The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR FROM OUR EDITORS
The Barnes & Noble Review
If you're responsible for your company's advertising budget or its branding efforts, you need to read this pithy, iconoclastic book by marketing gurus Al and Laura Ries. The authors, best known for their acclaimed The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding, begin with a blistering indictment of the advertising industry: Its products -- such as TV commercials and magazine campaigns -- are outrageously expensive, of little interest to most consumers, and can rarely be linked to an actual increase in sales. Even buzz-generating campaigns like the Energizer Bunny ads, Nike's "Just Do It" commercials, and Budweiser's "Whassup?" TV spots (the most honored in advertising history) have been unable to prevent significant losses in market share. Advertising, the Rieses conclude, is simply not able to fulfill its most basic mandate -- the creation of brand loyalty.
As an alternative to conventional advertising, the authors prescribe public relations -- and offer dozens of ideas based on the success of products (Krispy Kremes, Starbucks coffee, the Ford Mustang) that have achieved national recognition without ad campaigns. Krispy Kreme, for example, persuaded a local celebrity to be the first customer to sample a glazed doughnut at the opening of its Phoenix store; the resulting free media coverage was far more effective than expensive advertising. Although the Rieses acknowledge exceptions to their rule (Altoids and Absolut vodka are the most obvious), their argument is persuasive. This book is a quick, enjoyable read, and its core message could very well save your company substantial sums of money while earning it the most elusive of holy grails -- sustained customer loyalty. Bill Camarda
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Bestselling authors and world-renowned marketing strategists Al and Laura Ries usher in the new era of public relations.
Today's major brands are born with publicity, not advertising. A closer look at the history of the most successful modern brands shows this to be true. In fact, an astonishing number of brands, including Palm, Starbucks, the Body Shop, Wal-Mart, Red Bull and Zara have been built with virtually no advertising.
Using in-depth case histories of successful PR campaigns coupled with those of unsuccessful advertising campaigns, The Fall of Advertising provides valuable ideas for marketers — all the while demonstrating why advertising lacks credibility, the crucial ingredient in brand building, and how only PR can supply that credibility; the big bang approach advocated by advertising people should be abandoned in favor of a slow build-up by PR; advertising should only be used to maintain brands once they have been established through publicity.
Bold and accessible, The Fall of Advertising is bound to turn the world of marketing upside down.
SYNOPSIS
Bestselling authors and world-renowned marketing strategists Al and Laura Ries usher in the new era of public relations.
Today's major brands are born with publicity, not advertising. A closer look at the history of the most successful modern brands shows this to be true.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Marketing strategists Ries and Ries spend all 320 pages of their latest book arguing one point: skillful public relations is what sells, not advertising. Case in point: the failure of Pets.com's sock puppet ads. However, in a chapter devoted to dot-com advertising excesses, the authors never mention that many dot-coms had miserable business plans and neophyte management. (The Rieses may be counting on the sock puppet to sell another commodity, as a deflated sock puppet dominates the book's jacket.) Today, most small companies aren't bloated with venture capital to buy TV ads, yet the book has little practical advice on how these companies' executives should use public relations, particularly PR's most important role: crisis control. Some readers might resent paying $24.95 for what amounts to an advertisement for pricey PR consulting firms like Ries & Ries. The authors frequently poke fun at the most outrageous TV ads of recent years, paralleling Sergio Zyman's The End of Advertising As We Know It (reviewed above), a more thoughtful critique of current advertising trends. The inherent flaw in the Rieses' logic: time and again they cite ad campaigns for new products that are "off message" and then say how much sales declined; this supports the notion that products and services are sold by good advertising. Although their book is occasionally entertaining, the argument is simplistic and self-serving. Illus. (Sept. 1) Forecast: Those who work in publicity or PR will enjoy hearing about how important their jobs are, but ad execs will find the constant criticisms of their field grating. Harper Business certainly doesn't seem to have taken the Rieses' message to heart; a cornerstone of the book's marketing campaign is print advertising in Advertising Age, Adweek and Brandweek. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
Library Journal
The father-and-daughter authors who previously collaborated on The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding here attempt to explain the difference between advertising and public relations, arguing that PR should be used instead of advertising to launch new brands. Once a brand is established, advertising may then be used to maintain the brand in the consumer's mind. The book is arranged in four chapters, with the first chapter describing the "fall of advertising" and offering examples of failed campaigns such as those for New Coke and Pets.com. Subsequent chapters describe the rise of PR and its effective use by brands like Sony PlayStation and Red Bull, tout the new role advertising can play in maintaining brands, and attempt to finally differentiate between advertising and PR. Throughout, the authors' mantra is "advertising failed, PR would have worked," but they never fully explain how and why PR would have been more successful for the companies and the brands used as examples. An optional purchase for corporate and academic libraries. Stacey Marien, American Univ. Lib., Washington, DC Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
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