Another One Bites the Grass: Making Sense of International Advertising

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Summary: be prepared for the unexpected effects of culture
Review: ...indispensable for anyone lured by the mcluhanian concept of the global village. a MUST for those of us who wish to use our powers to do a lot of good. only bummer is the jacket: good idea awfully executed.

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Summary: Biting the Grass
Review: Another one bites the grass is a phenomenally timely explanation of the limits of nationally- bound thinking in marketing, and the networks it has spawned as a result. It is a rare book, in so far as very few marketers are positioned to understand the challenge of communicating across borders with subltety, but one which could not have come out at a more appropriate moment. The inherent scalability of internet propositions is making seamless cross-border marketing a top competitive advantage and a burning priority. It is one whose complexity Mr Anholt helps us to unravel, and to a certain extent, demistify.

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Summary: What the advertising industry has been waiting for
Review: At last someone has written something about the advertising industry that is centred around the whole concept of truly communicating internationally and is not bound by the political logistics that are inherent in so many of the large dinosaur agencies.

This should be required reading for anybody who is responsible for managing an international communications campaign.

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Summary: Highly Recommended!
Review: Author Simon Anholt, an international advertising consultant, says that the dangers of globalization can be just as formidable as the opportunities - if you fail to research the culture of your new markets. We've all heard the marketing legends of companies that embarrassed themselves by launching products into foreign markets without checking the translation of their brand names. Anholt retells several of these tales to illustrate the perils that await global firms that don't take culture into account. Meshing advertising and marketing strategy, he presents a systemic approach to cross-border product expansion. We [...] recommend this book not only for its insightful, culturally adaptive marketing methodology, but also for the genuinely entertaining examples that might just make you laugh out loud.


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Summary: A brilliant insight into international advertising
Review: For decades now, advertisers and their agencies have struggled without success to create really effective advertising for the international stage. Here at last is a book that explains why they have failed. It is a fresh, honest and highly amusing expose of what it takes for an advertising campaign to work overseas. Anyone who wants to understand the global marketplace from a marketing point of view MUST read Simon Anholt's book. And anyone running an advertising agency network would do well to digest it too - before your clients get hold of a copy!

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Summary: No grass to bite here
Review: Simon Anholt has carved an impressive niche for himself in international marketing circles as a regular sage at conferences and seminars.

Another One Bites The Grass is, however, even more pithy than usual. Both witty and penetrating it lays bare the successes and failures of some famous international campaigns. The essence, and the reason for these 5 stars, is not for his being an excellent raconteur. Instead his philosophy of dynamic, multi-lingual, multi-cultural teams must make sense to those marcomms exec's who try to scale the translation mountain.

This is a book that is a MUST for those who have responsibility for putting out attractive messages internationally. Furthermore, it is an enlightening and instructive read for anyone in business, large or small, about the perils of communication on a global scale if one thinks only within one's home environment.

Buy this book - you will be entertained and educated in the best possible way.

Attend the next conference that Simon Anholt speaks at - you will be wiser for it.

Rating:
Summary: Just the tip of the hippo
Review: This book is common sense in an industry of uncommon confusion. Among many other useful insights the book sheds light on the legacy of international agencies whose neglect of domestic cultures and conventions have led to many campaign failures. This is a must read for any marketing head who has to manage agencies especially if your company is in multiple countries! Read this book before you go ahead with your next campaign.

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Summary: A "Must Read" For Global Communications
Review: Whether you create global advertisements, businesses, or Web sites, you should read this book.

Author Simon Anholt writes about the challenges of creating successful global advertising campaigns. Most companies fail miserably in this department, and he outlines the reasons why. He also provides a model for "smart centralization," which he believes international advertising agencies should follow. This model also makes a great deal of sense for the development and management of global Web sites, which is one reason I enjoyed this book. I also liked how Anholt explained the inherent tension of trying to be both global and local at the same time. Here's an excerpt:

The fundamental challenges of international marketing communications are about preserving the perfect balance between sensitivity to the culture of the brand and sensitivity to the culture of the consumers around the world. If you abandon or relax your grip on the first sensitivity, you end up with fragmentation, loss of identity, and loss of control. Abandon or relax your grip on the second, and you fail to communicate effectively, and fail to build a global brand.

I also liked what he had to say about the importance of translation:

So when the question comes up, why can't we just use English? I always ask this question: do you think that consumers should make the effort to understand us, or should we be making the effort to be understood by them? Are we more interested in being respected, or showing respect?