<![CDATA[Prolific Wisdom

<![CDATA[Prolific Wisdom - Interviews]]>Thu, 16 Apr 2026 11:49:18 -0400Weebly<![CDATA[Interview with Tom Goodwin, Author of the New Book, "Digital Darwinism"]]>Sun, 20 May 2018 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.prolificwisdom.com/updates/interview-with-tom-goodwin-author-of-the-new-book-digital-darwinism

Tom Goodwin picks up the innovation baton from Clayton Christensen and runs with it into the digital realm. Tom started his career doing marketing development on the 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire' show and went on to work in key roles with marketing agencies TBWA, DeVries, and Havas. He has written for numerous top publications such as Forbes, Wired, and The Guardian on the subject of marketing and modernizing advertising. His new book Digital Darwinism leads readers into a better core understanding of the digital realm and digital innovation.

Here's a few of my favorite quotes from the book.
"Our big problem in life isn't scarcity, its abundance."

"Youth today don't have a concept off offline! We now have the notion of ambient connectivity."

"I'm not sure when data got big. ...Big-data is really about profound decision-making. ...Literally, that's all its for. ...Forget big data. When you have intimate data, little else seems important."

On the current ineptitude of targeted advertising... "There's no time in my life when I am less likely to buy some white trousers, a toaster or a flight to LA than after I've just bought these items, yet that's precisely the time I see ads for these products or services."

"A.I. is more a like root canal than a polish. It's painful, but it's what is needed. We worry about computers becoming self-aware, but my printer typically isn't aware of my laptop."

Mark Brooks interviews Tom Goodwin with the help of the Prolific Wisdom community of Harvard Alumni. Guest questions from Lisa Hughes, the Portfolio Director of the PLD program at HBS, and Amit Manocha, a graduate of HBS PLD program. {31 minutes}

See Digital Darwinism on Amazon

Please Subscribe For Free to the Prolific Wisdom podcast or Youtube channel here.

]]><![CDATA[Interview with Tom Peters, Author of the New Book "The Excellence Dividend"]]>Fri, 27 Apr 2018 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.prolificwisdom.com/updates/interview-with-tom-peters-author-of-the-new-book-the-excellence-dividend

Tom's new book is a compendium of his advice, along with his analysis of 100 business mastery books he read just prior to writing The Excellence Dividend.

Tom Peters is best known for co-writing the hit business book In Search of Excellence in the mid-80s. Now he's back with a compendium of wisdom which brings together the best of his thoughts and his analysis of the wisdom in 100+ business mastery books that he read in the run up to writing The Excellence Dividend.

See The Excellence Dividend on Amazon.

Mark Brooks (HBS PLD) interviews Tom Peters with the help of the Prolific Wisdom community of Harvard Alumni. Guest questions from James Thomas (HBS PLD), Boris Tsimerinov (HBS PLD), and Shiraz Javed (HBS PLD). {55 mins}

Please Subscribe For Free to the Prolific Wisdom podcast or Youtube channel here.

]]><![CDATA[Interview with Darren Bridger, Author of New Book "Neuro Design"]]>Thu, 09 Feb 2017 05:00:00 GMThttps://www.prolificwisdom.com/updates/interview-with-darren-bridger-author-of-new-book-neuro-design

Neurodesign helps people make products that resonate emotionally with buyers.

Mark Brooks interviews Darren Bridger, the author of Neuro Design. A new book out on Feb 28th, 2017.

Book available at http://amzn.to/2lr9lQD
Neuro Design is a Prolific Wisdom recommended read.

Music by Danijel Zambo with permission, ‘Classical Remakes’ bought @ https://danijel-zambo.bandcamp.com

]]><![CDATA[Interview with Ben and Kelly Decker, Authors of New Book "Communicate to Influence"]]>Sat, 08 Aug 2015 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.prolificwisdom.com/updates/interview-with-ben-and-kelly-decker-authors-of-new-book-communicate-to-influence

[You can speed-read this interview in 30 seconds by scanning the bold highlights. We'd really appreciate you sharing to Facebook/Linkedin/Twitter if you like it.]

Communicate To Influence (CTI) is a new book by power communications duo Ben and Kelly Decker. Its a Prolific Wisdom recommended read. Questions come from the Prolific Wisdom community of Harvard grad book-lovers. Key points are highlighted.

