Advertising Books

Frankly, when I bought this book, I thought "Another book about corporate branding and theory". I only bought it because Mr. Sims was going to be the Keynote speaker at a convention I was attending. I wanted to buy the book before I heard him speak. I'm glad I did. He explains how branding is what your customers think of you. It really opened my eyes. I never thought of it that way before. He also gave examples from several businesses he worked with and how he "positioned" the company in the community's perception. I can't wait for his next book so he can expand on some of these ideas.

Jack tells how to build a company and a brand in a very interesting and entertaining way. I thoroughly enjoyed the book!

Great Book! Everyone was very impressed with my business plan when it was finished. It covered everything you need to include in your plan. The first bank I went to accepted my plan.

THis book is helpful, especially when it came to doing the financials for my business plan. Some of the sample forms needed to be a bit larger, but besides that, an excellent choice for a beginning retailer.

This is excellent as a quick reference and general resource guide. It covers everything from the basics of style for every type of PR writing to some of the more common grammer mistakes. I've held onto it since I used it as an undergrad and still have it, reference it, and recommend it to students.

This is a clear, easy-to-read-and-use guide book for public relations writing. I had this a one of the textbooks in college and held on to it afterward because I found it so helpful. I covers every type of writing you will encounter in the PR field--with samples!

I read this book when it was first published in 1999 and recently re-read it, curious to see how well it has held up during the past five years. I think it has done so to a remarkable extent, with my only regret being that Theodore Levitt's "Marketing Myopia" is not included among the selections. This is one in a series of several dozen volumes which comprise the "Harvard Business Review Paperback Series." Each offers direct, convenient, and inexpensive access to the best thinking on the given subject in articles originally published by the Harvard Business Review. I strongly recommend all of the volumes in the series. The individual titles are listed at this Web site: www.hbsp.harvard.edu. The authors of various articles are among the world's most highly regarded experts on the given subject. All of the volumes have been carefully edited. An Executive Summary introduces each selection. Supplementary commentaries are also provided in most of the volumes, as is an "About the Contributors" section which usually includes suggestions of other sources which some readers may wish to explore.

In this volume, we are provided with a variety of perspectives on marketing: Keller's on "the brand score card," Jackson's on bringing a dying brand back to life, Rao/Bergen/Davis' on how to fight a price war, Kenny and Marshall's on "contextual marketing" (i.e. "the real business of the Internet"), Aaker and Joachimsthaler's on the "lure" of global branding, Hatch and Schultz' on getting corporate strategy and branding in alignment, Brown's on "tormenting" customers, and Almquist and Wyner's on how to increase the ROI on marketing with experimental design. Quite true, some of the material is dated and inevitably so, given the elapsed time since the articles were published in the Harvard Business Review. However, in my opinion, the principles advocated and the core strategies recommended remain relevant to the contemporary marketplace.

For about the cost of breakfast in an upscale Manhattan restaurant, each volume in this series provides an intellectual feast. It remains for each reader to determine, of course, which of the volumes will be most nutritious to her or his appetite.

There are now over 20 books in this Harvard Business Review series. All the books are compilations of the best articles from the Harvard Business Review magazine. This book is one of the best books in the series for the quality, relevance, and usefulness of the articles selected for inclusion.

The eight articles selected for this book are 'The Brand Report Card', 'Bringing a Dying Brand Back to Life', 'How to Fight a Price War', 'Contextual Marketing: The Real Business of the Internet', 'The Lure of Global Marketing', 'Are the Strategic Stars Aligned for Your Corporate Brand', 'Torment Your Customers (They'll Love It), and 'Boost Your Marketing ROI with Experimental Design'.

My favorite article was the first one 'The Brand Report Card'. This article in just a few pages cuts to the core of how to evaluate the strength of your brand using a very logical approach.

The article on Contextual Marketing about the Internet is very interesting since it was written in late 2000 and makes predictions about how the Internet will change by the end of 2003 to 2005. But even the basic predictions haven't come true regarding how ubiquitous the authors predict the Internet will become. Yes, we have access to the Internet through wireless devices but they are not very profitable for businesses right now. Of course, the current economic conditions are influencing the predictions quite significantly.

Overall, this is indeed an excellent collection of articles relating to Marketing and the book is priced well since it is far more expensive to buy the same collection of articles directly from Harvard Business Review online (almost 5 times more expensive).

I have been reading several books on marketing over the last few years to apply in my small business and this book is one of the best I have read. It is less than 200 pages long and makes for a very quick yet powerful read. Enjoy reading and benefiting from the book!

This book is a fun and easy read - actually, there isn't much reading really. Definitely a fun buy! The imaginary is excellent.

