Fascinate, Revised and Updated Lib/E: How to Make Your Brand Impossible to Resist

by Sally Hogshead (Reader)

A newly revised and updated edition of the influential guide that explores one of the most powerful ways to attract attention and influence behavior--fascination--and how businesses, products, and ideas can become irresistible to consumers.In an oversaturated culture defined by limited time and focus, how do we draw attention to our messages, our ideas, and our products when we only have seconds to compete?Award-winning consultant and speaker Sally Hogshead turned to a wide realm of disciplines, including neurobiology, psychology, and evolutionary anthropology. She began to see specific and interesting patterns that all centered on one element: fascination.Fascination is the most powerful way to capture an audience and influence behavior. This essential book examines the principles behind fascination and explores how those insights can be put to use to sway choices such aswhich brand of frozen peas you pick in the case;which city, neighborhood, and house you choose;which profession and company you join;where you go on vacation; andwhich book you buy off the shelf.Structured around the seven languages of fascination Hogshead has studied and developed--power, passion, innovation, alarm, mystique, prestige, and alert--Fascinate explores how anyone can use these triggers to make products, messages, and services more fascinating--and more successful.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Psychology, Personal Development, Self Help, Buisness, Productivity

Audio CD

First published April 5, 2016

Reviews

[Peyton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Snapshot Review: Interesting and original. Scientific? No. Useful to an extent.

Full Review: I like how Sally categorizes the 7 emotional triggers. The problem is, in the second edition of this book she changed them! I have both versions and she changes around Vice for Passion or something like that. She does this with another trigger too.

This made me think: she's still experimenting or toying with this idea still.

It's not mature yet if she has to change it around. The problem is, there's no consistency. To take it further, she say's the science is there but I think it's all anecdotal or a form of confirmation bias. I could be wrong and that's harsh to say without seeing the data, but I don't think her stumbling upon these 7 types is through rigorous science. I think they fit into what she wanted to be. We all do this sort of thing, but I wouldn't claim it as science. (Seeing the actual survey and data points would help.)

I think few things actually make for great typologies. In her next book (You), she tries to finalize this idea with a complex personality typology. It would be more credible if she were a social scientist or behavioral psychologist, but she's not. She's in sales and marketing. Normally we shouldn't believe anything these people say. Should it be different in this case? That's up for you to decide.

However, I applaud her effort. Though the science is lacking, I think she has a useful way to think about consumer behavior. This is a fuzzy industry so anyone can get away with making outrageous claims. But I think the most helpful concept is when she applies the 7 fascination triggers to a brand chemistry set. That is, how much of each trigger is in the DNA of the brand. It's actually a fun exercise. She should go further with this and show how when companies are off-brand with any campaign, it's probably because they deterred from the original chemistry composition. Now that makes total sense.

This is a book I'd read if I wanted to get a few more ideas for branding and differentiation. But remember, despite the thousands of "tests" she did to come to her conclusion, a lot of it sounds like anecdotal work. She very well could have made a legit scientific study of it all, but it just wasn't written in a way that made it believable. I know she collected reams of data from surveys but we all know that ain’t scientific proof. That’s just data and maybe a pattern. I would love it if real science could back this because it’s such a good idea. But since marketing will always be in the realm of pseudoscience of pop psychology, maybe it was the best she could do. No fault there.
In all, good branding ideas, but dodgy claims and evidence.

[Nikolas Larum · Rating 5 out of 5]

When we worked together, my brother often said, “You know me, I ride for the brand.” His comment, born from our love of the Western and the reality of our step-father’s livelihood is a strong reminder of what we mean when we talk about branding. In the days before ear tags, cattle had their flesh seared with the indelible mark of their owner’s identity. Our modern use of “brand” derives from the Middle English use of a torch. Burning wood heats iron and a branding-iron imprints identity. As Sally Hogshead so aptly demonstrates, we all carry a fire—corporately and individually—that is our brand. Her gift is a replicable method for identifying and leveraging one’s brand effectively and affordably.

If the reader is familiar with any of the various personality type inventories such as Myers-Briggs, DISC, or OCEAN then the sense of this work will be even that much more apparent. Hogshead has identified seven archetypes of brand advantage and illustrates how and why they work to draw the public’s attention. She then moves into how these can be used in a combination of ways for tactical gains in changing circumstances without a loss of central value or identity.

Reading this work fired my imagination, has reignited my personal author branding message, and has inspired deep conversations on marketing and branding in the company I work for. Whether we recognize it or not, most of us are involved in the business of marketing. Fascinate provides great tools to increase the impact and effectiveness of those efforts.

