Advertising Books

If you have ever struggled with statistical concepts and books that only partially explain the sources of each variable in statstical equations, then this is the book for you. Their constant repetition of statistical concepts with each example case study was VERY helpful in cementing these concepts in my mind.

Confidence levels, 1-tailed, 2-tailed tests and the application of these concepts in real world marketing situations can be quite confusing. This book once again came through with clearly explained examples and scenarios.

Having read many books on database marketing, direct marketing, data mining & CRM as a consultant, I appreciate the story line approach heading up each chapter most. Many books fall prone to teaching "at you" rather than guiding the user along "through the experience of doing it".

A second critical factor to look for - once you've gotten through all the introductory books - is finding concrete info on how-to, best practices providing significant content and knowledge. This is the true value-add from the masters: learning is incremental and there must be true takeaways to get the 5 stars.

This said, the authors have made an extremely broad, detailed and well spun story out of a subject matter that can be to say the least, challenging... Moreover, the disciplines of customer analysis, database management & modeling, data mining, statistical analysis, marketing planning are all the focus of reengineering by many of today's major businesses.

Consequently, this book leads nicely and rather naturally into a major subject of the day for many IT & marketeers -- Analytical CRM. As such it is a must read for anyone interested in understanding how A-CRM works in many companies practicing DBM today.

A great next step would be to go from the marketing-IT function(-ing) to the broader enterprise, long-term (relational) infrastructure & practices preached by CRM. Show how the DBM process evolves in to and is transformed by meeting Customer Mgmt strategies. How would DBM work in a enterprise integration, near/real-time, customer interaction CRM initiative?

Finally, as an aside, in reviewing MANY course syllabi across the world in DM/DBM, I've OFTEN found this book as the course text if not mandatory-suggested reading.

I agree -- for all & anyone wanting a good complement to Shepard's seminal work - you can't do any better.

Buy it ! Good reading...

This book is an excellent tool for direct marketers who need to develop, manage and optimize a database. Tells what to do... what to avoid... I recommend it highly.

This is the first book that covers everything from statistics and database technology to the final marketing application. Perry Drake provides many realistic case studies from his experiences in the trenches as a proven direct marketing professional. His statistical, technical and university teaching background makes this book a valuable read for those just entering the field of database marketing or the seasoned traditional marketing professional.

When I first became involved with database marketing in the mid-1990s, and through my tour of graduate school a few years later, books on the subject fell into two categories: basic and trivial, or advanced and impossible to comprehend. OPTIMAL DATABASE MARKETING is the perfect reference for what is probably the majority audience segment: marketing managers, senior executives, list professionals, data processors, professors, and students who want to understand all the elements of strategic planning and analysis *and* gain practical knowledge to apply professionally or in research endeavors.

In OPTIMAL DATABASE MARKETING, you get a wealth of material on two aspects of the process - for the price of one. Co-author Ron Drozdenko does a great job defining concepts and detailing potential objectives when building files. His coverage of technical specifications and issues is particularly useful.

As for the subsequent chapters: I don't think there has ever been a book written which covers database modeling, and statistical techniques germane to direct marketing, as comprehensively and clearly. Co-author Perry Drake manages to leave no stone unturned and yet convey knowledge in a style that's both understandable and easy to follow. This part of the book is worth the cost alone.

As a former product design engineer, I learned a good manufacturers' representative is worth his weight in gold. The rep is the person you turn to if you have component selection or vendor problems. Likewise, a good rep is a conduit for the voice of the customer; the person who makes clear the needs, the wants, and the opinions of the customer. Both roles are essential to a successful product design effort and both are difficult to fill. Like other positions that demand specific knowledge and experience, the job of a sales representative is a job for an specialist.

In "Out-Sourcing the Sales Function", Anderson and Trinkle,- both experts on the topic- explain the intricacies of field sales show how, in many situations, an external sales force can outperform a traditional direct sales team. They give direct specific examples and show how the cost of the sales function can be accounted for accurately. Anyone who's livelihood depends directly or indirectly upon sales, will find this book revealing and useful. Highly recommended.

Bruce Long PhD, PE

Bob and Erin do an excellent job of frameworking the decision criteria of when to use outsourced sales professionals. Reviews the tough topic of the true costs associated with using OSP's vs. direct sales. This is the best book I have seen on this subject. If you are looking at your cost of goods sold and not currently using manufacturer's representatives, this book might give you insight into a great way to go to market !

These comments by Chicago PR consultant Laurence Kaufman, excerpted from a longer review, are right on the money.

