency and friendlyness are beneficial associations for fast-food chains.
Matt Johnson, Prince Ghuman in Blindsight
🎧 2 Podcasts - from strategic insights to green marketing
When I'm on the move from A to B, traveling and between client appointments, reading is more complicated. That's why I love listening to podcasts in between.
Unseen Unknown by Jasmine Bina
Perfect for:
Brand strategists and futurists who want to help shape and mold the future of brands.
This year, I was particularly inspired by Jasmine Bina's Unseen Unknown podcast. In it, the strategist interviews exciting experts and takes a look behind the scenes of insights, trends and successful marketing strategies. At the heart of it all is the question
“Why is society moving in this direction, and how can we apply it to business?”
Future Strategies by… me 😊
Perfect for:
Marketing managers who want to learn how other brands achieve sustainable growth and goals.
In mid-2023, I started a new project and interview international marketing experts every two weeks about their strategies, approaches and ideas for sustainable growth.
A few brand examples: Greenpeace, Too Good To Go, RECUP, The Next Web, Deliciously Ella and many more. It is an incredible pleasure for me to talk to such inspiring people from exciting brands and next year there are already some very bright minds taking part.
💌 1 Newsletter about future-optimistic sustainability
Dr. Chris Wedding writes an insightful, motivating and exciting newsletter focused on sustainability. From the Duke University professor, podcast host and climate optimist, I always take away valuable input on how startups, companies and entrepreneurs can address the climate crisis.
Perfect for:
Anyone looking for in-depth and motivating information and inspiration on sustainability solutions.
😮 Looking for more?
Then here are the top 5 most-read articles from my own newsletter, so you're sure to find something new or refreshing:
👕 The Brand Magic of... Patagonia - When you talk about sustainability, there is no getting around this outdoor fashion brand. What are 5 things we can learn from their success for our brands marketing?
🫣 The 7 biggest challenges in content marketing - Content can be created quickly - but what hurdles must we overcome in order to offer successful content in the long term?
♟️ When is it time to change a strategy? - Marketing strategies are not for eternity either. They need revisions every now and then. I'll explain when and why here.
🦸 Can Marketing be Sustainable (and achieve goals)? - Marketing has a superpower and with the right strategy we can leverage it for sustainable growth.
🎨 Content Marketing, but with Strategy - What is successful content marketing, how can we use it to grow sustainably, and what are common stumbling blocks?
👀 Your inspirations - I'm curious
Where do you get your inspiration?
Do you have any book tips, favorite podcasts or newsletters?
I'd love for you to share them with me in the comments!
Have a great start to the new year full of marketing success and sustainable strategies!
Thanks for reading along,
PS: You can also read this posting in German.