Rubies in the Orchard
How to Uncover the Hidden Gems in Your Business
by Lynda Resnick with Francis Wilkinson

Hardcover: 224 pages
Publisher: Broadway Business (February 17, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0385525788
ISBN-13: 978-0385525787

Video of Lynda

Synopsis (From Author Website)
POM Wonderful. FIJI Water. Teleflora. The Franklin Mint. Lynda Resnick’s marketing triumphs read like an encyclopedia of branding. She is the smartest and hardest-working marketing brain in the business-the kind of marketer who can sell “ice sculptures to Eskimos.” But her brilliant ideas aren’t simply the result of random inspiration; they’re the products of a systematic approach to marketing that any company-large or small-can adapt to achieve success. In RUBIES IN THE ORCHARD, she divulges her secrets for creating some of the world’s most memorable and iconic brands, and the bull’s-eye strategies to sell them.


Lynda believes that every company can find “rubies in the orchard”, elements of intrinsic value that consumers will desire. Here, she shows how every successful marketing campaign begins with uncovering these hidden gems, and communicating their value honestly and transparently to the consumer.

Through Lynda’s behind-the-scenes narrative, we learn the secrets of her extraordinary successes, including POM Wonderful-the wildly popular 100% pomegranate juice that created an entirely new product category out of a fickle and obscure fruit-and FIJI Water, a fledgling brand she transformed into the #1 premium bottled water in America, with sales that have increased 300% since 2004.
A born marketer, Lynda shares tales from a remarkable life, from opening her own ad agency at age nineteen to the time she famously overpaid for Jackie Kennedy’s pearls at auction, then transformed her “mistake” into tens of millions of dollars in sales for the Franklin Mint. Here for the first time, she reveals her commonsense method of breaking through marketplace clutter and consumer cynicism, and creating blockbuster brands with true staying power.

Review

When I was approached by the author about reviewing her book, I had no idea who Lynda Resnick was. I'd seen the book on various sites, but really had no idea who or what it was about. Well now I know and I'm unbelievably impressed with Lynda and her marketing genius. I have a background in marketing (Business Marketing degree) and I sold newspaper advertising for many years so I am always interested in marketing books. I was prepared for the usual somewhat stodgy, slow moving book and I was very surprised. This book was anything but a stodgy marketing wannabe textbook.

The story of how Lynda rose to the top is inspiring and at the same time daunting. This book is more autobiography than marketing book and some people will be very disappointed in that, but I found a lot of information in this book. Where I've seen some reviews that say this is just one big commercial for Lynda and her products, I disagree. In talking about how she made her products rise to the top, and talk about everything she has done and WHY she did it, we can learn by her example.

One of Lynda's principle tenets is to find the intrinsic value of what you want to promote, do your research and then find your primary market. Rather than 'thinking outside of the box', Lynda encourages business people to dig deeper into the product and find out what makes it unique, special or needed and then use that information to market it. She is adamant about marketing towards that primary group of consumers who will want that product and not spending useless dollars elsewhere. Lynda has spent a lifetime promoting products and has done it amazingly successfully. Rather than hit the reader over the head with non-stop marketing advice, the book basically says "This is what I've done and it worked!", and sometimes the best method of leading is by example.

Finally, I think anyone would be inspired by Lynda's story. The book is well paced

and interesting. There is a lot of marketing insight in this book, but the marketing advice is twined in with the stories she tells. If you're looking for a hard hitting marketing book, this probably will be a little light for you. If you're an average person looking for some advice from someone who is uber successful, this is a great book. I think expecially it's a great book for women in business who need some inspiration from a woman who has been there and has made it work.

Watch for my review of POM Wonderful itself next week. I was lucky enough to have the author send me a case for me to review!!