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The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR

The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR

List Price: $24.95
Your Price: $16.97
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Adequate But Not Essential
Review: What we have here is an absolutely brilliant essay which has been extended (but not fully developed) into a book. Other than a few exceptions such as the release of a new film or an announcement of deep-discount airline fares, I agree with the Rieses' comprehensive assertion that "You can launch new brands only with publicity or public relations (PR). PR allows you to tell your story indirectly through third-party outlets, primarily the media....Advertising should follow PR in both timing and theme. Advertising is a continuation of public relations by other means [a nice variation by the Rieses on one of von Clausewitz' core concepts] and should be started only after a PR program has run irs course. Furthermore, the theme of an advertising program should repeat the perceptions created in the mind of the prospect by the PR program."

I agree completely. Unfortunately, the Rieses make the essentially the same assertion over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again throughout their book. Long ago, I believe it was John Hill who said that public relations worthy of the name should be "truth well-told." Again, I completely agree. Perhaps PR's primary objective is merely to explain with information (exposition)...or to make vidid with compelling details (description)...or to explain a process or sequence with information (narration)...or to convince with logic and/or evidence (argumentation). If the primary objective of public relations is brand building, all four levels of discourse will probably be required. Of course the Rieses fully understand all this. Indeed, as you may recall, their core assertion is that effective public relations (NOT advertising) is essential to successful brand building. What they neglect to point out is that there are unlimited needs for "truth well-told," many of which have absolutely nothing to do with commerce.

This book is worth reading. Much of what the Rieses suggest is thought-provoking. The content is solid. The writing is serviceable, although constantly recycling the same ideas becomes is tedious and then irritating. (On several occasions, I exclaimed aloud "I got it! I got it! Enough already! Move on!" This book is by no means in the same league with Ries and Trout's Positioning, Levitt's The Marketing Imagination, Aaker's Building Strong Brands, and Harvard Business Review on Brand Management. Were it an essay, I would highly recommend it but as a book, (barely) Four Stars.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Great hook, hollow book
Review: PR and Advertising serve two distinct (though certainly related) purposes, and neither can single-handedly support a strong band indefinitely. What this book does is beat you over the head with an endless barrage of almost entirely unresearched examples of good PR, bad advertising, and bad business strategy in an effort to illustrate what it considers the death of advertising.

You could just as easily reverse the premise: that PR is dead and advertising is the all-powerful brand-building wonder tool. Neither point would be correct, and both would rely on this book's lack of research or objective analysis to survive 280 pages.

The tone is pompous and self-congratulatory, citing the author's ideas for PR campaigns that would have saved brands, companies, and even countries. In one passage, the authors suggest changing the name "Guatemala" to "Guatemaya" to promote tourism. Their evidence that the suggestion would have been effective?

"Our Guatemaya idea was well-received among the business community in Guatemala City."

Wow. Really? And to think the Guatemalan government didn't fall right in line.

That's just one example. Don't expect any more evidence, insight, or research than that. Having strung so many silly examples together to make such sweeping generalizations, this book reflects

A) An inadequate understanding of marketing, advertising, and PR,
B) A desire to make a point rather than investigate and illustrate one, or
C) all of the above.

On the upside, though, it does have a great looking cover. Save your money.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Poorly researched, ironic in function
Review: I bought this book since I have been working in many different aspects of both PR and advertising over a decade. From the cover and a quick browse, I was sure it was going to be a much better read. Instead, I found it is poorly researched, abundant in silly comparisons and contradictions.
The more I read into the book, the more the repetitions and the poorly thought "facts" that are repeated every few pages annoyed me. There is no research, no charts, no graphics or comparisons with hard numbers and sources proving the sole hypothesis of the book. The concepts presented here don't take into account market and social forces, such as economics, mismanagement, different values and moral standards, etc. Instead we get the simplistic and poorly supported argument "Advertising doesn't work, PR does" about a hundred times.

The truth is, both advertising and PR are valuable tools in building a brand, but neither advertising nor PR will save a poorly managed company nor make a poorly designed product a class leader. However, the book chooses to omit this fact and focuses entirely on PR as a company saving measure that can be minimally supported by advertising. Of course, it ignores the fact that these days PR has about as much credibility as advertising.

I don't believe this book will not stand the test of time, as even now some of its concepts have been proven wrong. But if you take this book as an example of how to get a PR message out, it is invaluable: witness all the four and five star reviews this book is generating, mostly on the basis of its author's reputation. Ironically, the content of the book strikes me more as an advertisement for PR than as a PR exercise.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A ¿Must-Read¿ for Marketing Professionals
Review: This book is a wake-up call to both the advertising and PR industries, and a "must-read" for any marketing professional - especially those just starting out. It is also smart reading for any CEO or executive with more than a passing interest in the success of his or her company's marketing and sales. It is one antidote to the branding confusion that persists in the wake of the Internet Bubble era.

