American Marketing Association
Greg and Ken's take on marketing is a pleasing, frank, and plainspoken wake up call for marketers to slow down long enough to ensure the lifelines for brand building are moored in relevance, ease, and distinctiveness with their R.E.D. framework. Relevance beats uniqueness over the long-haul, ease is the new fast, and distinctiveness beats even excellence. Greg Creed was an early pioneer and marketing legislator of today's immutable law that brands are built on the premise of experience over promise-making and, unfortunately, promise-breaking. I still have gauzy memories of Greg across the battlefield when I was on a similar journey at Burger King.' —Russ Klein, CEO, American Marketing Association
Intouch Group
'Filled with simple frameworks and engaging stories, RED Marketing will help everyone in marketing understand what really works for driving sustainable brand growth and business success.' —John Kenny, PhD., Head of Strategic Planning, Intouch Group
yum!
'Reading R.E.D. Marketing is like taking a marketing masterclass for anyone wanting to build a brand, sell a product, or grow a business in today's hyper competitive marketplace. I 'borrowed' R.E.D. principles when building Bad Martha Brewery into a craft beer powerhouse in New England, and they work! A must read.' —Jonathan Blum, Founder and CEO, Bad Martha Beer, Retired Chief Public Affairs and Global Nutrition Officer, YUM Brands
Border Foods
'I met Greg in 2001 when he joined Taco Bell as the Chief Marketing Officer. Although it was a decade before the RED system of marketing was born, there were elements of the system that were apparent even then. Greg's thought leadership and marketing expertise set the foundation for the success that Taco Bell has enjoyed for the better part of the last decade and will serve the Taco Bell business for years to come. As a franchisee of Taco Bell for over 30 years, I have seen my fair share of executives; Greg is one of those rare people that leave an indelible mark on what they do.' —Lee J. Engler, CEO, Border Foods
LLC TL Advisors
'In an age of complex and mixed messages, Creed and Muench remind us that consumers want and need straightforward, clear, simple communication. Yum Brands has consistently created brilliant marketing campaigns for KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut that break through the clutter and connect with the minds, hearts, and taste buds of their worldwide audience. Read R.E.D. It is your blueprint for success and will allow your brand to 'Live Mas'! It's an F'n great book!' —Terry J. Lundgren, Founder and CEO, TL Advisors, LLC
Whirlpool Corporation
'I have gotten to know Greg Creed as a truly forward thinking, innovative, and hugely successful marketer who is also fun to listen to. Glad to see that with R.E.D., he and Ken are willing to share their knowledge and insight with the world!' —Marc Bitzer, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Whirlpool Corporation
City of Chicago
'Often I get asked what marketing book I can recommend equally to new students to the field and to long term marketers and advertisers who try to stay on the cutting edge of how to build brands and market products. From now on, I will say R.E.D. Marketing because it synthesizes the latest marketing science learnings into a pragmatic framework that every marketer can apply. A true must-read for any marketer who wants to stay relevant.' —Michael Fassnacht, CMO, The City of Chicago
Carters Inc
'RED distills all I learned from a decade working alongside Greg and Ken into a quick read that will accelerate any marketer's career.' —Jeff Jenkins, EVP of Global Marketing, Carters Inc
Deere & Company
'I have gotten to know Greg Creed through our work together on the Whirlpool Corporation Board. He is a true marketeer and this book provides great insights into how he has successfully mastered his craft. I highly recommend it.' —Sam Allen, Retired Chairman and CEO, Deere and & Company
Inc Ferragamo USA
'I can't think of a more appropriate person than Greg to co-author a book on the fundamentals of Marketing. He not only shares his wisdom and decades of industry experience; he breaks down the essence of the R.E.D. system so that even the greenest of marketing professionals will have the blueprints on which to begin their own career and journey. His R.E.D. system is not a theory. It's not a bunch of charts and graphs. It's proven methodology that for years drove YUM Brand's sales to new heights of success, even during some of the most trying times of our economy. Anyone pursuing a career in this industry owes it to themselves and their future to read this book cover to cover. It will be time very well spent.' —Massimo Ferragamo, Chairman, Ferragamo USA, Inc.
