An Integrated Marketing and Communications Perspective.
A fascinating look into the ins and outs of the advertising world.
| Publisher: | McGraw-Hill. John E. Beirnat, Printer: R.R Donnelly. 2004. 6th edition |
| ISBN: | 0072536764 9780072536768 |
| Characteristics: | 779 pages, ; 28 cm. |
| Source: |
A once expensive book for a marketing course, Advertising and Promotion is a detailed read into the advertising world. As a long-time fan of Gruen, ABC’s show about advertising, I was interested to learn about the advertising world in more detail.
The book is late enough to cover the effect of the Internet on advertising, but not social media, which was in its infancy in 2004. Facebook didn’t come into popular use until 2008. Much of the text is spent on using magazine and television advertising effectively. With streaming services over taking free-to-air television, novel places to put ads need to be found.
The text discusses the then upcoming threat of PVRs (Personal Video Recorders) which allow viewers to bypass ads even easier than VCR (Video Cassette Recorders) do. PVRs allow the viewer to record whilst watching. If watching a show is delayed, the ads are bypassed until the viewer has caught up to the live broadcast. This is making the Nielsen ratings system more irrelevant. I think a better solution would be to utilise the PVR’s connection to the internet to send real time disidentified data to the surveyors.
Celebrity Sell Out in Japan
One interesting segment discusses how major celebrities including Meg Ryan, Brad Pitt and Demi Moore are happy to promote products in Japan but nowhere else. The movie “Lost In Translation (2003)” follows such a celebrity trying to make sense of the Japanese culture and direction instructions while making an advertisement for whisky.
I suspect the pay is enough to attract them and as Japan is culturally detached from their cinema market, some alternate exposure won’t damage their celebrity image.
Conclusion
An excellent book with much information still relevant today. Customers still have needs that require satisfying, and the way they search and decide what to buy will endure. It’s the advertisers’ job to help them to their client’s products and services.
Featured image by Leeloo Thefirst
