In case you haven't noticed, there's a whole new retail and marketing scene out there. It's complicated, intensely competitive, and changing at a rate that's hard to keep up with. Malls and downtown strips are spawning theme stores such as Warner and Disney. At the Bloomingdale's courtesy counter in New York, staff who speak 30 languages are available to answer questions for international clientele. Wal-Mart has stores in China. Subway ads are considered chic. The game of brand management is getting grittier, with the Coca-Colas and Calvin Kleins of the world overrunning the selling floors and knocking out the smaller niche players. And with all the merchandise tie-ins and pre-release advertising, you don't just go to the movies anymore—you attend "cinematic happenings" that are almost impossible to resist. Huge, costly marketing ploys are creating demand for things that didn't exist before and for things that consumers simply never thought they needed before. MasterMinding the Store helps you deal with the present situation and prepare for the future. How so? By imparting the creative insights of Donald Ziccardi, who has logged 20 years in marketing and advertising; his experience is woven into over 100 real-life anecdotes and case studies about media strategies, creative executions, and agency-client relationships that provide the combined wisdom of years and years of experience. In its down-to-earth, breezy style, MasterMinding the Store: Demystifies the marketing planning process with easy-to-follow steps Teaches how to develop and deliver a powerful, creative advertising message that meets marketing objectives Tells how to quickly study your company, customers, and competition, then stake out a marketing position and set realistic budgets Examines winning and losing principles of actual advertising, public relations, and sales promotion campaigns Amid the new competitive climate, it's not enough to produce a quality product or a useful service. You have to exploit the power of the media and utilize new resources available in technology, research, and marketing to tap into the minds and hearts of a more demanding consumer and capitalize on shifting demographics and lifestyles. To do all this, you need your "corporate constitution," the right marketing plan. Section 1 of the book details the marketing plan, including guidelines on how to get started, how to successfully use good and not-so-good news on the state of your company, and why it's important to know as much as possible about your consumer and your competitors. Section 2 is loaded with real-life accounts and behind-the-scenes anecdotes that teach valuable lessons on moving from the creative to the practical, media planning, sales promotion, point-of-purchase, personal selling, and public relations. The book concludes with an in-depth analysis of budgeting. Whether you are a seasoned professional or a newcomer in fashion design, wholesaling, retailing, or advertising, or whether you are a small business owner or a student of business, MasterMinding the Store will help you cut marketing costs and maximize advertising dollars. It will help you achieve every retailer's ultimate goal—bringing the right products and services to customers where and when they want them. Praise for MasterMinding the Store "I highly recommend MasterMinding the Store. The ins and outs of advertising and marketing in this important guide will help not only marketing managers, but everyone who has ever considered advertising a product or service." — Linda Allard, Design Director, Ellen Tracy "Don's book is a marvelous blend of broad and useful knowledge coming from hard, personal experience and an active, imaginative mind. It's all interwoven with a powerful presence of uncommon common sense." — Ken Kolker, Senior Advisor and former Chairman, May Merchandising Company "A first-rate guide on how to create effective advertising and marketing campaigns, whether you're designing fashion or selling hardware. Don combines his ability as a realistic businessman and a dynamic creative force in the message of this book." — Stu Schwartz, President, Annie Sez "In the increasingly competitive world of selling, good straightforward advice has been a rare commodity. No longer. MasterMinding the Store is a smart, well thought out approach on how to sell smart and be a savvy marketer as well. It is wonderfully conversational, has a great sense of humor, is well paced, and if that is not enough, there is lots of 'must have' information. If you want to improve your selling skills, start by reading this book. It will make a difference." — Sandy Golinkin, Publisher, Allure "Don's varied experiences bring a unique and insightful perspective on marketing as we enter the new millennium." — Art Reiner, President and CEO, Finlay Fine Jewelry; former Chairman and CEO of Macy's Northeast "Don Ziccardi captures the nuts and bolts of advertising wisdom in an easy, readable format which should not only be read and remembered, but followed." — Glenn Palmer, President, Liz Claiborne Collection and Studio "Don Ziccardi has all the answers to the questions that we so often forget to ask. After reading this book, advertising and marketing executives will agree that Don gives us the vision and the inspiration we need to move forward in this very competitive and difficult economy." — Jeannette Chang, Publisher, Harper's Bazaar

In case you haven't noticed, there's a whole new retail and marketing scene out there. It's complicated, intensely competitive, and changing at a rate that's hard to keep up with. MasterMinding the Store helps you deal with the present situation and prepare for the future. How so? By imparting the creative insights of Donald Ziccardi, who has logged 20 years in marketing and advertising; his experience is woven into over 100 real-life anecdotes and case studies about media strategies, creative executions, and agency-client relationships that provide the combined wisdom of years and years of experience.