Clearly directed at corporate executives with the responsibility for determining how their companies' goods are brought to market - CEOs and CFOs as well as their top sales executives - this book equally deserves careful scrutiny by manufacturers' representatives and their organizations, and by those who interface regularly with field sales people, i.e., distributors and other resellers, commercial and industrial end users.

A number of factors make this book noteworthy, but perhaps the most important is its authorship - a unique collaboration between an academic (Erin Anderson) who has been studying manufacturers' representatives and the decision to employ them for a quarter-century and a field sales professional (Bob Trinkle) who spent close to half a century practicing what he now preaches. And what Trinkle preaches, along with his professorial collaborator, is not that you should choose the rep route to market, but that you should make the choice intelligently - based not only on economic factors but also in full realization of the impact of corporate culture and product idiosyncrasies - and if you choose to outsource, the factors you need to consider in making the strategy work. Trinkle and Anderson do not say that outsourcing is the right thing to do - it may or may not be. But if you decide it is the right thing to do, they also tell you how to do it right.

Another noteworthy feature is the inclusion with the hard-cover book of a CD-ROM Cost Calculator©, that allows those responsible for making dollar comparisons between in-house and outsourced field sales to plug in their own numbers, reminding them along the way of the "soft costs" that go away in tandem with the decision to outsource.

Anderson and Trinkle have created a tool not only for making strategic decisions about how to take products into the field, but for creating a better understanding of the role of the rep as an advocate for buyers and for sellers. If you are a rep who wants to be thought of as an OSP (Outsourced Sales Professional), first read this book; and then make sure each of your principals reads it as well. If you are a customer or reseller, it will remind you of the benefits the OSP brings you in efficiency, advocacy, and continuity. If you are a manufacturer, it will help you analyze when to outsource, when to go or stay direct, and when to field a hybrid sales force, and prevent a decision from being made capriciously.

Outsourcing has become an accepted business practice because it can deliver demonstrable savings and improved services. However, while sales outsourcing is common, it has not been widely adopted by companies accustomed to having dedicated in-house sales staffs. Authors Erin Anderson and Bob Trinkle make a powerful case for the benefits of using outside sales reps, asserting that they cost less and sell more, particularly when they use the tactic of "portfolio selling." The authors explain how the two types of sales forces can co-exist and augment each other. Die-hard sales managers will find interesting material here, though the book belabors a few obvious points and lacks enough real-world examples to juice up the dry text. The authors include a CD with software for analyzing sales costs. Since this is a very specific book for anyone investigating whether to use reps, we recommend it to sales directors and executives who are facing that question. However, front line salespeople and reps should just keep to their appointment books - this text is not designed for you.

This ranks as one of the best written books and a must have. I recommend this to anyone in marketing and sales, from entry level sales people to marketing and sales managers and even CEOs/CFOs. I have over 20 years in establishing new markets, recruiting and managing the sales force and this book is a treasure that I could have utilized throughout my career. Why learn by trial and error when you have so much knowledge in a book? It is apparent to me, that this book is written from "boots on the ground" real-life experience. Concepts are clearly presented and backed up by real world examples. The included CD is a remarkable utility allowing one to caculate true cost of sales and compare business models. Compare current busines practices to a benchmark. An independent sales representative could use this to negotiate commission rates on new contracts with principals.

The fact that everyone uses the web in some way or another, this is a good book to have. I am a computer junkie and this book definitely kept my head afloat. But I highly recommend you read "A Branded World" by Michael Levine. This author really knows what he's talking about. The next time a company hands out memos to its employees, make sure "A Branded World" is on the top of the page!

Bob really knows what he is talking about. He gives a lot of wonderful easy to read tips on how to get your name recognized on the web. He is very clever & witty and fun to read. I recommend you get a copy now.

The Internet offers a lot of "get rich quick" schemes, and advice based on 20th-century advertising techniques. However, what worked in the past century and before the Internet, is not working now. From "Cluetrain" to "Gonzo Marketing," there's ample proof of that.

But, if you're self-employed and/or building your online identity... how do you start? And, if you've been online for awhile but you're somehow missing the boat--or at least your audience--what do you do without a corporate advertising budget and webmaster/advisors to help you?

The answer is simple: You get this book. And read it. I've read Chapter Two at least ten times, and I'm still making notes about what I'm changing on my own website (online since 1995, and boy-oh-boy have I made mistakes! *sigh*).

Baker's books are not for wimps. And, they're not the sitcom version of business, where you spend a few days creating a by-the-numbers clone of others' websites, and then sit back expecting income to flood in like clockwork.