1) If there was one thing you would want a reader to take away from the Communicate To Influence ("CTI"), what would it be?
Shift how you think about communications – in all parts of your life. The fun part of the book is that it's not only for improving formal business communications – it also applies to our personal life, family life and the other dozens of times that we communicate with others throughout the day.
Whether we’re trying to influence or inspire, we forget that we have to connect with our audience – each audience – each time. People pigeonhole the application of communication, thinking it’s just for board meetings or town halls. We have to be likeable to influence. We wrote this book to apply communication skills and lessons to life. One of our favorite responses is when CEOs share how well these skills are working in the rest of their lives.

2) What were the biggest surprises for you as communications experts in doing the research for CTI?
How often we see the pitfalls of communications in high-level executives, just like we see with mid-level managers. Most people expect that along with a more senior role, title or level, individuals are just innately better at the nuts and bolts of communicating. This is really not the case.
While our research has been compiled over the last 30+ years of working with and coaching executives, many of the anecdotes came from real-life experiences that were happening at that exact time, so if we wrote the book in August of 2015, we would have similar examples – just different companies and circumstances.

3) Are there any methods you describe in the book that you've only started using after writing CTI?
A lot of the methodologies and principles from the book, we (and most of our team at Decker Communications) practice and teach regularly as part of our trainings and executive coaching sessions. It’s practically in our DNA. The reason we wrote the book was to share these tools more broadly and with a wider audience.
That said, our newest tool, the Communicator's RoadmapTM, has affected my mindset. Now I continuously think of where I might be and where I want to go. Ex: I am normally in Direct mode with certain members of my team, so I need to connect more emotionally with them. Along with the directives, I will add some humor or share things I wouldn't normally.

4) A lot has been said on the importance of non-verbal communication (both body language and tone) in meetings - up to 90%+ of the message. Then there was a lot of backlash and refutations. What do you think - how much of the impact during in person meetings is from content?
The backlash is totally understandable, and it’s because the stat is not accurate. Those numbers are frequently (and unfortunately) used improperly and shared incorrectly. The real numbers are from Albert Mehrabian, and the study is over 30 years old. The research emphasized when it's an 'inconsistent' message, people will tend to believe the non-verbals – up to 90%. Too often we see leaders share positive news in flat, monotone voices with scowls on their faces. That is a perfect example of an inconsistent message. The research shows we’re more likely to believe what we see than what is said. The visual and vocal block the verbal channel. That clarification is important, and all of our coaching and training focuses on getting people to be consistent in all their communications.
Content absolutely still matters! When it’s a consistent message, the communicator has an opportunity to stand out even more.

5) If you were to write CTI 2: what topics would you tackle?
There is so much practicality and usefulness to learning Q&A principles. Dialogue, not monologue, represents the majority of our lives, and we weren't able to fit enough detail about Q&A into the book. Whether after a big speech, at the end of a meeting, or even during a 1 on 1 review, Q&A is often done pretty poorly – and it can be such a great addition if done well. We cover it in almost all of our trainings, and the goal of the book was to bring our experiential trainings, as we deliver them around the country and world, into writing.
Many readers also want specific steps on how to communicate better in each environment: webinars, telepresence, conference calls, etc. We assume people can connect the dots, but it turns out that people love specific frameworks and how-to tips. The challenge for such a sequel would be to make sure it’s not a boring, step-by-step guide – that’s not our style.

6) What are the Communication, Presentation and Influence books everyone should read after CTI?
Because we live in a world of communication, I love other genres where I can pick up nuggets and draw comparisons. For example, Team of Teams by General McChrystal shares how shifting the focus to transparency improved teamwork against Al Qaeda. You never know from where a nugget or an “ah-ha” might come.
We have partnered with the Heath Brothers for years, and Made To Stick should be a staple for everyone. I loved it when it first came out over 7 years ago, and I have been giving it away ever since. Really makes you think deeper into your message or what you say and focus on the emotional component to stand out and be remembered, or sticky for that matter. We love Daniel Pink's To Sell is Human, and Malcolm Gladwell's Blink to emphasize how quickly people judge or categorize. It will help readers motivate themselves to change, since all of communications are focused on habits and whether communication habits are challenging to change.

