Zag

MARTY NEUMEIER

Reviewed by Jack

Our first books as children are filled with pictures and very little text, allowing us to learn visually. And our ability to learn from pictures doesn’t disappear after we reach a certain age. In fact, I believe the use of pictures in business books is underrated and we will see more books employing this approach in the future. Marty Neumeier’s marketing books have led the way in this trend. They are short, perfect for a plane ride, but they take a subject of great importance to every business—identity—and break it down into bite-size pieces by using pictures to emphasize the key points. Neumeier knows the effectiveness of pictures in communication. He began his career as a graphic designer and, in 1996, started Critique, a magazine about graphic design theory. He is now the president of a firm that specializes in “brand collaboration.” Each of his books is excellent, though Zag’s message stands out.

Neumeier’s broad but clear approach is conveyed even through the cover verbiage that calls the book “A Whiteboard Overview.” Zag is high-concept and brilliant in its economy. Take Neumeier’s display of six pictures, each featuring one pair of silhouettes conversing. In each picture, Neumeier conveys the most concise and effective explanation of advertising, marketing, and branding that I have seen. For example, his depiction of “Marketing” is a man telling a woman, “I am a great lover.” But “Branding” is the woman saying to the man: “I understand you are a great lover.” The difference is subtle but clear: branding is all about what your customer understands about your product or message and has nothing to do with what you are telling the customer.

Neumeier believes that consumers are being hammered with noise—or, using his word, clutter—about products and services. Because of all the clutter, you must differentiate—and not only differentiate, but embrace radical differentiation. As he puts it, “When everybody zigs, zag” (emphasis added).

Acknowledging that zagging is not instinctual for most of us, Neumeier spends the rest of the book giving you his ideas on implementation. One of the secrets to successful implementation is looking for “white space,” the place nobody currently occupies. Most businesses understand the need for differentiation but struggle with the concept of radical differentiation. When Neumeier discusses radical differentiation, he means: “[If] ANYBODY’S doing it, you’d be crazy to do it yourself. You can’t be a leader by following the leader. Instead, you have to find the spaces between the fielders. You have to find a zag.”

“The quickest route to a zag is to look at what competitors do, then do something different. No—REALLY different.”

Neumeier presents a process for differentiation by including chapters to help you find, design, build, and renew your zag. Established companies can reposition their brand or learn where to take the brand after launching it. But, Neumeier says, to do that you need to know where your company is within the “competition cycle.” He uses the child’s game of Rock Paper Scissors as an analogy to show the way large, medium, and small organizations go through that cycle. Start-ups are “scissor” companies and grow because of their sharp focus. They grow by taking “white space” from larger “paper” companies because they can move more quickly to market or the large business is too busy to notice. The small business eventually morphs into a “rock” or medium-sized business. Rocks thrive by crushing scissor companies that don’t have the resources to compete. Eventually, rocks become paper companies that use their network and resources to smother rock companies. The Rock Paper Scissors analogy beautifully illustrates how companies of different sizes transition between cycles and how the strengths and weaknesses of those companies change over time.

In the final chapter, called “Take-Home Lessons,” Neumeier summarizes each chapter with a short paragraph, describing its key points. This approach offers a helpful summary and serves as a future refresher. He also includes a list of recommended reading, offering concise, one-paragraph descriptions along with all the information you need to find the suggested book.

Zag is an unconventional book with an unconventional message. It is a potent and enjoyable zag for business books as well. JC

Zag: The #1 Strategy of High-Performance Brands, New Riders, Paperback 2007, ISBN 9780321426772

WHERE TO NEXT? Here for another book with pretty pictures Here for learning to make cool stuff Here for Marty’s method of client collaboration | EVEN MORE: The Brand Gap by Marty Neumeier; The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding by Al Ries and Laura Ries; Brand Sense by Martin Lindstrom