As a kid, did you prefer reading cereal boxes to reading books? Ever order something from an ad in the back of a comic book? If so, you'd be crazy not to get this wonderful book ("while supplies last"). It's loaded with some of the most outrageous (yet authentic) comic book advertising ever created. From Sea Monkeys to "FREE" monkeys, the ads are all reproduced in living color (in some cases far better than the originals!). You'll find all the great, original hype and propaganda far more outrageous than would be acceptable by today's advertising standards (and that's saying something)! There are familiar ads of years gone by, and more than a few unusual ads that you've likely never seen before. This book is an absolute bargain for anyone who wants a flashback of fun nostalgia. It's entertaining and a joy to read. In fact, you might just rekindle that burning urge to rush out and buy yourself an ant farm. Highly recommended!

I bought this book as a gift for a child in my life. She enjoyed the book and I did, as well. It's definitely a conversation starter for a school-aged child who is interested in marching to her/his own drum.

Thank you, Anne Elizabeth Moore, for caring enough to write this irreverent and excellent book.

How Disruption Brought Order: The Story of a Winning Strategy in the World of Advertising

Over my career I have the good fortune to work with the folks at Chiat/Day in their Marina Del Rey (Los Angeles) office. They do great work and have a unique approach to capturing the big idea that connect consumers to brands. This book is a wonderful summary of some of the overall work done by the agency around the world that makes them not only smart - but fun to work with.

The content is great and the book flows nicely.
Better yet, the Disruption technique, the stories and the examples are lively and impressive.
Best of all... it really works.
I recently had the pleasure of visiting TBWA in São Paulo - a client had hired me to scout for an Agency. Luis Grottera, Cibar Ruiz and Andrea Lang gave a brilliant agency presentation and showed me how Disruption works. Their enthusiasm and the results they showed me were clear and effective.
In fact their enthusiasm sent me to Amazon and I've read this book and two others by Jean Marie.
I would love to have worked in this agency.
Congratulations to Jean Marie and all his "accomplices" at TBWA.
I feel excitingly healthy envy.

I've been in the direct marketing business for over 13 years now and have made my own millions. I've had many people ask me what I would recommend they read in order to learn about the direct marketing business. I would definitely recommend this book.

When I read Vincent's book I was shocked at how much information he revealed and was excited that I've actually experienced everything...and I mean EVERYTHING...he has experienced in the realm of direct marketing. He can tell you how to get a multi-million dollar business up and running. He can also tell you about how to avoid the pitfalls. I wish I had this information 10 years ago!

The only thing I disagree with is that you can get a 2% response on a mailing. I've never gotten 2%. Maybe I don't use the right lists. Who knows? Therefore, if you can't get 2% then you shouldn't be selling a $60 item in a sales letter. In my experience, you should NEVER sell something less than $150 in direct marketing offer.

Best wishes to you and your business endeavors.

I've never read a more honest, open account of how you can go from zero to one million dollars a year or more in your own business. What I liked the most was how willing Vincent was to reveal his secrets in step-by-step detail so I can easily follow in his footsteps. Well worth the price to anyone serious about making a great deal of money.

This is an inspirational book for everyone and offers something special to people who've made big mistakes. It is story of redemption and a life changing event for Mike, a former advertising executive. Interesting side stories dot the book. I learned something new about respecting the people you work with, and while I've always tried to be respectful of my customers Mike's experiences were an eye-opener for both of us.

How Starbucks Saved My Life: A Son of Privilege Learns to Live Like Everyone Else

Loved this book. A wake up call to what passes for leadership in corporate America today. These aloof shyster's don't know the meaning of the word partner.... RESPECT YOUR PARTNERS.... ceo's and executive's are WAY overpaid.

The stock market in 2008 should tell all.... GREED, GREED, GREED.....! It will work for awhile but not forever!

Wake up America!!!

I read this book because a former colleague recommended it. We were having problems dealing with our advertising agency--especially its creative people. My company would make what looked like a simple request, but we just could not get the results we wanted or expected. It's simply uncanny how accurately Ms. Salz describes the advertiser-agency relationship as my company has learned to understand it! For awhile, her book became required reading for everyone in our advertising dept. "Our people" have a new-found respect for "their people," and the agency is already sending us work of a quality we had only dreamed of before.

My agency AE gave me this book so I was skeptical about it, to say the least. But I have found it enormously helpful. Salz just demystifies the whole marketer-agency relationship. I especially loved the quotes from people on both the agency and marketer sides of the business telling the truth about what they want and need from the other members of the team. Salz explains what challenges I face and how to meet them as I go through the steps of developing an ad. Now I know what to do to motivate my agency people. How to critique advertising. And I know what not to do, too. I found the book invaluable and recommend it highly to anyone who's new to working with an agency. Or people who want to know how to get their agency teams to do the best work for them.