David Meerman Scott and Brian Halligan: Marketing lessons from the Grateful Dead

Abstract

The origins of the book are not in the field of cultural economics. However, it raises some very interesting issues about the area and also of the general relationships between the disciplines of marketing and economics, even perhaps about the nature of American culture. In fact, this is not an academic book. It has a few references to other works at the end, but it does not mention the paper ‘‘Beyond Rock and Roll: The Economic Impact of the Grateful Dead on a Local Economy’’ by Gazel and Schwer (1997). It is really a ‘‘little book of comfort’’ type of collection of nostrums offered to those seeking marketing advice. It is in small format and has many illustrations. The text follows a very stylised format; each chapter nominates an achievement of the Grateful Dead from which we can learn lessons, and it then gives us an illustration from some parallel activity of a different business. At the end of each chapter, there is a summary of the main thesis with a highlighted action for the user to take. Most of the illustrations come from companies operating in the information/ digital economy, although McDonalds makes an appearance in Chapter 10 which is about philanthropy. Beyond being a mere practical guide, this book seems to contribute to the sanctification of the Bobo (the bourgeois bohemian entrepreneur) that is something of an offshoot of the trend set in motion by Richard Florida’s championing the power of the creative economy. I shall air some criticisms of this and other issues at the end of this review. The Grateful Dead would seem to be easily the most significant phenomenon for cultural economics that comes from within the area of pop/rock music. Their history and conduct have become enshrined academically to an extent that is unlikely to become true for their music. At the University of California, Santa Cruz, a Grateful