Citing example after example, the authors make a compelling, clear and simple argument in favor of their single overall theme: that PR works better than advertising for building new brands, while advertising is better at maintaining existing brands once a brand's PR has run its course. A significant although secondary theme is that "creative" advertising campaigns (e.g., unusual concepts that win awards but fail to move the product - like the Pets.com sock puppet on the cover) are almost always a big waste of money. It is the latter point, more than the rise of PR, which will no doubt cause many advertising professionals great fits of dyspepsia. Several other secondary themes offer some real insight and hit the nail on the head, in the opinion of this reviewer, a PR pro for more than 20 years. For those who take this advice seriously, this book offers as strong an argument as has ever been made for giving the PR function a seat at the Marketing table or in the Boardroom.

The fact that the authors do not offer how-to advice on mounting the PR campaigns they advocate adds to, rather than detracts from, their credibility. They are not shilling for the PR industry because they are not PR professionals and do no PR in their consulting work. Indeed, both of their backgrounds are from the advertising side. They also know that every PR campaign is different and no cookie cutter advice would offer much value.

Mr. Ries, now partnered in consulting with his daughter, is the author with his former partner Jack Trout of several seminal marketing books going back 20-plus years. Many credit them with inventing (or at least popularizing) the concept and practice of positioning in their classic book, "Positioning: the Battle for Your Mind." Coming from such a widely respected source, the advertising and PR communities cannot afford to ignore the authors' advice. Even those professionals who end up disagreeing with some of their conclusions will not be able to read this book without gaining some useful insights. Very thought provoking and highly recommended. Advertising and PR people alike should keep it in mind whenever they talk to their bosses or clients about what it takes to build, maintain or enhance a brand.

(Caution: While it's an easy read, this book was intended for professionals. If you are not in advertising, PR, marketing, sales, or executive management, do not bother reading it. You probably will not understand it or be interested in it or gain any insights of use to you.)

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Good concept ...but
Review: Interesting as a concept; however, the unreasonably "passionate" attack on advertising, using fragile -easy to reverse- arguments, makes you doubt about its credibility.
This very subject, approached, explored, and presented in a different way, could have resulted in a great book.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Some what uneasy...
Review: First of all I am not an Ad guy nor a PR guy. But I must say, the authors were quit biased in the sense that they really bashed advertising, unfairly. They seem to imply that the more $$ u spend on ads, the lousier the results. Come on, let's reason abit - if Coke or GM, top spenders in Ads are losing $$, it implies that the lost share is soaked up by the other players, ie, top Ad spender #2, #3 and so forth. These big #2, #3 spenders and so forth are spending millions too on ads for crying out loud - Which could be safely argued that they are getting the results because of their advertising. So the question is not about fall of advertising, but simply, effective or optimal spend on ad expenditure. I guess, if the authors should present and evaluate if the advertising by the #2, #3 ad spenders are gaining because of their ads or other factors, such as PR in the respective industries. It's easy to to criticize something on hindsight, which is not very fair. Overall a fine book, except that their ad bashing went too far.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Not Very Interesting
Review: Some of it is true... PR's wax and advertising's wane. But there's not enough insight, strategic or tactical information to make this book a valuable tool for anyone who accepts the hypothesis and now wants to know what to do about it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Put your PR job into perspective
Review: It's a quick read. The PR industry continues to flounder with regard to defining its purpose and value; this book is a huge step in the right direction.

It is, however, only a step. The authors do a wonderful job of pulling the curtain back on the waste of millions of advertising dollars to launch new brands, but did not devote much time to articulating how PR can better handle the job (and at a fraction of the cost).

It takes time to change opinions, so maybe the near-exclusive focus on the folly of advertising for new brands is appropriate for this book, and the discussion about PR's value can come later. Every PR rep should send a copy of this book to his/her boss or clients' CEOs.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Procative? I'll say!
Review: This highly readable, insightful book should be mandatory reading for anyone involved in deciding where any company's marketing bucks are spent. The authors speak some serious truths about advertising and how it is misused and overused and about public relations and how it is under-used. Of course, as a former PR consultant, I perhaps am biased. However, the numerous examples the Reises cite are hard to argue with. Ignore this book at your own peril.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: it's the brand
Review: Here is the book's big idea:advertising can't buy you a brand identity,and if you try to spend your way to it,you will just be throwing your money away.The book explains why and along the way you pick up how to build a brand,what advertising is designed for,and learn a lot about ad agencies and how they believe that their job begins and ends at being "creative" without regard to whether the ad agency's product makes the client money. A user friendly writing style and interesting ideas.


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