IM MOUREY, Ph.D.
Marketing. Creativity. Innovation.
J
Growing up, Jim wrote and performed comedy sketches, even competing on an international level with the goal of creating the smartest humor he could. Now, Jim applies that skill when writing about marketing and psychology in a smart-but-funny way.
BOOKS
Humor, heart, and a whole lot of marketing magic...
People do weird things...
For example, why do people flock to a sale if they can "buy two shirts and get a third shirt half off" but not when they can "spend $25 on three shirts instead of $30?" Why do people trust a drug named Levitra but not one called Vardenafil (...despite the fact that both are the exact same drug)? Why does a product selling for $50.00 seem so much more expensive than a similar one selling for $49.99?
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In Urge, Dr. James Mourey addresses these questions and more. Mourey begins with two admissions: 1) he likes to judge people, and 2) people-watching is his favorite pastime (but not in like a creepy, voyeuristic sort of way). Consumers, it turns out, are fun to watch not just because of the crazy, seemingly irrational things they do, but also because of astonishingly efficient and automatic choices they make on a day-to-day basis.
Known for his energetic, engaging presentation style, Mourey takes the reader on an educational, applicable, and strangely funny voyage that covers both the principles of Marketing as well as the ins and outs of Consumer Behavior. Divided into three parts - the Self, the Situation, and the Solution - Urge teaches readers how an individual's perceptions, thoughts, emotions, attitudes, and personality interact with their culture, context, situation, and social relationships to affect how consumers value products and services and ultimately make decisions. The book also details The URG3S Model of Consumer Behavior, a comprehensive, easy-to-use, and effective approach for anyone in the business of marketing, which, let's face it, is all of us.
How do I put together a modern marketing campaign?
The brain is a curious thing...If you are “right-brained” you see the world through a creative lens: you appreciate art, you are a lover of music, you are a designer. You are fun to have at a party. If you are “left-brained,” you see the world through a logical lens: you are a thinker, an organizer, an analyst who prefers data and numbers over pretty pictures and bright, shiny objects...you may not be the life of the party, but you sure are good at planning them. There’s just one problem with this: that’s not how the brain actually works. In spite of this inaccuracy, the right/left-brained myth survives and continues to shape entire disciplines. In fact, since its inception, marketing has largely been divided between "creatives" and "corporates," agencies and account managers, the sensationally stylish and the stodgy suits. The result? Beautiful advertisements (...that serve no business purpose) or functional marketing campaigns (...that are dry, unoriginal, and uninspired). But what if we lived in a world where marketing was treated as equal parts art and science?
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In Fusion, James Mourey, Ph.D., presents a step-by-step framework that integrates business and brilliance to help companies, organizations, and individuals design and execute integrated marketing campaigns from beginning to end. Fusion makes marketing and the creative process accessible to everyone, from small-business entrepreneurs to seasoned corporate marketers, non-profit organizations to individuals refining their personal brand. In each of us is the ability to be "right-brained" and "left-brained," to use our entire brain to dream up marketing campaigns built on a foundation of clearly-defined business objectives without forsaking style or sexiness (...which is also sound dating advice).
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Dr. Mourey begins Fusion by pointing out three important ideas: 1) we have never been more connected to each other than we are today, 2) we no longer live in a 'traditional advertising'-centric (i.e., TV commercials, print ads, etc.) world, and 3) we all have the creative tools essential for developing marketing campaigns at our disposal, increasingly for free. The era of corporate suits and hired creative agencies is rapidly being replaced by a world where 'Big Data' can inspire a 'Big Idea,' middlemen are being minimized, and D.I.Y. culture dictates everything from how we build our homes, dress ourselves, and design our lives...then post about it on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram. Fusion is the D.I.Y. guide for modern marketing campaigns.
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With over fifteen years of corporate and creative career experience, Dr. Mourey relies on his professional skills, his passion for all-things creative, and his relatable sense of humor to get past the jargon of "SWOT analyses" and "picas" to provide practical, useful tools for anyone interested in marketing. Much like the brain needs both halves to work together to function more effectively, so, too, can various components of marketing work together to create a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. Fusion brings those skills together to spark a creative explosion that will forever change the way you think about and practice the art and the science of marketing. So, what are we waiting for? Let's get started...
No one ever teaches you how to relate...
Think about it: when, in your formal education, has anyone ever explained what a “relationship” actually is? When, if ever, has anyone talked about the features of a successful, healthy, and mutually-beneficial relationship? And in what class has anyone ever provided insight about specific steps you could take to improve a struggling relationship or, more positively, to secure a strong relationship? If you are like most people, the answer to those questions is likely, “Never! And how strange that I’ve never thought about that, Jim!” I know, right?!
Some nice people might say, “Well, my parents taught me...I think,” upon which we all have a chuckle knowing how most of our parents just figured out ways not to kill each other over the course of their relationship (because, spoiler alert, nobody taught them how to do relationships, either). Others think back to that awkward day in grade school when boys and girls were separated and had to watch videos with bad acting about what to do when you had “weird feelings down there.” That’s not what this book is about...well, not exactly, but I suppose if you become better at relating, that could happen.
But relationships are not just romantic. In fact, the majority of the relationships we have in life are not of the romantic variety. From family to friends, colleagues to clients, we spend more time engaging with non-romantic partners than we do romantic ones in our day-to-day lives. Plus, our increasingly connected world has thrown some extra spice in the relationship recipe, particularly social/professional networking and online dating sites. The good news is this: a relationship is a relationship, and the variables that make a romantic relationship happy, healthy, and valuable are the same variables that make friendly, familial, and professional relationships stronger and more rewarding. Wouldn’t you like to know what those variables are?
In The Relationship Diet, James Mourey, Ph.D., combines half-a-century worth of social psychology research with over a decade of corporate consulting experience to provide a novel relationship framework that will forever change the way you think about and engage in relationships with others. Whether you are a senior executive seeking a better corporate culture (for your company) or a single soul seeking somebody to love (for yourself), The Relationship Diet provides the specific tools and language necessary to build better relationships in every corner of your life.
Dr. Mourey begins The Relationship Diet by discussing what a “relationship” is in the first place and why humans have evolved to value relating with others. From there, readers complete the RelatEd diagnostic, an assessment tool that provides unique, customized feedback regarding one’s relationship-building strengths (gains) and liabilities (losses). With diagnostic scores in hand, readers learn about the variables science tells us produce stronger relationships and develop an action plan to improve their relationships. So, if you are ready to become a better boss, a better worker, a better colleague, a better parent, a better friend, a better partner, a better person, and maybe...just maybe...a better lover, let’s get started on the relationship education we should have learned as children but never did. Lest you think you’re the only person who wishes relationships in your life could be better, rest assured that one thing is certain: we can all relate. Let’s do just that...