[Dustin Tramel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like the concept of this book - tap into your passions to connect with customers. Personal and business assessment tools rise and fall on application which in my opinion this book seriously lacks. I would have appreciated a lot more application and guidance with using this assessment in real world situations. The first half of the book does contain some really insightful commentary on marketing and customer motivation. What the author does a great job of explaining is the benefit of crafting "experiences" for people rather than just selling a product (see the story of the orange and green tickets on p.19). "All day, we passively take in messages from the world around us, even if we're not conscious of those messages. Enough messages, drilled in over decades, will eventually shape our actions." p.38. The second half walks through the various results of the assessment. Even though application is minimal, this is still a fascinating book (no pun intended).

[Melanie H · Rating 2 out of 5]

Do you ever feel that some marketing books are written, well, for marketing? And not to sound like a cynical marketing person, but all I can think is that this is some elaborate lead generation program.

The kicker is I really like the premise and the first part of the book is very engaging. Her story about Jagermeister's brand position is spot on, but those engaging real-world stories seem to die-out in the middle of Hogshead work and it's page after page of if your brand is X and you want to integrate Y here are some words. There's simply too much of that for the modern marketer (even one who enjoys reading marketing books).

Speaking of cynical, it's possible I can't handle the banality of this book because the inter webs has ruined me for so much how-to. Where's the video? Where's the infographic? (Although she does include many infographics).

This books wasn't for me, at least right now.

[PG "I ain't finna read that" · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 7 Brand Advantages are great templates for narrowing on how you want to express your brand identity so for that I'll give it three stars, but this book is annoying to read. Just loot the information from those few chapters (read with your brand in mind for context) then put it back on the shelf.

[CatReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sally Hogshead is an advertising executive-turned-professional speaker who's written several books on business and professional branding. I've previously listened to her book on personal branding, 2014's How the World Sees You: Discover Your Highest Value Through the Science of Fascination. This book, Fascinate, is the heavily-revised and differently-subtitled 2016 version of a book Hogshead originally published in 2010, Fascinate: Your 7 Triggers to Persuasion and Captivation, and focuses on business branding. I found it quick and engaging to listen to, though I'm not its target audience.

My statistics:
Book 295 for 2024
Book 1898 cumulatively

[Lauren Petrullo · Rating 5 out of 5]

The audio book was awesome. I’ve sent this to a few friends now.

There’s so much that at one point I stopped taking notes and decided to listen though once.

Get my fascinate team copies (have them do a full listen) - and then we reread this slowly, together, and make actionable steps.

We’ll do the second read focusing on the innovation brand pieces first- skipping the others cause that’s our brand’s fascination filter.

This is a good book but I hope there’s ultimately a workshop for this. Sally’s examples were impressive and relative.

Living in orlando, I especially loved the Disney and local tie ins.


How did I not know of Sally before.

I referred her to friends speaking at SXSW cause she’s a panelist I want to hear more from.

Just know it’s both light and dense.

Also, while reading this I decided fascination is my thing ANd got a compliment from a stranger that I am the most fascinating person she’s met - so thanks Sally for the immediate compliment ROI hahahah

[Moni Couttolenc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Obsessed with this book. I love reading in digital, Kindle, but this book is a guide I need to look at every day, ai need the hard copy, wow. It blower my mind, if only we all new our Fascination, I did made the test and the results were fascinating, now after reading the book, everything makes sense.

[Jasmine · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good! I’ve been trying to find more of an edge with my business and this is exactly what I needed.

[Roberto Fernando Fernando Salmon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un libro fascinante, muy recomendable, excelente manera de explicar.

[Susan “Sam” · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's a textbook and I'm not taking the class.

[Brandon Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Different approach to understanding your message

As a small business owner, I am always looking for ways to get more clear on the message I communicate to the public. I found this book to be helpful in gaining additional clarity on my brand.

What I liked:
The book gave me a way to label and communicate our message in a way that is easy to remember and understanding understand.
The information on the tactics is a great resource to support your main advantage.
There is application work at the end of the book to put it all together.
It was enjoyable to read.

Dislikes:
I thought there could've been a little more practical application work.
The section on breaking down the 7 advantages was too much info that you can't do anything with in the moment unless you already know your advantage. I would skip this section and only use it as a resource as you build out your advantage.

[Aaron · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm probably a bit cynical as I have read a number of books like this one (all of which have very similar approaches and points). It's fine, but not mind-blowing. If you've read the Heaths, Jonah Berger, and similar authors, you won't find anything new here. If you're unfamiliar, then you'll probably get one or two nuggets.

[RobinTheWings · Rating 1 out of 5]

She missed one of the biggest Fascinators... BREVITY. Bloated and overstuffed. When she eventually gets to the meat of the book it ends up being just a subjective list of adjectives that are associated together. Download the Fascinate (10 pages of text) pdf online for free and don't bother reading this book.

[Nikica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Form over actual new information

Forces form over truth. Not every kind of communication can by boiled down to one of the 7 advantages. If there's any one thing to take away from this book, it's "be consistent in your communication".

[Sheena Abraham · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy, practical, powerful read that can be applied easily to your marketing.

[Sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

the first part is so good that the second part seems banal

[NIZAR N NAKFOOR · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascination Demystified.

Sally Hogshead book “Fascinate” is the closest that anyone had reached so far towards making Fascination a science after a long history of it being perceived a kind of Mystery and at best an Art.

I believe that for the foreseeable future, Fascination will remain an Art, but Sally Hogshead removed the mystery out of it and put it on a solid path of becoming a science.

What fascinated me most about the book “Fascinate” is that despite it stating the obvious or the common sense, Sally did it in the most fascinating way. Marketing and Branding will never be the same after you read this book. So, read, get fascinated and fascinate…

Nizar Nakfoor

[Keith Blakemore-Noble · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started off well with some great stories of branding which were very interesting.

Unfortunately, the meat of the book was less good.

Breaks everyone down into 7 types, and gives you words to use in all your writing based on those types. You can find out your type from a free test on their site.
The descriptions of the 7 types do seem to fit reasonably well, but the description of how to use your type to your advantage is pretty scant.

And then, it lists loads of combinations of how you can use your primary and secondary type, but never gives you a hint on how to determine your secondary type, which does seem a bit of an oversight.

All in all a few useful pointers, and some great stories, but falls short for me.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Her theory is interesting. Well presented. Worthwhile to business, non-profits, etc but maybe not for the solo practitioner, especially at the beginning. However, knowing a little more about yourself is always valuable. Her categories are logical and meaningful and the research is designed to add value. She remains positive throughout and believes that everyone can bring value by focusing on what they do well and find assistance from those who are skilled in what the lack. More valuable for the HR representative than a solo author but it certainly made me think about focusing my ability to fascinate. Or rather use my sarcasm effectively.

[Csaba Szecsenyi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good enough

The book contains some interesting stories, but I find the main part of the book boring and not relevant for me. I understand marketing is a very important in sales but it is very hard to find a book about manufacturing and more brick and mortar part of everyday life. I have the feeling that the product itself is not interesting any more. This book is usefull for the marketing department and for those few who has a small company who is selling its own product. I think what people should realize is that they should contribute to the whole and i think marketing is not a good way of contribution.

[Alex Devero · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book doesn't bring anything new, or groundbreaking, to the world of marketing and branding. It builds mostly on already known marketing and branding concepts. It just wraps these concepts in a new package, with a new trademark on the top.

Nonetheless, this book is a good read and one still can learn a lot from it. It provides some interesting ideas on how business can build their brands, and approach their marketing strategy.

So, even if you already know a lot about the topic, you can still learn a lot of interesting things, strategies and tactics.

P.S.: If you want to safe time, skip the first part of the book.

[Gabrielle Sias · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are looking for a book to read, remember a few details from and move on, this book is not it. If you are looking for a book to add to your collection and reference from when you are “in a slump” or just motivated to look for new ideas, this is the book for you. Buy it, keep it near your workspace, and reference it as needed. Personally, I have used this concept to develop some of my best ideas thus far.

[Valeria Dzhodzheva · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am happy I gave the book a second chance. The first 2 times I sat to read it, it seemed that it took too long to open up.

Now that I finished it, I rate it with 5 stars. It was entertaining, full of real brand examples and most fascinating.

I have highlighted something almost on each page.

If you look to define the message, look, presence, goals and vision of your brand, put your hands on this on.

[Jillmarie Clay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners

Sally does a fantastic job at making marketing and branding, two essential functions for any business, accessible and doable for anyone. I recommend it for anyone who is trying to differentiate themselves and stand out from the crowd.

[Kate Standiford · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really worked for me. I was so impressed with the content, insight, anecdotes, and applications. I don’t think I have ever taken so many notes or done so much brainstorming from a book. I often found the anecdotes even more triggering to inspire than the framework Sally was describing.

It will be something I return to in the future for marketing inspiration, I’m sure.

[Abbie Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Would it be redundant to call a book about fascination... fascinating? Well, too bad, because it was. I learned so much about being fascinating and the importance of making others crave fascination. Eye opening read for sure. And very actionable, at that. Must read for business owners of any kind.

[Amanda Hite · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the first half, the science, concepts, stories and examples. The second half defines its mode, is more tactical, and goes through a ton of combinations which felt like more page space than necessary. Either way I’d recommend this book to any team member or client of mine. It’s right on and I really respect the author.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is profoundly good! Sally keeps the reader happily engaged throughout as she unpacks the fundamentals of branding in layman's terms. I highly recommend Fascinate for entrepreneurs and those hoping to unlock the secrets of branding and the aura of fascination as a whole.

[Alicia Scarborough · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty dang good!

Most marketing books make my eyes glaze over with sheer boredom.

Not this book. It was to the point and FUN!

I learned so much. I will be putting to use the lessons and techniques that were unveiled in this book.