Last week, I was in the brand-new Borders in the brand-new Westfield San Francisco Centre mall with MarketingProfs colleagues Val Frazee and Sharon Hudson. It was opening day for this much-anticipated Market Street shopping center, which is anchored by the former Emporium department store.
The Emporium was to San Francisco as Macy's is to New York—a grand department store, built in 1896, that was part of the fabric of the city... where children sat on Santa's lap and bought their back-to-school shoes, and where their mothers lunched among the grandeur: arches, balustrades, granite floors, elaborate moldings, and great center glass dome.
The Emporium sank into seediness and disrepair toward the end of the 20th century, closing its doors in 1996. But a $460 million renovation, begun in 2003, has filled the grand old building with 170 stores, a movie theater, day spa, and more... making it the largest urban shopping mall west of the Mississippi.
While the excitement on opening day was palpable, the three of us were thrilled for another reason: We had gone looking for the new book by our own Roy Young and Allen Weiss (with David Stewart). Their book, Marketing Champions: Practical Strategies for Improving Marketing's Power, Influence, and Business Impact, was released by Wiley last week, and we were lucky enough to find it front and center in the brand-new bookstore.
As much as we've read Allen's and Roy's articles on the site for years, there is something truly special about a book. Especially a brand-new book. Especially when it's eye-level and forward-facing on a shelf in a brand-new Borders in the largest urban shopping mall west of the Mississippi!
Here's a photo of us in the business aisle: there's Val, me, Sharon (L-R).
This week, I interview Roy and David about the book's premise: that marketing deserves more respect than it tends to get. Check out the Q&A, and see if you agree, and (if so) whether you might think of implementing some of the remedial ideas the authors suggest.
Until next week,
Ann Handley
ann@marketingprofs.com
Chief Content Officer
MarketingProfs
Keeper of the Blog
MarketingProfs Daily Fix www.mpdailyfix.com
P.S.: Check out Eric Kintz's review of Marketing Champions on the MarketingProfs Daily Fix. Eric, VP of global marketing at HP, offers up his own review of the book as well as his take on marketing inside a large organization.
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