Brand Mysticism: Cultivate Creativity and Intoxicate Your Audience

Steve Grasse and his agency, Quaker City Mercantile, have been behind some seriously disruptive drinks brands. They created both Hendrick's Gin and Sailor Jerry Rum. They were also behind the resurgence of Narragansett Beer and Miller High Life. And they have managed Guinness's advertising in the US for years, as well as helping Guinness launch their innovation center in Dublin.I had the chance to meet Steve early in the year and ultimately hired Quaker City Mercantile to manage translating the conceptual brand strategy I had developed for a whiskey re-brand into a tangible product and brand world. Given we were slated to be working together, I wanted to buy his book to better understand his ethos and process. And I am thrilled with the result.As his book clearly depicts, his approach can best be described somewhere between iconoclastic and trolling. While that sounds trite, he is incredibly thoughtful in his approach; it is not just a matter of seeking attention. Rather, he believes in ignoring trends and building deep brand worlds that surprise, delight, and deliver the unexpected. As the book demonstrates, it is critical to seek inspiration from far flung corners and to find ways these can authentically resonate - not only in the market, but for the brand you are building specifically. He often describes his approach as building a brand onion - something with so many layers and layered references that the more people engage the world you build, the more they will uncover about it.It's nothing new, but as he demonstrates throughout the book, his commitment to this approach and his creative execution to bring it to life are rather extraordinary. It seems his and my approaches - at least conceptually - are very similar. The major difference is that while we both believe in similar approaches to brand building, brand positioning, inspiration-seeking, and referential brand worlds, his execution can veer into the lane of trolling, levity, genuine out of the box, big swing, crazy ideas. Again, very thoughtful. But also very risky. And in his career extremely effective.Hearing the stories that detail these ideas, how they came about, and how he convinced his clients to actually buy in makes for a really fun read. Unsurprisingly, it is both unserious and extremely serious at the same time. But, despite being a "marketing book" (a notion he rejects immediately in the introduction), the way it's written actually makes it a page turner. I read the whole thing while in-transit for a business trip because I felt it offered far better entertainment than anything I could expect from my phone or the in-flight entertainment offered. Even if you're not in this world professionally, I actually think this book is worth reading, even if just to hear some of the absolutely crazy things this guy has pulled off.

This book is awesome! It’s awesome because it’s different than anything else out there, and it will inspire the hell out of you. Steve’s mind is fascinating - he sees life like no one else on the planet, and as he recounts his life’s tales you discover a perspective you’ve never experienced before. I’m not kidding – it is DIFFERENT. Just look at all the original brands he's created over the years! They're all so unique and inspired. Some of his stories are wild, most are hilarious, and all of his stories could only come from the mind of Steve. And while the book is not prescriptive at all (he knows real answers can only be found within) the reader picks up plenty of practical advice along the way about how to avoid the trap of following the herd, discover the thing that makes YOU different, and then how you can put great things out in to the world, too! This book is a work of art. It’s one of my favorite bios of all-time, and if you’re interested in creativity, or starting a company, or being an artist, or just great stories that will make you laugh your ass off, this book is for you.

Whether you like it or not this is not a cocktail book with recipes, nor is it about marketing or self help or business. This book tackles all of the topics of the aforementioned & pairs with anecdotes and real life case studies. An autobiography of Steven's work encased in a beautiful, witty and perhaps romantic binding.There's hundreds of books out every single year on various topics, only a few can shape the future, this is amongst those few. Whether your in hospitality or marketing or neither, this book is an easy read at bedtime. The chapters will have you chuckling so hard your significant other will be tempted to smother you with a pillow.If you've ever seen the Most Interesting Man In The World commercials, Steven Grasse is the real life Most Interesting Man In The World.

Marketing books are usually a lot of words about a bunch of nothing. In fact, lately marketing seems like a bunch of nothing - just a lot of folks demanding data and AI. This book gets to the heart of what marketing is, or what it should be - basically a gut punch to the consumer that gets them to look up and change course. We need more stories about how these gut punches come to be and less books about making sure to meditate before you put your to do list together.Good advertising is pop culture and pop culture is the history of the future. Unfortunately in this business, history, the stories of successes and failures are often overlooked for what's new and next. If nothing else, this book makes the point that looking backwards before you look forward is critical to creating the future.This book also happens to be wildly entertaining. And that on its own should be reason enough to read it.

Brand Mysticism was fantastic! If you pair it with a libation, it’s like Steven himself is there telling the story, drinking with the reader. It only takes 6-8 drinks to complete! It’s always nice to read books by still living people, that are certain to go down in history. It leaves you with a more enthusiastic outlook on life.

3 stars for a well designed book. Loved the illustrations. Steve obviously loves himself and thinks he’s the greatest thing that’s ever happened to branding. Kinda made me wanna barf. Aside from the self love page after page. A few nice stories. Not a must have though.

Steven clearly "gets it" in terms of spelling out some critical components to building a spirits brand (as well as calls out some common mis-steps to avoid). The book spells these out in a way that's easy to read, includes tangible & recent examples, and mixes in a fair amount of personality to boot. For anyone starting or thinking about starting a brand in the beverage alcohol space, or even broader CPG space - I'd say it's worth the read and you can finish it in a weekend or a long plane flight.

Exactly what you need to read if you’re working on your own brand, new or current

Easy read with some positive learnings