Madscam [Paperback]

George Parker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 6, 2006

Advertising industry insider George Parker dishes the dirt on big advertising agencies and reveals Madison Avenue's best-kept secret: that your business can produce the same quality ad campaigns on its own!

In this no-holds-barred exposé of the dangers of dealing with ad agencies, Parker reveals exactly what you should do to create fantastic-looking, results-producing advertising at a reasonable cost. It's everything Madison Avenue doesn't want you to know.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

After 30 years of agency experience with Madison Avenue firms like Ogilvy and Mather and Young and Rubicam, Parker, who is known for his advertising blogs "AdScam.com" and "AdHurl.com," offers this friendly, informative guide to advertising for small businesses. After outlining how to focus your advertising on your business's strengths, find your unique selling point and budget appropriately, Parker devotes a chapter each to print, television and new media ad strategies. In the final sections, he discusses how to hire freelancers and agencies, and how to track results. Resources and a glossary round out the book. Beginners will find more useful ideas than an established small business person, though his insider tips (e.g., a list of "Dumb Things You Should Avoid" when advertising, such as "trying to associate yourself with things that have no relevance to what you do") can be very insightful. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

McGraw-Hill authors represent the leading experts in their fields and are dedicated to improving the lives, careers, and interests of readers worldwide

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Entrepreneur Press; 1 edition (November 6, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1599180421
• ISBN-13: 978-1599180427
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,682,512 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

George Parker has spent more than thirty five years in the Madison Avenue salt mines with such major agencies as Ogilvy & Mather, Young & Rubicam, Chiat Day. J. Walter Thompson and many others. He's worked in New York, San Francisco, London, Paris, Stockholm and anywhere else were they would pay him obscene amounts of money and give him an AmEx platinum card with no questions asked. In the course of his career he's won Cannes Lions, CLIOs, EFFIES, the David Ogilvy Award and several hundred other bits of tin and plastic His blog AdScam.Typepad.com, which was named as one of the four best ad blogs in the world by Campaign Magazine, is required reading for those looking for a piss & vinegar view of the world's second oldest profession.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Art of War" for marketing/advertising., November 30, 2006

By 

212swat - See all my reviews

This review is from: Madscam (Paperback)

As an advertising veteran and a small business owner I have an unique perspective of this book. For someone in advertising this book is a great refresher course. It seems to me that a lot of current advertising has forgotten about the basics and would be served well to go back and relearn the lessons that are covered in MadScam. As a small business owner this book forces you to think hard and focus on what your USP (unique selling proposition) is. How do I differentiate myself from my competitors? And once I do, how do I implement my strategy? MadScam is the "Art of War" for entrepeneurs' marketing/advertising campaigns.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you think your advertising should actually result in sales..., Read This Book!, April 11, 2008

By 

Bernie L. Malonson "B. Malonson" (Chandler, AZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Madscam (Paperback)

If you are a marketer, or responsible for the sales and or service of a product, then you know that if you don't make sales, you don't make money. It is amazing how many advertisers and marketers forget that fact.

George Parker gets it. The ironic part is that he has far more in common with direct marketers than with the Madison Avenue types that he typically consorts with.

There is a large focus on really understanding the Unique Selling Point of your product. This is often glossed over in Business Schools, but it really is key. If you can't say what makes your product or service different than the competition then how can you expect your clients to get it?

12 well thought out chapters covering print, television, radio, Internet and much, much more.

Although not the final word, a solid read and well though out perspective.

Recommended!

Cheers!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The one book the ad agencies hope you don't read..., November 15, 2006

By 

A Reader in Washington, DC - See all my reviews

This review is from: Madscam (Paperback)

I learned more about advertising laughing my way through George Parker's "MadScam" than I learned about England earning an entire Ph.D.! On his blogs, Parker can be rude, boistrous, outspoken, and downright sexist, but those are primarily the qualities by which I treasure his opinions. In this book he sobers up and presents the world of advertising for the small or medium-sized business owner who thinks it might be time to hire an agency. He psychoanalyzes the typical advertising executive's deepest motivations and the average business owner's needs and worries with a level of honesty that will save you -- his devoted reader -- an absolute fortune.

According to evidence on his Adscam blog, Parker's best stories have not yet been printed in a book, and in fact should probably never be printed anywhere. But if this book is the success it deserves to be, the public surely will drag those stories out of him. Meanwhile, I admire the Entrepreneur Press for having the vision to offer an industry veteran's clear-eyed observations to the world. It's as much fun getting to know George Parker as it is learning about advertising, and you'll be wealthier and happier for both.