Brain Surfing: The Top Marketing Strategy Minds in the World Paperback – November 11, 2015

Brain Surfing is aptly named. As I read it, I wondered how many different parts of my brain would be lighting up were I to be hooked up to one of those um brain scanny thingamajigs. Heather LeFevre, a highly respected ad world veteran, has written a book that takes your brain on the journey of a lifetime, around the world, through the brains of ten spectacular thinkers (including Heather's), and into the most fabulous abstract and applied thoughts about strategy, branding, and heck, life itself.Heather writes in a brisk, bold style, splicing together the multiple narratives of travel, the people she meets, her own and their ideas, and case studies in an easy to read, thought provoking fashion. Confession of an idea addict: I've already started reading three other books and magazine articles based on Heather's implicit recommendations in these pages--and let me tell you, she's got great taste in her own reading, too. This is my one quibble: I would have loved a reading list. Maybe Heather can write an annotated bibliography up and post it on her website.So, what's the gist? Well, after stints at the world's top advertising agencies where she graduated from earning her chops to becoming a respected thought leader, Heather decided she wanted to broaden her horizons even more by picking the brains of top people who had impressed her or touched her professional life. So she reached out to a bunch of them and asked if she could crash their lives for a while. Tag along. Do a day in the life. Since these were awesome folk, they said: Sure! (Actually, not all of them did, but, spoiler alert: the ones who ended up in the book did.) So she traveled around the world, sat in on these folks' meetings, got to see how they worked, lived, interacted with clients, and engaged each and every one in conversations about best practices, big ideas, and the future.This is a Think Big, inspired book that you will read at a feverish page flipping pitch but also in spurts because you periodically have to face the Big Dilemma of: I WANT TO KEEP READING versus I MUST WRITE DOWN HOW HEATHER'S INSIGHTS ARE INFORMING MY THINKING ABOUT PROBLEM X. (Take deep breaths. It's gonna be ok.) Big clients, big ideas, guerilla marketing, work-life balance, strategy in the digital age--you name it, Heather and her strategist mentors have thought about it and thought it about more deeply and more entertainingly than you could possibly imagine before picking up Brain Surfing.I highly recommend this book. Final note: I bought the hard copy, which immediately gave me a free Kindle edition. I recommend doing this--you're going to want to make notes and have this book be its own conversation starter on your desk, but you're also going to want to have it to hand whenever you have downtime so you can dive in. Enjoy!Highly recommended.

Brain Surfing is a fantastic combination of some of my favourite topics: travelling and marketing / advertising strategy. I always enjoy meeting fellow strategists around the world with whom I have interesting and enriching conversations over coffee, so this is like a concentrated expresso drip version of coffee meeting goodness in one book I wouldn't be able to find anywhere else.Heather has gathered and synthesized learnings from nine amazing professionals from different parts of the world, the kind of endeavour that takes, well in this case two weeks per person - 18 weeks - plus travelling and writing time afterwards. All the best bits of that in a thoroughly enjoyable read. I just couldn't put the book after starting and read it in a weekend.The story flows seamlessly with a chapter per mentor, from Hong Kong to Edinburgh by way of a few other destinations around Europe, Asia, and the US. Each of the nine strategists have different specialisms in fields such as branding, business innovation, social media, advertising, and marketing. Each one of them contributed valuable stories and lessons to end their chapter. The conversations, research (including other must read book references), remarks and insights into the current state and evolution of the role of strategy and strategists in the creative communications industry are brillant.I highly recommend reading it, definitely a must read for strategists in this field of work! Beyond that, I think it's definitely relevant to anyone interested in business communications, perhaps for people who are questioning what they're up to in their careers as well, and finally for people who will enjoy a fun and novel approach blending travel and business.

As someone who knows very little about marketing or traveling, I believe LeFevre has made her experience come to life in an interesting, relevant and generous manner. Brain Surfing was immediately engaging for a non marketer, so I imagine it would be infinitely more valuable for someone interested in this field.I appreciate LeFevre's humor and the way she makes others the focus of the book. I was engaged every step of the way because each person and place was so well developed.I highly recommend this book!

From the very first pages, I fell in love with it. LeFevre is one amazing woman, a genius, an en-visionary before her time. Not only did the book inspire me to come out of my rut/comfort zone but it encouraged me to be a better person and work on my flaws and weaknesses. It reminded me that we're never too old to keep striving to learn and embrace change rather than fight it.It wasn't too technical for the lay person. The few areas where she delved into marketing jargon made sense to me and I was able to easily follow. It even taught me some (a lot actually) about the marketing industry, which I didn't even realize I wanted/needed to know. She made each mentor personable and someone who I would like to meet because of their unique outlook on life. What an exciting life they all lead, including Heather. I wouldn't say I'm jealous of her adventures, but I'm certainly in awe of her determination, imagination and eagerness to expand her knowledge.I also loved how she willingly promoted other books. This isn't something I've often seen done in other books. I made a list of ones that appealed to me. It just shows her altruistic agenda. Throughout the book this theme was evident, she wanted others to benefit from her exploration as well.

It's a good book overall, however, it's not a book on marketing strategy. Heather has interviewed 9 marketing strategist from 6 countries. She has not follow a rigid pattern of questions, instead, she has kept her mind open. This has made the book an interesting read. She vists and stays with these people to get a glimpse into their life and thinking process.The Good : Heather went on a self-discovery kind of world tour, trying to understand what other people ( marketing professionals) think , plan and act. Because of Heather's open approach to questions , the book becomes really interesting.The Bad : If you're specifically looking for marketing strategy advise, this book is not the right one. It's a good general read on marketer's outlook of life.

This is such a great idea - why hasn't anyone else done it yet? Pick a bunch of strategy gurus round the world persuade them to let you work with each of them for a fortnight and write it up. I'll tell you why because it takes dedication to keep going - collect the material worldwide and then get it written up. The outcome is a state of the nation book about communications strategy by some of its savviest practitioners. So it has a rare breadth you don't get from most books about advertising. On the way you get to know Heather LeFevre a little, a formidable strategist in her own right so you get to look forward to her reflections. She's not just sitting at the foot of each guru taking notes - its a conversation and an exchange of ideas. The book is reminder of how huge communications planning has become. And there is a colony of globe trotting jobbing strategists who are accumulating a fantastic diversity of experience. This book is all about that. If you work in the business it will probably make you want to get on a plane and get a job somewhere else. That's what it did for me.

This is a highly valuable book, a great read and inspiring for any strategist out there.

Brainsurfing is more than a must read strategy book; it is a keeper on anyone’s bookshelf. Heather’s idea to visit some of the most talented brand thinkers and learn about their ways of thinking, is ingenious. The outcome is an easy read full of anecdotes, insights and a easy to apply summary of practical tools and methods.

I have recently joined the world of market research after being in academics for a long time. At times, I do come up with challenging assignments and not knowing how to crack them. Reading this book has helped me understand the orientation of how marketers look at the world. Apart from this, the book is very well written with each chapter emphasizing one point, making it interesting and insightful.