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Summary: The Fall of Advertising
Review: Al Ries and Laura Ries offer the opinion that no one believes advertising and using public relations is the way to get your product out there. The book also uses examples of companies and how spending more on advertising doesn't guarantee more sales. The book goes in-depth in describing a lot of the public relation campaigns.
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Summary: The title explains it all!
Review: Each year companies spend an increasing budget on advertising. It seems that now everything encountered in American life is somehow drenched with advertising in one form or another ? corporate logos everywhere, extensive television commercials, billboards, helium blimps, magazine ads! Are these companies really getting a return on their investment?
Al Ries says ?No!? People have become so bombarded with advertisements that they become trained to ignore them. Advertising alone has lost its credibility. We are in a new age where public relations are more important ? the use of media and other sources of credibility must be used to promote your product.
?Fall of Adversing? is filled with examples demonstrating how advertising has lost its effectiveness. Even successful ad campaigns like the famous Taco Bell dog have only subtracted from revenues. Sales went down and Taco Bell blamed the chiuauah. As Jay Leno noted, ?Do you think it?s the food?!?
Ries goes on to explain that successful products are built through recommendations from credible sources. Amazon.com was built through word-of-mouth. Volvo became a success after the media promoted its safety features. I even decided to buy this book because of a CNBC interview with Laura Ries!
This book is a great read if you are at the executive level or involved in marketing operations. Hundreds of examples are cited and the final chapters end with a special note written for managers, PR, and marketing people to help create more effective strategies.
There are some weak points. A good half of the book reemphasizes brand-building techniques found in other books written by Al Ries. It is also focused on the multi-billion dollar ad campaigns started by large companies like Pepsi. But nevertheless, it is well written and enjoyable to read.
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Summary: A Point Well-Argued!
Review: First of all, Al and Laura are people who I greatly admire. They are also somebody I would like to work with in the future if opportunity permits.
This book is a series of marketing books I read last year for my own exploration on the subject. I have read many marketing books that argue the same point which is PR is a more effective tool for a company to sell its products than advertisements, and I have to say that this book is well-written in terms of defending the argument. However, PR is definitely not enough. So, this book is only for those of you who would like to know the relationship between marketing strategy and PR, or for those of you who would like to know the current trend on marketing.
That being said, Al and Laura have a lot of great thoughts on marketing, and if you are interested you can log onto Laura's blog: www.lauraries.com.
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Summary: Same old stuff
Review: For some reason, Both Ries and Trout get away with recycling their old material and putting a new name on it.
More than that, you couldn't tell that their partnership fell apart years ago since the same ideas, and more importantly, the same examples are used extensively in each man's books.For Example:
These guys must LOVE Papa Johns (or be shareholder's, as they both mention the compony time and time again (In multiple books as well) as some paragon of food and of great marketing. As far as I'm concerned, Papa John's is indistinguishable from Domino's. I wonder if either man has ever even tried it.
Anyway... back on track. This book continually simplifies the reasons behind the success and/or failure of various companies and products to the poor use of publicity. No mention of poor management or rationalizing markets, or the fact that the product or service stunk in the first place. The most appaling thing is this guy has the balls to tell the city of Cusco in Peru and the country of Guatamala, they should change names in order to attract visitors. (Ciudad de las Incas and Guatamaya, respectively). I don't know if this is marketing ignorance, or American disregard for foreign cultures, but I couldn't believe what I was reading. He continues to show his ignorance of technology and pop culture with incorrect example after incorrect example.
For example, he points out that there was once a beer called Yuengling that failed because of it's name. Guess what, Al, Yuengling, is alive and doing pretty well.
Also chapters are repetitive. After reading about Red Bull 3 times, in as many chapters, it got a little boring To sum it up: Advertising is bad, Brand extension is bad. Anyone who didn't listen to his advice is now out of business, Papa John's is great. There I saved you the agony of reading this (Or anyother of his books or the books by Jack Trout) and $15. Save your money. A stinker of a book.
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Summary: Laura Ries is the weak link of Al Ries
Review: I declare myself an Al Ries fan. I've read all his books. I've attended his seminars. His concepts have make my firm grow exponentially. However, I consider his association with his daugther a negative move. Why? Because she still lacks the experience, the stature and the conceptual framework to write books side to side to the guru. I totally buy the concept of "PR to launch brands, advertising to defend brands". It works!! (the concept was presented by the authors on their previous GREAT book: The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding. The problem is The Fall of Adv. is not a well written book. It's obvious this book was written mainly by unexperienced Laura Ries (on Al Ries strong concepts, of course). I've studied the writting patterns. However I think this book is neccesary. You should read it. There are extremely valuable concepts burned into Laura's "not yet good enough" writting style. Advertising role must be updated. But be sure to read other Ries books before, so you get the story right. I hope their future books are much better written, so Ries concepts get the high quality delivery they deserve.