Instead of being a book that you read, say, "Oh, that made some good points," and then put on a shelf to collect dust, this is a book that you'll read, re-read, and keep close to hand. Baker's book is information-packed. There is no way that you'll learn it all in one reading, or even two.

This is easily in the top five books that everyone who is (or wants to be) in business online MUST own. Sure, you can read the sample chapters at Baker's website, or take this book out of the library, but it contains too much important advice for that. And, you'll refer to it often, as well.

Buy this book. Roll up your sleeves and do what he says. It's how to succeed on- and offline, in the 21st century. It's not your parents' business era anymore. Learn the new rules in this book, and give yourself a genuine chance for success.

Baker's information would be cheap at ten times the price; it's already helped me to increase the daily hits at one of my websites from 500/day to over 800/day. And, I'm still on Chapter Three!

I haven't made it past chapter 3 and I have already read a wealth of helpful information on branding your business name and branding tools. The author provides a detailed, step-by-step guide to branding and marketing techniques one can use both online and offline. This book is a must read for first-time start-ups and entreprenuers.

This is a great book for those of you who want to make a name for yourself on-line. Bob has an abundance of ideas to get you started and to keep you going as you explore the ways to market yourself online. Bob has a very witty and humorous way to keep you interested in what he has to say. I think Mr. Baker is on the cutting edge of where the future of online marketing is headed. I highly recommend this book.

This book really helped get me excited about promoting my business. I have some excellent plans for the up coming year.

I have a small business that was stagnating since 9/11. A friend suggested that I read Power Promoting. I implemented a number of the techniques in Mr. Sussman's book and within weeks things picked up - big time! This has been the most helpful marketing/PR business book that I have ever read. And I've read many of them. I enthusiastically recommend it.

I have a small business that sells high quality consumer products. For awhile I thought that no one liked my products,then I learned that people just didn't know about my products. Power Promoting: How to Market Your Business to the Top taught me how to get my message out to consumers. Ever since I applied Sussman's techniques, I have dramatically inceased my sales and revenues.

This book has actually helped me to make my business more successful. I couldn't have done it without the help of Jeffrey Sussman and his book, Power Promoting! Everyone with a business should read it!

Jeffrey Sussman's book is an inspirational and motivational how-to directed at anyone who wants to promote their business. I have read many public relations and advertising books and have never come across one as specific and helpful for real-world small businesses, as this one. Contains specific case histories that you can relate to whether you have a one-person business or a much larger one.

I have read many books on radio advertising and this one is by far the best of the lot. I would recommend it for anyone who wants to get into radio advertising. It reads in plain english and is not written above the common reader. It's a very easy read and is very informative.

Like another reviewer, I read this in one sitting. A must-read for anyone curious about the world of radio advertising.

I sell radio advertising for a living and this is one of the best books about radio advertising that I've ever read. (Another great book is "Radio Advertising: the Authoritative Handbook" by Schulberg.) This is a small book with only 150+ pages but it's jam-packed with information. I finished the whole book in one evening -- I simply could not put it down. It's loaded with practical how-to steps in planning, buying and writing. And it's so easy to read. It makes radio advertising simple, logical, and fun!

If you want to know the facts of radio advertising without any fluff or hype, this book has it all! I read this book in one evening. It told me everything I wanted to know in specific terms. It's like my own personal industry insider. As a marketing professional, I use this book a lot. If you're in radio, advertising, or marketing, or if you're a business thinking about advertising on radio, this is a gem and an essential, must-have reference. It will save you a lot of trouble!

a very honest overview of the positives and negatives relating to radio advertising. Much of the information provided is not something that your local radio rep would normally share with you. I'm sure my business will benefit from the concepts and information presented in this book. I thoroughly enjoyed and recommend this book.

Ron Bartelstein
Atlas Restoration, LLC
"Foundation Repair Specialists"

Retro Stud is a great collection of color poster art from the era of the Italian peplum/sword and sandal movies. It is a book that will please fans of the genre, artists, and bodybuilders. Printed on quality paper in hardbound format, Retro Stud is a great addition to any coffee table.

As a collector of every Hercules and Gladiator movie i can find,i was thrilled to find out there were actual posters to go with the movies.This book really delivers the goods with hundreds of posters.this being said the book could have been so much better.there are posters overlapping destroying the total artwork when they didn't have to.ALso on foreign posters he gives the foreign translation in english but not what the movie was know as in America.i'd like to know what movies i am missing.Despite these big flaws it is the best Hercules-gladiator poster book available.

