I get a lot of people asking what they should read if they want to get started in planning. And I always say Eat The Big Fish and Truth Lies And Advertising. Because they give you a sense of what planners do. In advertising agencies at least.
But that's not a lot of use unless you also understand the context planners operate in. Which is why (having just finished reading them) I'd also recommend MadScam and The Houdini Solution. Because, they give you great thoughts about how the rest of the business works.
I'm not sure I need to say much about MadScam, George has already said it all. And, as you'd expect, it's a clear, very-readable, nonsense-free guide to how to do your own ads and maybe, how to hire an agency. It's aimed at small(ish) business owners but the advice is good for everyone, because advertising isn't that hard and the principles that apply for Stan's Stunning Sarsaparilla ought to apply to the Coca-Cola company. The only reason they don't is all the people that get in the way, but no-one knows how to deal with that. Anyway. Read MadScam, it'll tell you how to do advertising. If you can then find away to help with some planning on top, you've got yourself a profession.
The Houdini Solution is similarly straightforward and good. It'll tell you how to have decent ideas. And again, Ernie probably explains it better than I could. (Reviewing books by bloggers is easy. They do it all for you.) Having good ideas is the hardest thing in advertising. Most people don't bother. So you should read everything you can about it. (Especially James Webb Young's Technique For Producing Ideas, written in the 30s and still one of the best things you can read about ideas.) The admirable thing about The Houdini Solution though is the emphasis on work-rate and practicality. This isn't designed for ivory tower folk, it's for people who want to work at ideas until they create enough good ones that one of them will be great.
Anyway, both good books. Get them both.
My Houdini Solution has been coming from the US since before Christmas but doesn't seem to be able to escape the postal system!
Posted by: John Dodds | March 06, 2007 at 03:31 PM