The Regis touch. (book reviews) Russ Lockwood.

When Apple Computer, Intel, Genentech, and Businessland want marketing advice, who do they call? Regis McKenna, the president and founder of Regis McKenna Inc., an international marketing consulting firm. As Apple President John Sculley notes, "When Regis speaks . . . Apple listens."

The Regis Touch compiles the marketing ideas of McKenna in one volume. In the book, McKenna details his favorite philosophy: dynamic positioning--how to portray the product, the market, and the company--in the creation of new markets instead of sharing old ones. He outlines the process of developing a marketing strategy and discusses the ten main reasons why such plans fail. Finally, he offers a true insider's look at the initial marketing of the Macintosh.

Most readers will find the information within useless--after all, the book is geared for marketing managers, not consumers. And we would really like to see a retrospective look at the Macintosh campaign, especially in light of insignificant corporate sales and generally flat sales overall.

However, many of Creative's readers will find the insight fascinating, as executives apply McKenna's ideas to their office work and individual software developers realize the importance of marketing their products. For these people, The Regis Touch may well become the bible of marketing.

Review Grade: A