Compiled by David Chapman, Retro Stud: Muscle Movie Posters From Around The World is an impressive full-color showcase of "Gladiator" era movie posters from 1959 to 1965, a cinematic trend that was initiated by the American debut of the 1959 movie "Hercules" starring bodybuilder and physical hunk Steve Reeves. The eroticism, muscular posing, and sexual symbols of these international posters are discussed in thoughtful detail. Retro Stud is a thoroughly enjoyable reference and a highly recommended presentation for all classic movie fans and bodybuilding enthusiasts.

Who could ask for more? This book is a stunning achievement and a must for any collector or fan of Gladiator movie posters that were produced during the period of 1959-1965. Chapman had his work cut out for him in gathering this comprehensive collection, and he did a terrific job. These color posters are from around the world and feature complete descriptions and author's commentary about each poster that is quite fascinating. Who can forget "Hercules" Steve Reeves, the first to debut in a gladiator movie, in his skimpy loincloth, his muscles rippling, and the frail beautiful women he had to save from the evil tyrants. People all over the world couldn't wait for the next Gladiator movie to be released to their theaters; they were new, sexy, dramatic, erotic, and filled with many different musclemen who followed in Steve Reeve's shoes. This was an era that was fresh and new to everyone who wanted something different and exciting to watch at the movies. They were our heroes, and our fantasy. Take a look at this collection of posters, and re-live history, and remember when Gladiators ruled the earth! Enjoy this collection, I know I did!

Joe Hanssen

I was pleased when I heard this volume was being released... I have loved the old Italian Muscle Movies and the posters were part of the mystique of those films. I was delighted because I did not expect the book to be so beautifully designed. It has a hard cover, slip cover, and thick coated paper, all finished in full colour throughout. An impressive opus on a the lost art of bodybuilding art from the classic gladiator film genre! Not only was I was thrilled at the great quality of the book, but also David Chapman's insightful and thoughtful writing, which is a joy to read. This is clearly one coffee table book that will delight my guests for quite a while.... I enjoy it over and over and see things in it that I did not see on previous viewings... a real treasure!

This book change our perspective about our business strategies. If you are serious about making profits in your business you need to read this book.

There is an old saying that goes, "there is nothing new but what has been forgotten." Advertising is about 100 years old, but the science and art behind what appears to buying psychology, really hasn't changed that much. If you study this work of Claude C. Hopkins, you will understand that he pioneered methods that are still used today. David Ogilvy was another one of these pioneers, and he said, "no one should be in advertising that has not read Scientific Advertising at least seven times." If you study any of the notable marketing gurus today (e.g. - Dan Kennedy), they are just positioning what Claude has said in a contemporary format. And even marketing for the Internet - if you look beyond the HTML bells and whistles - is still utilizing the basic psychology of sales letter generation, and copywriting, that Claude pioneered.
www.randykempcopywriting.com

This is a "must read" book for anyone involved in advertising of any sort. I am delighted that it is back in print.

Claude Hopkins invented test marketing, sampling technology and the concept of pre-emptive advertising. The concepts he reveals in this book have been used by advertisers for decades and he is recognized by marketing experts such as Jay Abraham as a genius in his field. Scientific Advertising is an all-time classic book and you'll want to read it at least three times. Each reading will provide you with profound insights into how to market any product or service.

All the modern giants of advertising still swear by this book. Ogilvy even claimed it changed his life (in advertising anyway, but who knows, advertising is Ogilvy's life). The book is amazing in both its simple and direct approach. It's relatively short, yet packed with information of use to anyone interested in advertising.

Hopkins essentially invented many of the concepts that so many advertisers take for granted today, chief among them what seems like a simple idea: the coupon. And even today, many advertisers fail to get results when they stray from his teachings.

One of the most famous examples of failing to follow his teachings: the "Got Milk" campaign. Sure, it seems clever and it's definitely high profile, but from a marketing standpoint, it's a flop. Milk sales have not moved upward at all despite the fact that milk producers are now several years into the campaign. Want to know why it failed? Read Hopkins's book.

Whether you are an individual considering a career in advertising or an businessperson trying to figure out how best to market your business, start with Hopkins and then move onto the rest.

All advertising before "Scientific Advertising" flows into it; and all advertising after "Scientific Advertising" flows out of it.

An amazing book. Insightful and full of vision. But at the same time it gets down to brass tacks and tells you how to close sales. It is a fun read and easy to follow. If you want to know how to win at selling today this book is for you.

Josh Gordon is a marketing genius. This book offers great insights into selling in the New Economy, but get this: a lot of the ideas he presents are not new. What is new is the unique perspective and packaging he offers. He takes the old and the new and makes them make sense together. I found it important for my own selling strategy but don't expect every page to be full of new ideas you haven't heard of before.

