In the author's view, the marketing field is plagued by intuitive yet fundamentally flawed assumptions that lead even seasoned, well-meaning businesspeople to repeat the same avoidable mistakes.
"The good news", said Labarthe, "is that successful marketing is more accessible than most businesspeople realize. Thanks to the work of some smart, often contrarian thinkers, we now know much more about what to commit to and what to avoid. It's thinking that's starting to catch on among more advanced marketers, but it's not much talked about, let alone applied, by the people for whom the stakes are highest: brand and business owners themselves."
Swimming Downstream aims to change that.
The book is built around a clear idea: most companies are 'swimming upstream', wasting resources on popular but misguided tactics that may feel right but don't actually help them compete. Instead, Labarthe offers readers a more appealing alternative: to 'swim downstream,' by recognizing, understanding and aligning with the powerful currents of evidence-based marketing.
"The title metaphor is deliberate," Labarthe explained. "We've been sold this image of success as a noble battle where we bravely fight the current to work our way upstream. But in marketing, if you stop chasing trends and start understanding the currents that actually drive growth, you can swim with these currents instead. And that means building success with less effort – and a lot less waste."
Drawing from marketing science, real-life case studies, and Labarthe's decades of experience, Swimming Downstream provides a success framework that's immediately actionable – in part because it's built around the core questions all businesspeople face sooner or later.
Specifically, brand and business owners will learn how to break free from convention, to recognize and harness marketing's real success drivers, and to avoid making the common and costly mistakes that limit competitiveness and growth. Marketing professionals will develop a convincing arsenal of arguments for doing more of what will help, and against doing what won't but is often baked into company culture as "best practice." And marketing students and others new to the field will gain a plain-language set of evidence- and experience-based alternatives to conventional wisdom, including what's commonly taught in school.
The book is also a gateway to the thinking that drives Labarthe's consultancy, Planner At Large LLP, whose clients benefit from an approach to growing their business that focuses on building fame and distinctiveness. Asked about this approach, Labarthe said "we strive to be more creative than the typical management consultant, and more commercially savvy than the typical brand consultant. And the proof is in the pudding: over my career I've helped my clients win almost 80 awards for marketing effectiveness."
Labarthe concluded: "Marketing is much more than logos and package designs and social posts and clever stunts; it's how a business competes. You can't tack it on at the end of the process of becoming more competitive; marketing is that process."
Swimming Downstream is a refreshing and necessary dive into what successful marketing can and should be.
Availability
Swimming Downstream is available now on Amazon.com, Amazon.sg, Google Play, and in major bookstores including Kinokuniya and Popular, and through the author directly.
Early Praise for Swimming Downstream:
Swimming Downstream takes a thoughtful, analytical, and well researched approach to helping business leaders re-think their marketing with a focus on long-term success. Labarthe reminds us, rightly in my view, that marketing and brand are the responsibility of the top of the house, not a department. His anecdotes are instructive, and the chapter end summaries provide a shorthand "to-do list" for the attention-challenged. Swimming Downstream is a useful, understandable, and practical guide to fixing marketing, so it can make the cash register ring.
Stephen Ban, former Fortune 500 CMO
Swimming Downstream crushes the conventional wisdom dished out by marketing veterans and self-styled "experts", and it does so with a deft combination of rigor, creativity and a fun, conversational style I really loved. Better still, Labarthe doesn't simply poke holes in traditional marketing tropes; he provides solid, practical solutions illustrated with insightful case histories based on his experience as a marketing consultant.
Marty Horn, former SVP, DDB Worldwide and author of the forthcoming The Marketing Researcher's Edge
As a nonfiction book editor who has co-written four books on marketing and sales, it's safe to say I've read dozens of marketing books. Swimming Downstream offers two things I rarely see together: clear, practical, and actionable guidance for growing brands and businesses, and also a ripping great read! If you're looking for a serious (and seriously witty) book that will change the way you think about marketing and how you do it, this book is for you.
Helena Bouchez, Principal, Executive Words
The most unconventional marketing book I have ever read. Labarthe is a critical thinker who questions and refutes the typical marketing concepts and buzzwords, the models taught in business schools and marketing classes. Instead, his book is a celebration of logical thinking and common sense. It's both refreshing and entertaining. Will recommend it to my students!
Prof. Dr. Michael Bahles, BSP Business & Law School Berlin
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