Adweek Magazine Series – serie

Disruption? It's nothing new. Just look at any of the breakthrough business ideas of the last thirty years-from Federal Express overnight delivery to Saturn's fixed sticker price-and you'll see a perfect example of the principle of disruption in action.Still, do you really understand what makes these ideas great? On an intuitive level, maybe, but can you articulate it clearly, reproduce it to create your own business breakthroughs, and make it an integral part of how your company operates? Probably not-unless, of course, you're already familiar with the principles and practices spelled out in Disruption, the groundbreaking new book by global advertising and marketing authority Jean-Marie Dru.To put it simply, disruption is about uncovering the culturally embedded biases and conventions that shape standard approaches to business thinking and get in the way of clear, creative thinking. It's about shattering those biases and conventions and setting creativity free to forge a radical new vision of a product, brand, or service. It's about spearheading change rather than reacting to it.In Disruption, Dru shows you how to harness the enormous potential of this concept. He introduces innovative strategies for breaking down creative barriers and shows you how to analyze traditional approaches from new perspectives. Next, he provides valuable tools for identifying and cataloging conventions, including "what if," "multicultural analysis," and the "disruption bank." He then demonstrates-with the help of dozens of galvanizing examples from around the world-how to apply this knowledge systematically to create innovative competitive strategies, marketing campaigns, and operations plans that can revitalize your company or department.Disruption is must reading for all advertising and marketing professionals, as well as business people who understand the value of creativity.Praise for Disruption"Dru offers not just a convincing context but a successful methodology for breaking out of creative ruts. There's nothing like stirring up a little turbulence to get new thoughts flying. In this book, Dru tells how to pump new energy into brands, with fresh, even revolutionary thinking." -Aldo Papone Senior Advisor, American Express Company"Dru's advertising theories in Disruption are nontraditional, which is exactly what you need to regain the interest and trust of today's consumers." -Scott Bedbury Senior Vice President, Marketing, Starbucks Coffee Company"Disruption is all about risk-taking, trusting your intuition, and rejecting the way things are supposed to be. Disruption goes way beyond advertising, it forces you to think about where you want your brand to go and how to get there." -Richard Branson Founder and Chairman of Virgin Group of Companies."I read Disruption with admiration and recognition. The neat marketing premise of disruption, as articulated, is brilliant. The case studies are compelling . . . making this an unusually easy read." -Owen J. Lipstein Editor-in-Chief, Psychology Today, Spy, Mother Earth News."I enjoyed reading Jean-Marie Dru's book and found myself nodding my head rather than nodding off. It's a timely and well-argued reminder of the need to be different." -David Abbott Chairman, Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO Ltd."Dru offers a truly absorbing compendium of the what, how, and why of creating advertising that takes consumers by surprise-advertising that is different but effective. He offers a distinctive approach to discovering unconventional but sensible ideas for brands and for the advertising that supports them -in print, TV, or the Internet." -Stephen A. Greyser Professor of Marketing/Communications, Harvard Business School."Disruption is a catalyst of the imagination, an invaluable guide for rejecting conventionality, ideas which have always been at the heart of MTV." -Bill Roedy CEO, MTV International

They advertised soft drinks on fruit and underwear on sidewalks. They employed Ed Koch to bring Snapple to the American heartland. They even used Imelda Marcos to sell Kenneth Cole shoes. Advertising innovators Jon Bond and Richard Kirshenbaum have come up with more outrageously clever ways to get past consumers' detectors than anyone else in advertising today. And now, they're finally ready to reveal their methods.In Under the Radar, Kirshenbaum and Bond chronicle their meteoric rise from a one-room, two-man Lower East Side stringer operation to Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners, one of today's hottest agencies. They share the lessons they learned along the way and describe the evolution of their unique "under-the-radar" approach to grabbing and holding the attention of today's "been there, done that" consumers.Under the Radar offers advertising and marketing professionals a deeply probing and instructive look at the nature of advertising and marketing in an age of information overload. Kirshenbaum and Bond provide a cogent analysis of how the world has changed since David Ogilvy laid down his ironclad rules for successful advertising. And, using in-depth critiques of many of today's best (and worst) ad campaigns, they describe what it takes to break through the defensive screens of a population bombarded by 1,500 ad messages each day.You'll learn all about cutting-edge research techniques KB&P and other front-running agencies have developed for getting inside the heads and hearts of real people, and, just as important, how to use that knowledge to get ad-weary consumers to tune in rather than zone out. You'll also learn about the latest trends in integrated marketing, media planning, and guerrilla marketing, as well as new ways of structuring an agency in order to stimulate "under-the-radar" thinking.Offering valuable lessons from the founders of one of today's most innovative and successful advertising firms, Under the Radar is essential reading for absolutely anyone involved in selling to consumers, from self-employed copywriters to marketing VPs at Fortune 500 companies."Under the Radar: Talking to Today's Cynical Consumer is a valuable and important new tool for the advertising industry from two pros at one of the hottest shops in town. Jonathan Bond and Richard Kirshenbaum offer valuable insights and creative solutions on how to break through the clutter to make sure the consumer gets the message."—O. Burtch Drake, President and CEO American Association of Advertising Agencies"Kirshenbaum and Bond's genius is their capacity to cut through informational clutter and reach the grass roots. In the war to save New York's drinking water, Kirshenbaum and Bond showed us how to speak truth to power--and be heard!"—Robert F. Kennedy, Jr."This book is the next best thing to actually working with Bond and Kirshenbaum. They are good! They know when to listen and when to argue with a client. They're not just smart and creative, they are serious strategic thinkers."—Roger Ailes, Chairman and CEO, Fox News"If you want to understand how ad executives create smart, innovative advertising, Richard and Jon's book is a must read."—Valerie Salembier, Publisher, Esquire magazine"Any book that helps a company deal with our over-communicated world is worth reading. Under the Radar is definitely one of those books."—Jack Trout, Trout & Partners Ltd. author of The New Positioning: The Latest on the World's #1 Business Strategy

"Account planning exists for the sole purpose of creating advertising that truly connects with consumers. While many in the industry are still dissecting consumer behavior, extrapolating demographic trends, developing complex behavioral models, and measuring Pavlovian salivary responses, Steel advocates an approach to consumer research that is based on simplicity, common sense, and creativity--an approach that gains access to consumers' hearts and minds, develops ongoing relationships with them, and, most important, embraces them as partners in the process of developing and advertising. A witty, erudite raconteur and teacher, Steel describes how successful account planners work in partnership with clients, consumer, and agency creatives. He criticizes research practices that, far from creating relationships, drive a wedge between agencies and the people they aim to persuade; he suggests new ways of approaching research to cut through the BS and get people to show their true selves; and he shows how the right research, when translated into a motivating and inspiring brief, can be the catalyst for great creative ideas. He draws upon his own experiences and those of colleagues in the United States and abroad to illustrate those points, and includes examples of some of the most successful campaigns in recent years, including Polaroid, Norwegian Cruise Line, Porsche, Isuzu, "got milk?" and others. The message of this book is that well-thought-out account planning results in better, more effective marketing and advertising for both agencies and clients. And also makes an evening in front of the television easier to bear for the population at large."