Customer Reviews

The Future of Advertising : New Media, New Clients, New Consumers in the Post-Television Age

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I probably own over twenty books on marketing and advertising; weighty tomes written by the greats and near-greats. But Joe Cappo's crisply written new book is the best global overview I've seen yet. It clearly describes how the advertising industry has evolved dramatically over the past few decades -- and then speculates on the future twists and turns that may come to pass on the "advertising journey."

Will TV fade away and disappear? Of course not, and Cappo is the first to tell us that. But new ways of handling the challenges of commercial clutter (and of personal video recorders such as TiVo) must be innovated. Is the print medium at risk in the future? Perhaps, and that means newspapers most of all. (As this book points out, newspapers have a problem because they own their costly and inefficient printing presses, and are committed to an antiquated distribution system consisting of trucks rumbling through metropolitan areas to deliver their burdens to readers' doors.) The Internet, which came out of nowhere in the 90's -- and caught most advertising professionals flat-footed -- will continue to have a growing and enormous impact on consumers and businesses. (FYI, Cappo tells us that a study covering usage of all media forms revealed that by April, 2002 fully 25% of respondents were getting their daily dose of news ONLINE. Amazing.)

I'm sort of an old codger with a lot of years logged at advertising agencies. But Cappo's book makes me wish I were a kid of 21 again -- bright-eyed and launching into a career in the provocative and ever-changing world of advertising.

So if you're looking for an informative, entertaining, "short course" on the past, present and future of the ad biz, buy this book. I gave it 5 stars. (And I'd have given it 6 if Amazon allowed that over-the-top option.)

I don't get some of the comments (reviews listed). How can you say Cappo focuses too much on history? I wonder if anyone who thinks such a thing is really a media analyst ... I'm talking multiple regression analysis here, the past 100 years (weighted) of data that is made up of many variables and the outcome of each set. With this whe can assume a probability of what will happen before this year is out and future years (based on reasonable assumptions or trends).

That's statistical history and Cappo, though not mentioning regression, is using the theory (whether it's audience size, ad budgets, etc.)

Second, history is ethnography (the study of life stories of communities [generally speaking]), there is classical ethnography and there are many newer types such as usage ethnography. Sitting is people homes and watching how they watch TV etc.) If you think you know the history of advertising but you haven't used the above mentioned tools (and there are several more, sociology, psychology, women's studies etc.) THEN YOU DON'T KNOW ADVERTISING! - READ THIS BOOK! Unfortunately, if you read this book and you still don't get it, hook-up with some experts - not Joe Blow from the local print shop but Joe Cappo or someone as schooled. Alternatively, if you think you do know the history of advertising so well then why haven't you written a better book?

Now for some criticisms, TV dying... I'm not sure Joe actually said that. If he did say that, I think what he really meant to say was that TV is changing. If you don't read Joe's [former] rag, Advertising Age, then you are missing out. A major company (P&G?) announced two weeks ago it was repositioning its advertising towards TV!

Second, the end to commercials on TV? I actually believed without a critical thought that this was a reality. After discussing it with a colleague I was reminded of the all-time-greatest technical sore thumb, the flashing clock on the VCR. All the technology in the world isn't going to motivate someone to press more than one button. How can a society so trained in passive viewing (TV) be motivated to do more than press on, off, channel up, channel down? Fast-forward is about as complicated as most things get. But Joe seems sold on the idea that the top of the curve is going to change its behavior and enter the world of the early adopter/nerds? There needs to be a greater reward to alter behavior than not having to watch commercials. It took porn and free games to put computers or VCRs/DVDs in every household so I don't think the prospect of skipping commercials is a big enough reward for the first 95 percent of the curve.

Conclusion: I'd read this book five times if I had the time. IT IS insightful, especially chapter 11. I took about 22 separate notes from this book, so if you don't have time to read the whole book then read pages 30,32,36,37,45,46,47,49,51,52, 55,56,62,64,70, 160,206,227, and 228. I loved the insightful comment comparing Survivor and Abram Maslow.

If anyone has any opinions about what I have written I strongly encourage you to send me an email, I'd love to discuss advertising & marketing, especially how social sciences weigh in. We can probably help each other.

Once considered a glamorous, creative and positive influence on American popular culture, the advertising business has changed so dramatically it is almost unrecognizable today. Veteran journalist Joe Cappo uses a personal approach and an historical perspective to explain the problems advertising is facing. Two decades ago, some 20 major agencies, all independent and competing against each other, developed innovative, memorable campaigns for a variety of consumer products. But those days are over. Today, four global marketing communications holding companies control 55% of marketing expenditures. This consolidation curtailed creativity, which has resulted in agencies that produce very few memorable ads or integrated marketing efforts despite unprecedented resources. Refreshingly, Cappo does not temper his industry critique in this slightly disjointed, but well-written explanation, which is buttressed by short articles from other industry experts. Cappo sounds a wake-up call for agencies to reform themselves or lose out to more effective marketing approaches from upstart independent agencies or product manufacturers.we suggest that anyone responsible for advertising budgets or for developing marketing campaigns will benefit from Cappo's view of the past - and possible future - of advertising.

