Adland: Searching for the Meaning of Life on a Branded Planet - A Review

I had always thought the advertising scene overseas would be drastically different from here in Malaysia. Boy, was I wrong! In a way James Othmer shattered one of my long-kept dreams that the grass on the other side would be greener.

The book itself is divided into 3 parts. The first part for me, was a trip down memory lane which was basically a combination of dreamy and nightmare-like existence. The second part was about the changes currently going on in the industry. And the final part, what the future holds, somewhat.

The biggest thing aside from the advent of the Net as an advertising medium, are those little agencies that are going around saying that they’re not ad agencies.

When Common Sense Fails

I went to the Curve today to settle some affairs.

MALAYSIA AIRLINES

The 1st thing that caught my eye was this huge building advertising from Malaysia Airlines. The ad was on the e@Curve building where the Cathay cinema is at. The 1st thought that came to mind was “Wow, this is a first. I’ve never seen a MAS ad at this site before.”

LEAP!: Ditch Your Job, Start Your Own Business & Set Yourself Free - A Review

Short, succinct and to the point. With heaps of useful tips. However, I think this guide is for those who are considering setting up their own consultancy outfits. Not entirely useful for those in other types of home based business like network marketing or internet marketing, although some of the tips may apply. What I liked about the book was that it never tried to go into those mumbo-jumbo "find yourself","discover your inner mojo","get in touch with your inner self" rubbish so prevalent and long-winded in self-help books for entrepreneurs. Ian Sanders made his points clear and practical. I like this.

Why Network Marketing is not for me.

My very first post talked about (among other things) of my intention to get into network marketing.

Here’s an update on that. Tough work, folks. Not for the faint-hearted. I’ve also invested quite a bit of moolah to acquire some knowledge on how best to operate this business.

Everyone Connected. So, what now?

I admit it. I had a certain degree of envy towards the folks who came up with TM Everyone Connects campaign. It was big, loud and generated a lot of buzz. All culminating with that huge sing-along session at Bukit Bintang.

How To Get from Where You Are to Where You Want To Be - A Review

Canfield delivers. How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be is a practical guide, filled with common sense advice. What resonates to me the most is that you don't need to be perfectly ready to start. Just start. Time to get off my butt.

Mullahs, Merchants, and Militants: The Economic Collapse of the Arab World - A Review

In most history of military conquests and reigns of despots and corrupt government, the underlying reasons has always included economics. The kind where the country's riches are controlled by the very few and the many suffer.

Such as typified by the many Middle Eastern countries.

It's really not a huge surprise to see many turn to the likes of Hezbollah, Muslim Brotherhood and for those with more extreme tastes, Al-Qaeda as they seem to be the ones bearing beacons of hope.

If one is hungry, one will become very desperate.

The Right Decision: A Mathematician Reveals How the Secrets of Decision Theory - A Review

I love this book! But solutions to some of the questions didn't sit well with me.

In "Hacking It", I felt the 2nd possible solution was the better bet compared to the 3rd because if you stayed at a well-paying job for a little while, you'd be able to have enough financially to start off as an independent contractor. Even if you had a lot of contacts, it won't matter much if you can't even stay afloat for a few months while waiting for payment from your clients.

Sometimes, I think the author is purposefully trying to make sure that the right solution never involves taking a life. While that is correct, I do wonder whether it made sense to let Napoleon live as in the "Nine Lives" quiz. I didn't think that the exile solutions were best because he was a popular guy. And I think he didn't escape from Elba without some help.

Flip: How to Turn Everything You Know on Its Head--and Succeed Beyond Your Wildest Imaginings - A Review

Really liked this book. His writing is engaging and the book is filled with a lot of examples.

What I really liked what his “Fast, Good, Cheap – Pick 3 & add Something Extra” concept. For many years, I always believed that 2 out of 3 would be good enough, but Sheahan has proven that it’s no longer so because all 3 are actually achievable and are no longer points of difference for business but are now entry requirements. If you wanna play, you’ve gotta have all that or don’t bother.

And I do agree with his position on ‘sweating on the small stuff’. I think it’s important that it’s not just one or a few of the small details that need to be looked into, but a series of small stuff that can add up to a profitable bigger picture.

Herd: How to Change Mass Behaviour by Harnessing Our True Nature - A Review

Fantastic! It's a book about 'we' thinking that we're an 'I' when all the time we're behaving like a 'we'...very useful for marketers or all those in the 'changing behaviour' jobs like advertising.

Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior - A Review

Sway holds a particular interest to me in that no where do I see it more played out than in the world of consumerism.

Celebrity endorsements, price offs, real people testimonials etc. etc. All these methods are used to get people to part with their money.

While some may say that such tactics are useful to consumers i.e. that they present benefits to consumers, they are still sneaky tactics because in the end they serve to sway you towards irrational behaviour.

Gen BuY: How Tweens, Teens and Twenty-Somethings Are Revolutionizing Retail - A Review

I'm not a Gen Yer unfortunately. By definition, I was born 4 years too early. And it seems, 4 years is a wider gap than I thought.

Illuminating is how I judge this book as it describes the American Gen Yers so clearly. I must admit that the American Gen Yers are far more sophisticated than other Gen Yers across the globe. I mean, how can a flashlight be an essential item for prom?.....sigh, only in America.

The authors described how retailers are bending over backwards to cater to this group. One example, the Urban Outfitters and their snazzy outlets. The problem that I have with this is that, I think it's all very gimmicky and can easily be copied by their competitors. Therefore, it will no longer be a point of difference. So, then what?

The Online Advertising Playbook: Proven Strategies and Tested Tactics from the Advertising Research Foundation - A Review

It's like what the title says. This is a playbook.

Found a lot of useful case studies and nice tips. But what I found disturbing is that the strategies and tactics are too reminiscent of traditional advertising. It talks quite a bit about what size it should be, what should be said, how often it should appear.

Having said that, this book is very useful when dealing with the here and now. But it won't be useful for long as online advertising morphs further to include Web 2.0 elements. And that should be in a couple of years. This book was written in 2007. The authors should think about revised editions or follow-ups.

Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us - A Review

Am disappointed. This book sounded more like a self-help, ra-ra you-can-do-it diatribe than it is a how-to book.

As usual, it's sprinkled with many anecdotes of little and unheard of people and companies , which as Godin asserts, are leaders in their own right. All of which helped make this book less boring, thankfully.

I distrust any business book that doesn't have a content list or even index pages, not to mention bibliography list. Is this a sign of leadership or fiction?

Branding Only Works on Cattle: The New Way to Get Known (and drive your competitors crazy) - A Review

"Branding is based on an outdated and invalid desire to manipulate and control consumers' unconscious."

"It looks and feels good to the people who produce it but it has little to no effect on consumer behaviour. And if and when it does, there's no good reason why to know for sure"

"Brand success is wedded more to circumstance than to the inherent qualities of product or service."

"Brand continues to be the business corollary to buying a lottery ticket. It would be laughable if it wasn't such a colossal waste of money."

Problem Solving 101: A Simple Book for Smart People - A Review

In my work, we're already using these methods. However, what Watanabe has done are 2 things; 1) give clarity as to why the steps are necessary and 2) he has shortened the steps.

We go through our lives not knowing why we do things and we tend to take a really long route in order to get things done.

At work, we're required to adhere to certain protocols because "that's how things are done around here", which is not really a good reason why we should adhere to them in the first place. Or it could just mean that nobody really knows why we must abide by protocols.