Taking Down Goliath ─ Digital Marketing Strategies for Beating Competitors With 100 Times Your Spending Power

The marketing middle classes used to get left out in the cold. Big brands attracted all the attention and the highest priced agency talent, leaving everyone else stuck in a marketing no-man's-land. Thankfully, the ground has since shifted—and evened—beneath everyone's feet. It's time for the big guys to learn from the little guys.
Thanks in part to the digital revolution, there has been a tremendous transition towards a more democratic marketing world, one in which you don't need a huge budget to get a lot done. Success now goes to those advertisers who understand how to best leverage what they have, investing in smarter strategies rather than just bigger or more expensive campaigns. Taking Down Goliath profiles the tactics needed to optimize the potential of digital marketing and realize its promise of a more level playing field. Industry veterans Kevin Ryan and Rob 'Spider' Graham explain what to do, where to look, how to execute, and most of all, what to avoid as you set out to make the most of the what you've got. The book combines case studies from Bugaboo, Wendy Davis, the Daily Meal, and every day entrepreneurs who are taking down goliath on a daily basis—brands that emerged using tactical outlay and overarching strategies that their Goliath competitors couldn't see coming. Readers will learn, through step-by-step guides, how to identify their target audience and create points of engagement between brands and consumers. Drawing on their years in the trenches, working with some of the world's top brands and teaching mid-sized companies how to compete, Ryan and Graham outline how to build a sound digital strategy in creatively cost-efficient ways. While most books focus on one medium (such as social media or search engine optimization), Taking Down Goliath takes a holistic approach—explaining each digital marketing channel in detail and teaching readers how to combine them synergistically.

For the first time, it's completely possible to compete with a brand boasting 100 times your spending power. It requires, however, the courage to invest in strategy. Taking Down Goliath provides the toolkit you need to make that investment.

Kevin Ryan is the founder of the digital advertising firm Motivity Marketing, Inc. He has appeared on CNN and been featured in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, ABC News, The New York Times, Forbes, and Advertising Age. Prior to launching Motivity Marketing, Ryan founded Kinetic Results, an Advertising Age Top 20 performance marketing firm, served as VP, Global Content Director for Search Engine Watch and Search Engine Strategies, and VP of Interactive Media for the Interpublic Group agency, Wahlstrom Interactive.

Rob 'Spider' Graham is a twenty-year veteran of digital media buying, selling and production. He is currently the founder and CEO of Trainingcraft, LLC, a company providing digital advertising, marketing, and sales consulting—as well as training solutions—to publishers and advertisers. Spider works with a number of training partners including the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB.net) and eConsultancy (econsultancy.com), in addition to providing direct training solutions to companies like Comcast, Politico, and American Cities Business Journals.