While there are books on creativity that may prove useful for a long time, books about media tend to have a shorter shelf life. Which is why I say go read Watch This, Listen Up, Click Here: Inside the 300 Billion Dollar Business Behind the Media You Constantly Consume ASAP, because next year it could be totally obsolete.
But right now, it’s a great read. Written by David Verklin, the CEO of Carat, and Bernice Kanner, a noted marketing author (who recently passed away), you get a broad overview of today’s media landscape and why it’s changing so rapidly.
It’s all here: From the Super Bowl, Nielsen Ratings to the impact of Google Adwords, Wikipedia, Second Life and Professional Bull Riding (seriously!), everything media-related is covered, and if you’re a media junkie like me, there’s a “hey, I didn’t know that” fact on almost every page. Although I have to admit, the chapter titles are a bit of a tease: “Why Oprah Gave Away Pontiacs” and “Why Honda Hates The Internet” have more to do with the broader topics they hint at (product placement and online comparison shopping) than Oprah or Honda.
You’re not going to get any magic answers or ways to develop better media plans from Verklin and Kanner. But it’d be hard to find a better overview of the right-here right-now media landscape than this book. As a creative, this is the kind of stuff I need to keep up with. I’ve always believed media people and creative people ought to work more closely together. Reading this book reminded me why: the future of the ad industry depends on it.
(Full disclosure: FSB Associates provided me with a copy of this book for review. Still, I’d recommend this to anyone in advertising who needs to keep up with current trends–in other words, everyone.)