10/05/2009 02:02:28 PM 
It's a smart kind of "Back to the Future" guide to the next phase of communication development. It leans heavily on the product/utility focus that's been the topic of much debate in the past 3 years.
The authors demonstrate their thinking early on with a nice dramatic example.
"GM's Hummer product design shouts power and over-indulgence. Yet the advertising tries to tell a story of a Zen-like experience and exploration. What's the end goal in all of this? The marketing is actually being put to use to correct issues the product creates."
While many have talked about and theorized the topic of product as hero, CPB has has an industrial design team and the interactive skills to build web utilities, like a pizza-ordering system for Domino's.
Unlike many other marketing/branding books, "Baked-In" is a very easy read.
Maybe it's been written and informed an insight-rich persona of the typical non-marketing executive, someone like the character George Clooney plays in his latest movie, "Up in the Air".
It's small, weighs in at 150 tiny pages, has short chapters so people won't be putting it down to read the in-flight magazine and is the perfect brain fodder for a 2/4 hour flight.
"Baked-In" is full of great examples of success (Apple, Threadless, MINI, Nike, Google, Uglydolls and more) and provides a nice set of 28 rules that can help you play the new game.
Rules such as:
How to humanize your company...
Understand both sides of the truth
Knock down walls
Mine your history
Feel it in your bones
Steal to innovate
etc..
Many of these rules seem to follow a good common-sense strategic approach that any good agency planner or creative would follow in pursuit of an idea, but they are all presented in a highly digestible and accessible manner, so the non-marketing executive will get them.
Of course, in true 2.0 fashion, the book is the beginning of the story and readers are actively encouraged to participate in the "next chapter".
The book seems to be missing a couple of elements, so it would be nice if the "next chapter" discussion includes the following three topics...
1. The impact of the recession on consumer behavior
2. What sustainability means for product design
3. How to get cultures to change so they think about what they make
Posted by Ed Cotton
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