(book review) Adland

Adland: A Global History of Advertising by Mark Tungate

(Kogan Page, London and Philadelphia, 2007)

Most of the books on advertising seem to come from agencies that promote their own agenda. With Adland, Tungate brings a true journalistic style, an outside perspective... exploring facts, dreams and desires that made the ad world what it is today. This book is not a trumpet for any agency but is a well researched piece that walks the reader through each era in advertising history and explores future of the industry. 

Mark Tungate, an author and journalist explores the development of advertising from an international perspective. The book is a journey through highlights in the history and development of some of the biggest media agencies worldwide. Tungate explores the evolution of some of the key names in the industry such as WPP, Omnicom, Saatchi and Saatchi, Interpublic, Publicis, Havas, Dentsu and more... The book includes interviews of some of the industries stars such as George Lois, Tom Bernadin, Sir Alan Parker, Jean-Marie Dru, Sir Martin Sorrell, John Hegarty and Phil Dusenberry. This book is a must read for anyone in the field of advertising, marketing or related. Knowing these stories inside-out will give you a strong perspective of how and why the adworld is the way it is.

(book review) Spent

Spent: Sex, Evolution and Consumer Behavior by Geoffrey Miller
Penguin Group, NY-USA, 2009

Geoffrey Miller is a evolutionary psychologist and is the author of 'The Mating Mind'. In 'Spent', the author applies the principles of evolutionary psychology to today's consumer culture. He examines the consumer culture from the lens of a psychologist and reasons as to why we buy the things we do and what factors help us make a purchase. He states that the things a consumer buys is a strong indicator of his/her personality and that the things people buy, display or associate with exhibit our desirability to mates, friends or family members.

He starts from the basic human instincts and examines the shopping psychology of people from all age groups and stratas.  He reasons why people purchase the products they do, why some products appeal to a certain section of people and why they fail with others. He reasons why revamping a product or brand attitude, or a certain advert affects the sales of a product.  He infers messages that people give out when they buy a certain brand/ product – For example: People who buy a Honda are cautious people whereas people who buy a Lincoln prefer tradition. He tells us why people like to be associated with certain brands, why some brands become aspirations and why some brands go down the drain.

Though this book is a easy read and entertaining, it feels highly academic in few of its parts. Miller complains that the consumer culture is not really analyzed from a psychologist's point of view – a thing that is necessary in addition to the market research and consumer insights. He goes into great depths to analyze today's American shopping scenario and to discuss various human traits that are evident in shopping as well as mating.

Overall, the book is interesting and I like the way Miller peels layer by layer the human psyche and the consumer culture. The book is gripping and thought provoking. It is a book that will keep one thinking for a long time after reading it. Moreover, Miller has a great sense of humor and I liked his writing style. After reading so many books on consumer behavior from branding, advertising, marketing, economic and design points of view, this book is really refreshing!

(book review) SHIFT

Shift: How to reinvent your business, your career, and your personal brand by Peter Arnell
Broadway Books, NY-USA, 2010

A book by Peter Arnell – one of the gurus in the branding and advertising business. He has worked on top notch brands such as DKNY, Reebok, Chanel, Banana Republic, Pepsi and the list continues. Shift is about re-branding brands and re-branding oneself. Arnell intervenes his professional and personal experiences throughout the book to give a new and positive outlook on our lives at the same time discussing stories about brands he has worked on.

I was specially interested in reading about the way Arnell interprets and develops new stories for his brands and the way he applies similar techniques to his personal life. Arnell believes that branding starts with YOU. The story of his weight-loss from 460 pounds to 150 pounds is compelling. The book is about 'Shifting' – your attitude, your thoughts and thus your personal brand, your business or your career.

The book has a personal tone that makes the book enjoyable. Arnell talks about the way he learnt about himself and his patterns and pro-actively changed his habits that helped him achieve the feat of weight loss. But, I wish he had given more insights into the business of branding and advertising. Perhaps, he may write another book just on branding techniques.

The book is a quick read, with about 200 pages. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to get a new outlook towards one's life or to anyone in the advertising, branding and marketing business and of course to all the people who want to lose a lot of weight! After all, its all about making the SHIFT.