Book reviews

I'm going to start reviewing and offering my ten pennurth worth on books that I feel are topical and relevant and, hopefully, enlightening to not just students but others too. Please feel free to contribute. But first here's a link to an interesting article on the challenges facing the industry at present:

The Economist

In a way it's worrying to think that the ad industry will continue to suffer on the way back up, but the recession can bring innovation in its wake. Those brave enough will form their own start-ups rather than sit on their backsides waiting for things to happen. Three of our own grads are doing just that. Adam Lowe, Dan Needham and Shib Hussain have set up 3 Monkeys, No Banana in Stoke. A couple of weeks in and they already have a number of clients. Check them out here.

Ok, books then. I find inspiration in a variety of sources and keep up with both contemporary and classic fiction all the time. Keeping a couple of books on the go is a good way of getting the grey cells busy and I tend to read a decent novel and a business book simultaneously. Tips for you students and recent graduates (and anyone else dipping in) are Malcolm Gladwell's "The Tipping Point" and Tim Harford's "The Undercover Economist".

"The Tipping Point" is not new, of course, but is still very relevant. In this book Gladwell considers a number of scenarios where trends and ideas and behaviours move out of a niche and into the mainstream. He is laying down the foundations for exploring new forms of communication like social networking, for instance, as a viable tool for advertisers. Effectively this is a good book that helps us understand the importance of social dynamics and the move away from push to pull marketing.

"The Undercover Economist", on the other hand, demonstrates the ways in which economics affects and directs our everyday experiences. Using simple examples and plain English, economic theories are demystified and help the reader understand consumer behaviour and market forces. There is an official website here that is well worth a look.