Yum!
'Greg used his superlative marketing skills at Taco Bell to become a great CEO of Yum! Brands. His experience and insights make this a great read for anyone who wants to improve their marketing skills.' —David Novak, Co-Founder and Retired Chairman and CEO, Yum brands
KFC
'As Global CEO of the KFC Brand, the challenge was how to build an iconic brand in 140 countries around the world, some of which had just opened, some of which had a history of challenged financial issues that plainly exhibited themselves in poor operational and asset investment, and many where the KFC Brand stood proud as the market leader with world class restaurants and customer service excellence. R.E.D and the brilliance of both Greg and Ken enabled a clear, concise, and understandable way for us to visualize and execute the KFC brand in every country in which we operated. Most impressive was R.E.D.'s ability to unlock the consumer issues in problem markets and then find a pathway to a winning strategy that was understood by everyone—not just the marketers! If you want to think through a global strategy that can be effectively executed by local teams that understand their customers, then this is a book to be read with urgency.' —Roger Eaton, Former Global CEO, KFC
Rodan and Fields
'This is a must-read for all brand builders and business leaders! R.E.D. is a simple and powerful blueprint that weaves in captivating stories and lessons. Greg is a proven leader with world class results and relevant advice that you can apply immediately.' —Diane Dietz, CEO and President, Rodan and Fields
From the Publisher
'Provocative yet practical.' —Ken Langone, Co-Founder, Home Depot, Founder and Chairman, Invemed
TikTok
'Greg has shaped my career, beginning with my first role in marketing as an intern at Taco Bell, to the role I am in today. The principles I learned from Greg early in my career have fueled my approach to developing award-winning breakthrough campaigns at every position since then. It's incredible to have that insight and knowledge available in a book for other aspiring marketers to read.' —Nick Tran, Head of Global Marketing, TikTok
Inc Cargill
'I had the pleasure of doing business with Greg Creed and knowing him personally, and I can tell you that he is own of the most creative, innovative, and customer focused business leaders I've ever come across. If you want to learn a common-sense, no nonsense, and effective approach to marketing and business leadership, this is the book for you. In his time as YUM! CEO, Greg demonstrated that the R.E.D. marketing approach translates into tremendous business success. Just look at YUM!'s results under his stewardship!' —Dave MacLennan, CEO and Chairman, Cargill, Inc.
Advantage Solutions
'Greg Creed and Ken Muench offer up the philosophy, strategy and tactics that Greg used as a gifted marketer and CEO to build brands and propel Yum Brands' incredible growth. R.E.D. Marketing is a welcome lifejacket of practicality in today's increasingly complex—often-conflicting—academic marketing research and theory. The best business writers, like the best marketers, have a knack for making complicated ideas easy to digest to inspire their audience and move them to action. Engaging, provocative, yet very practical, this book is a must-read for anyone interested in building—or rebuilding —a marketing and branding strategy.' —Tanya Domier, CEO, Advantage Solutions
Tacala
'Greg was instrumental in taking Taco Bell promotions and advertising from one-hit wonders to a strong succession of winners that built sales quickly, but more importantly built the brand over time. He increased the value of Taco Bell and Yum! Brands for franchisees, customers, and shareholders. As an owner with everything invested in my business, I enjoyed the benefits of this powerful partnership between Taco Bell and Collider. As a Taco Bell enthusiast, I enjoyed knowing that my favorite brand was cool, relevant, desired, valuable, and admired.' —Don Ghareeb, Chairman Emeritus, Tacala
FOCUS Brands
'Greg and Ken are deeply respected brand architects and executive leaders. In this book, they have crystalized an actionable framework to help anyone build and optimize brands. After experiences and mistakes building brands around the world ... if only I had their wisdom in those early days to guide me! Any marketer, operator, or executive will be a better brand steward after reading R.E.D.' —Kat Cole, COO and President, FOCUS Brands
