Advertising

Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman at Ogilvy, said the following about ‘Brands, Bandwagons & Bullshit’: –

“I noticed that this book ingeniously starts with a glossary – which was recommendation enough. But it gets even better from there on. I’m really enjoying it”.

In marketing, it’s easy to get caught up in the hype – the latest channel, brand, agency or media outlet. Cutting the useful from the useless is a constant battle.

Marketing, Advertising, PR and Media are all designed to sound awesome, but how can you possibly know which path is right for you without getting stuck in? You won’t know the facts until it’s too late – so the best thing to do is research what’s out there and make the most informed choices possible.

‘Brands, Bandwagons & Bullshit’ was written for two main audiences:- First, Students, Graduates and young marketing professionals looking to find their first job in marketing, advertising, media or PR . Second, it’s useful for an older demographic of those people who use marketing within their businesses but have no idea how it works (and are, by now, too afraid to ask).

Marketing is never perfect. How could it be? Every second of every day, everything that helps inform your decisions changes. Trends disperse, media pivots, demographics shift, geographies imbalance, economies peak and trough, products fail, creative is subjective, Pandemics arrive and strategy’s a Rubik’s Cube of a conundrum.

‘Brands, Bandwagons & Bullshit’ was written using notes, hints and tips I’ve found valuable myself and it also contains snippets from several articles I’ve written for Marketing Week, Campaign and other magazines. The topics are wide ranging, broaching marketing strategy, brand strategy, campaign tactics and some of the pitfalls you may/ will encounter on your own journey.

Part 1: Getting Started’ covers the things you might want to consider before you get your first job whilst ‘Part 2 – The Marketing Bit’ branches out into the strategy, tactics and campaigns that brands employ to give them an edge (or sometimes get it very, very wrong).

This isn’t a ‘self-help’ book, nor does it profess to hold all the answers. Think of it less as a Sat Nav directing you to your ideal marketing career or a bible for perfect marketing and more like a shopping list to browse, extracting useful snippets at will.

The baking of the cake is totally up to you, but hopefully you’ll pick up some useful directions and suggested ingredients over the coming pages to help you steer between the bullshit and the bandwagons.

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Who is this book for?
This book is aimed at those that want to discover the basics of SEO and learn the things that will enable them them to lift their websites higher on Google.

• Learn how to make your website rank higher in Google
• Get more website visitors, and turn them into customers
• Finally understand Search Engines and remove any confusion
• Stop struggling with tech tools
• This book will show you what you need to know

Ideal for business owners, marketers or anyone starting out in SEO who needs a solid understanding of what is involved.

Throughout the book there are actionable items that you can apply to your website.

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Whether you are a student or a professional working in Marketing or as a creative, whether you are looking for ways to come up with ideas, or to find the next best advertising concept for a print or digital ad, the book will explain everything you need to know about how to get there.

Free yourself from negative thoughts about not being creative. You don’t have to struggle to come up with ideas to better advertise your brand. With your newly acquired “Superpowers”, you can become anything you want in the world of communication, from the money making person to the award winning, cherished by all creative. It’s up to you.

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Why do some advertising campaigns work and others fall flat?

Behavioural Psychology demonstrates that we process marketing and advertising messages in the same way that we process interpersonal communication. This is because humans have built-in ‘fixed action patterns’ that produce
consistent, predictable responses. These ‘fixed action patterns’ are unconscious hard-wired shortcuts that help us make decisions, behave or act more efficiently.

Many of these ‘fixed action patterns’ are well known in Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) and are used for creating rapid behavioural change. Perhaps it’s not suprising that these exact same patterns are used in marketing and advertising to increase acquisition, improve loyalty and reduce attrition.

In effect these patterns make your audience more likely to behave in predictable ways.

These patterns can be easily identified, measured and charted. This enables the effect of any form of advertising or marketing communication to be predicted.

Persuasive Marketing will introduce you to these patterns and how to use them effectively.

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Amazon advertising helps to increase sales and launch new products on Amazon successfully.

Amazon advertising works, and equally, it may be easy to waste your money. This book helps you master Amazon advertising, giving you an in-depth guide from starting to an advanced level.

Amazon advertising follows a pay per click model, and marketers have spent hours to figure the correct process. This book explains how to create the advertising process and execute them successfully. This in-depth guidebook shows you:

• How to create Amazon ads
• How to carry out keyword research
• Advertising optimisation
• Different types of ads
• Advertising strategies
• How to scale your sales with your advertising

This practical book gives you the knowledge to advertise your product and grow your sales. Once you read this book, you will look into advertising differently and find ways to manage them well.