Looking for insight into the "future" of advertising, I decided to read this book. Makes sense given the title. Much of the book, ironically, is dedicated to the history of advertising. It gives little indication where things are headed other than they are changing. If you're not in marketing or advertising, maybe it's fresh and interesting. For those in this business, 95% of this book is "yeah, now tell me something I don't know."

Among the many fields in the business world I think advertising comes out as one of the most dynamic. It is a business where technology and the human capacity to create go hand in hand all the time. Radio did not eliminate press, tv did not eliminate press and radio and the internet will not eliminate any of the last three. All media channels will keep working together reaching different targets or adding critical mass to each other. The main change now is a consumer who has more power to decide and to influence products and services but advertising in itself will go on and on as long as there are products and services available to sell and consumers ready to buy in the free world.

In The Future of Advertising, author Joe Cappo paints a rosy picture of the way advertising used to be conducted, saying "advertising was exciting and it was fun." He also mentions how the ups and downs of advertising eventually ended with a down. Cappo's main focus of his book is that our traditional perception of advertising is over. He additionally argues that advertising on television may be over, and if companies don't adjust, they might be over as well.
Cappo explores how advertising came about, how it got there, and what influences it may have on the future. At the utmost importance to the future of advertising Cappo contends is to recognize and solve the problems it has run into over the recent decades due to rapidly changing technology.
A reader should be warned not to be fooled by the title of the book, The Future of Advertising, as I surely was. The majority of his book outlines the way advertising has evolved in the United States since World War II; a history lesson that lasts for a better half of the book. Instead, the way in which Cappo incorporates advertising's future is to draw on these past instances to surmise ways that he sees the advertising landscape taking place.
The detailed description of where advertising started and what has changed throughout the past couple of decades was quite interesting. Cappo poignantly shows that glamorous advertising and its influence on American culture is a concept that is getting increasingly less popular, due in part to television and changing media outlets. The cause of the changing media outlets is generational gaps and what types of technology is used by each.
Cappo's main focus is on advertising companies and how they are going to change their ways to keep up with the industry. The companies strictly focused on advertisements, which now are not strictly selling the product. Mentioning the previous life of advertising and how it has now hit a wall and what was once considered in bad taste, like direct marketing or sales promotion, is now selling the product and getting to the consumer. Cappo's tell it like it is attitude resonates with the reader, as if he is enforcing advertising companies to change their services to get ahead in the business and to adapt to their client needs. What once use to be "one of the most important advertising mediums, " Edwin Artzt says television may not be a reliable source of income. Cappo does not feel that TV will disappear but he says that reaching consumers is getting harder because people are willing to pay more for a program that does require one to see advertisements so in order for a product to sell they may need to use different mediums to get the product known which would then leave advertising companies out.
Throughout the book, there are inserts from various other people in this business, each focusing on a different topic, but eventually each going in the same direction as Mr. Cappo's perspective. Again this adds to the whole concept of the "future" because they all explore where advertising is going while using differing theories and ideas as to how these possibilities or limitations will come about.
Due to the ever changing world of technology, even though this book was published in 2003, his views on where the future of advertising is heading have mostly arrived. But this doesn't entirely mean this book is not worth reading, for it is an incredible source for what has happened in the past. Sad to say however, that some of Cappo's examples of the future are now in fact, history.
Overall, the book would be a recommendation of mine if you were interested in gaining a better understanding where advertising came from. Cappo also compares it to where it currently is at now and coordinates things of the past and how they have and can continue to affect the future of advertising.

Simply put, there is no future in advertising.

Tv advertising, especially, is losing its edge.

The Word of Mouth (Permission Marketing included) and the Word of Mouse (Internet-based, Multi-media driven Marketing Communications Tools) have made the word, advertising obsolete.

Read this book if you are still in the old age industry of Advertising--especially the TV Commercials production fields.

Simply put, there is no future in advertising.

Tv advertising, especially, is losing its edge.

The Word of Mouth (Permission Marketing included) and the Word of Mouse (Internet-based, Multi-media driven Marketing Communications Tools) have made the word, advertising obsolete.

Read this book if you are still in the old age industry of Advertising--especially the TV Commercials production fields.

I am not sure if the last "person" from Hong Kong read this book or not, but the idea that TV advertising is a thing of the past is ridiculous...

I guess that means no one watches TV anymore right?

I have not read this book either, but I had to make a comment to off-set the previous one...