I liked it a lot. Simple and fun to read. Lots of good ideas.It makes you think.

This book sneaks up on you. It is a fun and easy read. I found it to be packed with practical suggestions and does a great job spelling out in specific terms how selling is different today Vs. 10 years ago. Then near chapter 15 it hit me..POW! If all this is true then people who run sales teams, like myself, need a freash look at the basic strategy they run with.

The book was very well organized, and very client-centric. I thought the detail of survey results was used well to bridge the chapters. A very relevant topic in today's fast-paced selling environment

Over the last three years, we have been using "The Seven Keys..." as the bible to follow in our implementation process. Every person involved is required to read the book. It has become our organization's often-quoted bible for account management. A must read!

This is a very educational book that every company should read and buy into before attempting a SAM program. I enjoyed the real world exmaples even though they did sometimes leave me feeling a bit 'sold to'(and I usually like that!)
But the reason I've only given this book 4 stars is that it's written very much for the analytical reader, an MBA who absorbes information would love this book. But I am not one of those and would like to have seen a higher emotional content and some more human aspects.
This however should not stop you from buying this book. In fact if you are considering a Strategic Account Management program you MUST read this now.

In today's marketplace key account (relationship) management is imperative. With the ever changing/increasing demands placed on these accounts it is even more important to develop a focus and a strategic game plan behind them. This book is a must read and a must have on your bookshelf. It's laid out in a friendly manner (the seven keys) and is easy to read. Whether you currently have a strategic account management program in place, are looking at implementing a new program, or are looking how to fine-tune an existing one -- the 7 Keys to Managing Strategic Accounts will help you in the process. Make sure you have a program that really works!

We just launched what we thought was a
strategic account program for our largest
customers last year, but I just learned
from this book that it's actually a key
account program in disguise.

Now we can use the authors' common-sense
guidance to focus on the customers who
truly have strategic potential, align our
entire company behind the initiative instead
of just the sales force, and set up an
account manager development program that
really works. Great job!

David S. Feldmann

Product Manager, Legal & Business Products
The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.

As an MBA candidate who spends far too much time reading textbooks, I found Seven Keys a welcome change in my business reading. It's readable, well-organized, full of real-world examples, and it lets me quickly know how I can ready an organization for effective strategic account management. These authors clearly have busy people in mind. I read the chapters that were of particular interest and then I read the remainder. Time well-spent.

Jay Readey

MBA Candidate, Yale University School of Management

This is a simply fascinating work that weaves business history, marketing theory and techniques, economic differentiation, and overt and unconscious racism. The most interesting dimensions (for this unapologetic Son of the South) is the isolation of the feelings and thoughts of nostalgia that the Quaker Oats image of Aunt Jemima invoked and Manring examines in detail. He follows the work of James Young and illustrator N.C. Wyeth's creation and adaptations of the image from conception to modern politically correct adaptation.

I'm not sure I completely buy into Manrings total thesis, since as a child I always just thought of Aunt Jemima's big old smile as normal, and after all, who doesn't like pancakes? Her image to me meant "proud," "good cooking," and "skilled" not contented servitude as Manring proposes.

Still, this is a fascinating and challenging read.

Prof. Manring has accomplished something rare: an academic book free of jargon, a cultural history free of polemic, and a thorough analysis that never drags. She writes clear, lively prose -- this is a book for the general reader as well as the student of American history. Brava!

This book and its contextualization of Aunt Jemima or the mammy stereotype, as I refer to it, is well-written and thought-provoking. The material has been very helpful to me in exploring how this particular stereotype of black women functions in American culture and I will be using it as a key reference in my dissertation. Thanks.

Slave in a Box is a great study of the racism and sexism embodied in the birth of advertising. It is not only provocative but also chock full of great facts about the era--from the importance of paper bags in marketing to the story of an African American who actually wrote for minstrel shows. I am writing because I am a historian and used the book in my Industrialization of America class. The class generally hated it, because it is so detailed, but despite their response I recommend using it in a course. Our discussion was painful--black students said the book was "depressing" and white students denied that race had anything to do with the power of this trade name (they harped on the convenience, as if the stereotype was irrelevant!). I learned so much about them and so much about what we all need to do as teachers that I think it was a very valuable experience.

Very often, histories/studies of Aunt Jemima and the mammy stereotype are simply descriptive; this book does a great job of showing how Aunt Jemima's image and products were designed to complement/support ideal white femininity. My only criticism is that Aunt Jemima's presence on television and radio wasn't discussed enough. A great read for anyone interested in issues of race, gender and domesticity. I have recommended this book to many people, and continue to do so.