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Something is rotten in the state of advertising. CEOs and marketers tell us that working with agencies is painful and laborious. Agency people tell us they feel undervalued, overworked and stifled by poor processes. And the poor old punter is left faced with advertising that is at best forgettable, and at worst insulting to the intelligence. Surely Advertising can be better than this?

“This book is full of common sense. Which is rare, so it’s actually full of uncommon sense.” Dave Trott

How as a businessperson or marketer can you get the most out of your advertising budget?
What to look for in an agency or the people you choose to work with?
What can help your advertising rise above the mass of messages out there?
What can advertising agencies do to improve the quality and effectiveness of their output?

We were having a cup of tea and a chat one morning when we had the idea for this book. In our opinion, the quality and effectiveness of advertising in general is not good enough. We think the way businesses work with agencies and the way that agencies organise themselves and develop advertising needs to be improved. It’s time the advertising industry had a much-needed kick up the proverbial. So we thought it would be helpful to collect the ideas and approaches that have helped us to make better advertising for our clients over the last ten years.

Whether you’re a business owner, chief executive, marketer or brand director who works with ad agencies, or an agency chief, planner, ad exec or creative, we hope you find this book thought-provoking and challenging. Most of all, we hope it helps you make better advertising. Put the kettle on…

“Vic and Andy have come up with a foolproof way to help you discover if you are a good agency. Ask yourself: ‘Dare I give this book to all my clients?’” Steve Harrison

“Get it, read it. You’ll feel better for it. More importantly you’ll do better as a result of it.” Brian Jacobs, The Cog Blog

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The book that started the guerilla marketing revolution, expanded and completely updated for the twenty-first century.

Jay Levinson’s Guerrilla Marketing revolutionized marketing strategies for the small-business owner with his take-no-prisoners approach to finding clients. Based on hundreds of solid and effective ideas, Levinson’s philosophy has given birth to a new way of learning about market share and how to gain it. In this completely updated and expanded fourth edition, Levinson offers a new arsenal of weaponry for small-business success including strategies for marketing on the internet (explaining when and precisely how to use it); tips for using new technology, such as podcasting and automated marketing; programs for targeting prospects and cultivating repeat and referral business, and management lessons in the age of telecommuting and freelance employees. Guerrilla Marketing is the entrepreneur’s marketing bible–and the book every small-business owner should have on his or her shelf.

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Advertising research organizations have been trying for years to measure the effectiveness of advertising.

Recent research by Erik du Plessis and his colleagues at Adtrack South Africa, and subsequently at Millward Brown, has helped to show that the strongest factor predicting success is not the scheduling rate, but how much an advertisement is liked.

Erik du Plessis draws on information about the working of the human brain from psychologists, neurologists and artificial intelligence specialists to suggest why ‘ad-liking’ is such an important factor in establishing a firm memory of an advertisement and predisposing consumers to buy. He explores what ‘ad-liking’ really means, and suggests how use of this paradigm could lead to a new phase in the ongoing effort to obtain maximum return from advertising spend.

Millward Brown were also behind the research for the BRANDchild initiative.

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Looking to grow your local business to the next level and leave your competitors in the dust?
This comprehensive ebook reveals insider tactics and proven strategies for dominating local search and outpacing your competition. From optimizing your website for local search terms to leveraging Google My Business and online directories, this guide covers all the essential elements of local SEO.

But this isn’t just another run-of-the-mill SEO guide. It goes beyond the basics to share little-known tips and tricks that can give you a serious competitive edge. Discover the power of hyperlocal content, learn how to generate more online reviews, and explore advanced tactics for targeting local customers through paid advertising.

The ebook is written in a clear, easy-to-follow format that’s perfect for small business owners and marketers who are new to local SEO. But even experienced SEO professionals will find plenty of valuable insights and strategies to take their local search game to the next level.

Throughout the ebook, you’ll find practical advice, real-world examples, and step-by-step instructions for implementing each strategy. Whether you’re a local retailer, restaurant owner, or service provider, this ebook will help you improve your online visibility, attract more customers, and grow your business.
If you’re ready to crush your competitors with local SEO, download our ebook today and start your journey towards local search domination. Act now before your competitors crush your business

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