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Summary: The Rise of "PR" Spin
Review: Most parts of this book impressed me, however some parts did not and it often seemed to point ou the obvious. They did a good job distinguishing the different between advertising and PR but using different examples to show how PR is more modern than advertising yet we view the advertising ass classic and somewhat essential. However, sometimes they drag on with exlaining the difference, and use too many example in a row that may throw people off. The thing I liked is that when distinguishing advertising and PR, they try not to show how they are different, but how it is impossible for them to be the same. This led into how nothing can be mass produced without PR.
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Summary: So how do we implement this PR?
Review: The book states over and over that PR is great for brand-building, but never bothers to offer any tips on how to plan or implement a PR campaign. It could have at least given a few pointers on what to include (or not include) in a press release. Or, it could have given some guidance on how to select a PR firm. But, it's an easy read and somewhat entertaining.
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Summary: PR is King
Review: The Fall of Advertising & the Rise of PR by Al Ries & Laura Ries I agree with the thesis of this book: PR can change perceptions but advertising can't. I've been preaching about the credibility of PR for years (it's more believable because the message is delivered by the supposedly unbiased media.) Advertising, on the other hand, isn't believable because everyone knows that it's a company's paid-for message. Ries & Ries further state that advertising has crossed over into the realm of "art" rather than remaining a form of communication. They point out that the yardstick by which ad agencies measure the success of their ad campaigns is the number of creative awards they win--not whether or not the ads actually sell products. On this, the authors are absolutely right. Ads (especially TV ads) don't sell anymore, they entertain. It's a waste of money for companies to advertise as much as they do. So, even though the authors overstate their case and repeat it incessantly, follow the advice of Ries & Ries and spend more money on PR!
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Summary: PR is King
Review: The Fall of Advertising & the Rise of PR by Al Ries & Laura Ries I agree with the thesis of this book: PR can change perceptions but advertising can't. I've been preaching about the credibility of PR for years (it's more believable because the message is delivered by the supposedly unbiased media.) Advertising, on the other hand, isn't believable because everyone knows that it's a company's paid-for message. Ries & Ries further state that advertising has crossed over into the realm of "art" rather than remaining a form of communication. They point out that the yardstick by which ad agencies measure the success of their ad campaigns is the number of creative awards they win--not whether or not the ads actually sell products. On this, the authors are absolutely right. Ads (especially TV ads) don't sell anymore, they entertain. It's a waste of money for companies to advertise as much as they do. So, even though the authors overstate their case and repeat it incessantly, follow the advice of Ries & Ries and spend more money on PR!
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Summary: Yes, But......
Review: The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR is a good overview of the weaknesses of the advertising sector. The rising costs (far in excess of inflation), declining credibility and decreasing media audiences for advertising are all valid points. But as my high school journalism teacher used to say, there is "an abundancy of redundancy" in this book. That in fact is it's first major weakness. It's second major weakness is the premise that PR is "THE" answer for marketers. That simply isn't the full truth. The truth is that PR is an answer and an important one. But, PR is far from a silver bullet. As someone who has been involved in the marketing communications industry for 34 years and who owned a successful PR firm for 13 of those years, I can say that PR suffers from its own significant limitations. PR can't be controlled; the "news hole" in newspapers, magazines and in the electronic media is shrinking as costs increase and the audience is balkenized; and, PR efforts are never guaranteed to deliver any audience. Those aren't insignificant problems to overcome. The real answer is an intelligently integrated mix of advertising, Public Relations, direct, interactive and viral marketing selected by someone who knows what they are doing; who is focused on matching the marketing communications plan and its implementation to the budget and financial objectives of the client; and who takes the time to understand the wants and needs of the customer. Nevertheless, Ries and Ries perform a valuable service of exposing the weaknesses inherent in the advertising business. The points they make are valid and one conclusion is clear. Somethings going to give in the advertising world. This is the books major strength. To get the full picture, read "The Tipping Point" and "Integrated Marketing." Finally, as an old PR practioner who has fought this fight inside many an agency meeting, it's simply delightful to read a book (however repetitive it might be) extolling the virtues of Public Relations.
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