The New York Times bestselling guide to thinking like literature's greatest detective. "Steven Pinker meets Sir Arthur Conan Doyle" (Boston Globe), by the author of The Confidence Game. No fictional character is more renowned for his powers of thought and observation than Sherlock Holmes. But is his extraordinary intellect merely a gift of fiction, or can we learn to cultivate these abilities ourselves, to improve our lives at work and at home? We can, says psychologist and journalist Maria Konnikova, and in Mastermind she shows us how. Beginning with the “brain attic”—Holmes’s metaphor for how we store information and organize knowledge—Konnikova unpacks the mental strategies that lead to clearer thinking and deeper insights. Drawing on twenty-first-century neuroscience and psychology, Mastermind explores Holmes’s unique methods of ever-present mindfulness, astute observation, and logical deduction. In doing so, it shows how each of us, with some self-awareness and a little practice, can employ these same methods to sharpen our perceptions, solve difficult problems, and enhance our creative powers. For Holmes aficionados and casual readers alike, Konnikova reveals how the world’s most keen-eyed detective can serve as an unparalleled guide to upgrading the mind.

Set in Guatemala and based on a true story, “this intriguing literary thriller will appeal to lovers of international crime fiction” (Booklist). Guillermo Rosensweig is a member of the Guatemalan elite, runs a successful law practice, has a wife and kids—and a string of gorgeous lovers. Then one day he crosses paths with Maryam, a Lebanese beauty with whom he falls desperately in love . . . to the point that when he loses her, he sees no other option than to orchestrate his own death. The Mastermind is based on the bizarre real-life story of Rodrigo Rosenberg, a Guatemalan attorney who, in 2009, planned his own assassination after leaving behind a video accusing Guatemalan president Álvaro Colom of his murder. This is a fascinating depiction of modern-day Guatemala and the corrupt, criminal, and threatening reality that permeates its society. “Engaging . . . Raw and unforgettable.” —Publishers Weekly “This is a compelling story that can easily be read in a single sitting. And, as in any good mystery, when things go wrong, the novel becomes that much more interesting. Even for readers with no interest in Guatemala per se, this is one worth reading for the sheer joy of the writing itself.” —Reviewing the Evidence “A riveting account of one man’s high-stakes journey to self-reckoning.” —Cristina García, author of Dreaming in Cuban

Following a quiet period in global M&A activity, a new boom seems to be underway, but in an age where two-thirds of all merger deals can be said to fail (where deals fall short of the minimum required financial returns to the acquiring company), how can future success be guaranteed? And what can acquirers, and their shareholders and advisers, do to improve the chances of success? Masterminding the Deal looks at performance in two critical areas - merger segmentation (the identification of critical characteristics and attributes separating more successful mergers from the rest) and category-specific synergy diagnosis (the differentiation of synergy benefits - expenses, revenues, tax - to ensure maximum rewards). Through this in-depth analysis, the book provides the managers and advisers of acquiring firms with concise and actionable frameworks to improve and enhance merger performance. Masterminding the Deal will help you to identify and apply the key components of merger success.

The first book in the action-packed trilogy from New York Times bestselling author Gordon Korman is perfect for fans of Stranger Things and James Patterson. Eli Frieden has never left Serenity, New Mexico...why would he ever want to? Then one day, he bikes to the edge of the city limits and something so crazy and unexpected happens, it changes everything. Eli convinces his friends to help him investigate further, and soon it becomes clear that nothing is as it seems in Serenity. The clues mount to reveal a shocking discovery, connecting their ideal crime-free community to some of the greatest criminal masterminds ever known. The kids realize they can trust no one—least of all their own parents.

The incredible true story of the decade-long quest to bring down Paul Le Roux—the creator of a frighteningly powerful Internet-enabled cartel who merged the ruthlessness of a drug lord with the technological savvy of a Silicon Valley entrepreneur. “A tour de force of shoe-leather reporting—undertaken, amid threats and menacing, at considerable personal risk.”—Los Angeles Times NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review • NPR • Evening Standard • Kirkus Reviews It all started as an online prescription drug network, supplying hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of painkillers to American customers. It would not stop there. Before long, the business had turned into a sprawling multinational conglomerate engaged in almost every conceivable aspect of criminal mayhem. Yachts carrying $100 million in cocaine. Safe houses in Hong Kong filled with gold bars. Shipments of methamphetamine from North Korea. Weapons deals with Iran. Mercenary armies in Somalia. Teams of hit men in the Philippines. Encryption programs so advanced that the government could not break them. The man behind it all, pulling the strings from a laptop in Manila, was Paul Calder Le Roux—a reclusive programmer turned criminal genius who could only exist in the networked world of the twenty-first century, and the kind of self-made crime boss that American law enforcement had never imagined. For half a decade, DEA agents played a global game of cat-and-mouse with Le Roux as he left terror and chaos in his wake. Each time they came close, he would slip away. It would take relentless investigative work, and a shocking betrayal from within his organization, to catch him. And when he was finally caught, the story turned again, as Le Roux struck a deal to bring down his own organization and the people he had once employed. Award-winning investigative journalist Evan Ratliff spent four years piecing together this intricate puzzle, chasing Le Roux’s empire and his shadowy henchmen around the world, conducting hundreds of interviews and uncovering thousands of documents. The result is a riveting, unprecedented account of a crime boss built by and for the digital age. Praise for The Mastermind “The Mastermind is true crime at its most stark and vivid depiction. Evan Ratliff’s work is well done from beginning to end, paralleling his investigative work with the work of the many federal agents developing the case against LeRoux.”—San Francisco Book Review (five stars) “A wholly engrossing story that joins the worlds of El Chapo and Edward Snowden; both disturbing and memorable.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)