Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Brand Hijack offers a practical how-to guide to marketing that finally engages the marketplace. It presents an alternative to conventional marketing wisdom, one that addresses industry crises such as media saturation, consumer evolution and the erosion of image marketing. However, following the book's advice will require some untraditional - even counterintuitive - steps. This type of marketing is not for everyone, you must be confident enough to stop clamouring for control and learn to be spontaneous. brand hijacking relies on a radical concept - letting go.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Wipperfurth is a partner with Plan B, a small marketing firm in California that attempts to do for its clients what the book advocates: make brands appear to be serendipitous accidents. His first book is full of case studies and suggestions reinforcing the theme that marketing requires more than just money and a target audience. It also requires a willingness to be patient and build credibility. Authenticity is an important theme throughout; Wipperfurth argues that users will be more devoted to a brand if they are allowed influence over its direction. As a cautionary tale, Wipperfurth cites Mattel's actions to shut down the most inventive efforts of the Barbie fan club-an example, he warns, of how to destroy one's market. Large companies who don't "get it" are at risk of alienating their most loyal consumers in an age when conglomerates are viewed with suspicion. Many books, including Naomi Klein's No Logo, Thomas Frank's Conquest of Cool, and Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point, have approached this subject from various perspectives. This practical handbook would be useful for comprehensive marketing collections in business or college libraries but should be considered only by larger public libraries.-Stephen E. Turner, Turner & Assocs., San Francisco (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly Review

This is not your ordinary marketing manual. With casual humor and a laid-back tone, Wipperfurth, a marketer who helps brands like Dr. Martens and Napster ?appear like serendipitous accidents,? advocates the ?brand hijack,? a process of allowing customers to shape brand meaning and drive a brand?s evolution. Using case studies of products that were embraced by young consumers precisely because they lacked traditional, excessive ad campaigns, like Pabst Blue Ribbon and In-N-Out Burger, Wipperfurth shows that seemingly effortless branding is actually sustained by ?no-marketing? techniques. Some of these tactics include marketing first to alternative subcultures and building a brand ?folklore? with ?customs, rituals, vocabulary...and experiences,? much in the way that he claims ?Starbucks created coffee culture.? The book designates three types of brand hijack: the Discovery, which allows people to feel ?in on a secret? (a la Palm); the Commentary, by which a brand like Dr. Martens is associated with a subversive social statement; and the Mission, which ?declares a worldview oppositional to a ?Big Brother? enemy? (a la Apple). While the book speaks specifically to marketers, it offers a glimpse into America?s consumer- and ad-driven culture, and even lay readers will be fascinated to learn about the sly techniques being utilized on them. That pair of expensive pre-ripped jeans will never look the same. (Feb.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Booklist Review

In an age of marketing saturation, consumers are pleading with advertisers to tone down the relentless yammering; you're talking too loud for us to listen. As backlash to constant media hype, products sometimes become hot when consumers ignore corporate America's overt advances and embrace independent products such as Doc Martens, Red Bull, Napster, and Starbucks, creating a cult following and effectively hijacking the brand as their own. Even Pabst Blue Ribbon beer has made a comeback recently precisely because it is the antithesis of a microbrew. So how do you market to an audience that rejects marketing? Wipperfurth explains how to walk this thin line by seeding the right audience to create a buzz and patient development of brand recognition. Of course, there is no guarantee that any of this will work, but Wipperfurth has the expertise to give you an advantage over the big guys. He has been called a marketing subversive . . . The guy who will make your brands cool by Adweek and is a partner at marketing boutique Plan B in San Francisco. --David Siegfried Copyright 2005 Booklist

Kirkus Book Review

Successful brands that eschew traditional marketing often befuddle even the savviest corporate marketing executives. But with minimal traditional advertising, many companies have done just that, becoming household names in the process: eBay, Starbucks, Red Bull, The Blair Witch Project. Wipperfurth examines their practices to understand just how they succeeded, and then distills the lessons taught by these geniuses of anti-marketing down to his "Brand Hijack Manifesto." The author instructs his disciples to "Be Patient," "Be Flexible" and "Lose Control." One can imagine how easily this will go down with a time-strapped promotions team, but Wipperfurth backs up these directives with rock-solid examples of properties with enviable track records in the branding arena. Granted, when promoting a life-changing product such as TiVo, Hotmail (free web-based email) or Viagra, the marketing becomes a lot easier. But he also points out the vital role that extensive planning plays in any successful anti-marketing campaign--Saturn planned for five years before launching. He spends much of the book convincing the reader that the consumer is a partner, rather than a target--after all, devoted consumers who have been "brandwashed" are walking billboards, and they work for free. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.