Available:*
Library | Item Barcode | Call Number | Material Type | Item Category 1 | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... | 30000000095962 | HF5415.135.H34 1988 | Open Access Book | Book | Searching... |
On Order
Reviews 3
Publisher's Weekly Review
``This is the last word on multimillion-dollar fads like the Hula Hoop, Pet Rock, Rubik's Cube and the author's own Wallwalker.'' There are many tips and hard information on government bureaus, distributors, trade fairs, etc., all told in what PW called ``a sassy, bubbly style that makes the guide fun to read and encourages dreams of untold millions.'' (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
Fads may be seen as interesting social phenomena, but Ken Hakuta prefers to see them as money-making opportunities. Hakuta has already made his millions ($20 million, he claims), and now he exuberantly wants to share his unconventional, iconoclastic business insights. The key ingredient in the ``fad industry'' (there are, in fact, even annual fad trade shows) is imagination. The original product need not be yours, as Hakuta demonstrates in his own case. His son received a small rubber octopus from his grandparents in Japan. It took Hakuta to see it as a Wacky Wallwalker, popularized as a giveaway in a box of Kellogg's cereal. Licensing, distribution, pricing, marketing, and luck all play roles in fads, and Hakuta offers pertinent tips aplenty. Appendixes list testing labs, patent/inventor organizations, and major chain and toy stores and distributors. To be indexed. DAR. 658.5'75 New products / Marketing / Fads [OCLC] 88-2732
Library Journal Review
Hakuta, who introduced that sticky glob, the Wacky Wallwalker, to America, defines a fad as ``something everyone wants yesterday and no one wants tomorrow.'' He offers advice on marketing a fad, emphasizing a fast, lean, tight-budget operation, and discusses finances, rights and protections, exposure, production, pricing, and distribution. He also reveals his ``Dr. Fad'' persona and promotes his Fad Hotline and Fad Fairs. Though not a balanced, detailed how-to, his tips may be helpful to would-be entrepreneurs. The book also has wider appeal as a fun-to-read success story. Recommended for public libraries. Elin B. Christianson, Library Consultant, Hobart, Ind. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