7) What are some of your favorite shining examples of great business communicators who show 'passion and lightness'?
What is interesting about business leaders is that we see the same things everyone else sees. We have the same response and emotions to various leaders (although yes, it’s a little different because we want to help fix them). We share an annual list of the 10 best and worst communicators, which is always a great source of standout examples and communication lessons. The challenge in identifying great business examples is finding leaders who are high profile, public and visible enough that most people know them. A couple great business examples from this past year include Tony Fadell and Richard Branson. You can’t deny the passion, lightness and likability they exude when they are communicating. We don’t think it’s a coincidence that success follows them.

8) Do you think the rise of social media is going to mean there's less people able to communicate effectively in the real world? Do you think people will be more likely to thin-slice based in the future as a consequence of social media usage?
This is a valid concern, and as more young people enter the workplace, there will be more work to do. So many of our clients want their kids to go through our programs because they just use their smartphones, and they don't want to even call restaurants to make a reservation. "Can't I use an app?"
In-person communication will never go away, and in fact, it will become more vital as less people are good at it. The cream will always rise to the top, and communication will remain a primary focus for any person who wants to excel in the “real world.” We like to work with and buy from people we like and admire and to whom we connect. In any role or industry, it’s our connection to others that will open doors of opportunity or close them.
As for thin-slicing based on social media, of course that will happen more. However, one general foundation won't go away – value. Those who excel in social media are adding value for their viewers and followers. They are creating content based on the needs of their listeners. Tie that into in-person communication, and the Communicators RoadmapTM – we need to shift our content toward our audience and about our audience, to add value to them. What does it mean to them, why would they care – vs. just describing our widget.
And with in-person communications, of course the behavior DOES matter, otherwise you can fall back into that 90% argument. ;-)

###

Interview Key Contributors
Boris Tsimerinov (PLD 2013) - VP, CCC Investment Banking
Mark Brooks (PLD 2014) - CEO, Courtland Brooks
Georges Selvais (MBA 1975) - MD / Co-founder, Catalyst Quality

]]><![CDATA[Review of New Book "The Automatic Customer" by John Warrilow]]>Tue, 07 Apr 2015 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.prolificwisdom.com/updates/review-of-new-book-the-automatic-customer-by-john-warrilow

The Prolific Wisdom community of Harvard alumni reviewed John Warrilow's new book, The Automatic Customer, about the membership and subscription based economy.

RATING
4 stars - Very worthwhile read. Good ROI on time spent reading. A few valuable actionable ideas.
REVIEW
The Automatic Customer gives insight on the emerging subscription based economy. The subscription based business model dates back to the 1500s when European map publishers invited their customers to subscribe to map updates.

Now, monthly subscriptions and memberships are becoming more prevalent in many industries so "The Automatic Customer" is timely, and does an excellent job at distinguishing the different models. It turns out, developing customer relationships into fertile ground for cross-selling and up-selling is an art as much of a science. The author exposes the 'art' point of view with numerous stories of experimentation. John suggests specific financial measurements and benchmarks to show what "best in class" means.

We like that John includes some real examples of companies we'd heard of and covered some of their top-level numbers. We also liked the practical guidance. Amazon Prime's success was not about the $79 a year revenue boost, but about changing people's inclination to buy through Amazon.

The book brings clarity between the various models and also offers measuring sticks and tool box of tips. Life Time Value (LTV) and Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) are key. If your CAC Payback Period is over 36 months, you've got a problem.

Wild Apricot, Membergate and Cratejoy are three services that can be used to set up recurring businesses. Subscription Site Insider and WhichTestWon.com also provide great additional insight. Mequoda and Hubspot are great inbound marketing services.

To retain members, get them properly onboarded and hooked within 90 days, and communicate 'like a giddy lover.' Look after your advocates and listen carefully, and make sure you have Zendesk or Desk.com type customer service tools in place.

To be critical, we would have like to have seen more of the psychological underpinnings explained and even more examples. There's certainly an opportunity for a follow-on book.

All in all, this is a great read, and we highly recommend it. There's a quite a few actionable ideas in this book.
Review Contributors
Mark Brooks (PLD 2014) - CEO, Courtland Brooks
Georges Selvais (MBA 1975) - MD / Co-founder, Catalyst Quality
Hena Rana (PLD 2014) - Operations Manager, Beca

]]><![CDATA[Review of New Book "The Self-Made Billionaire Effect"]]>Thu, 12 Mar 2015 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.prolificwisdom.com/updates/review-of-new-book-self-made-billionaire-effect

The Prolific Wisdom community of Harvard alumni reviewed the new book, The Self-Made Billionaire Effect, by Dr John Sviokla and Mitch Cohen. Here's our rating, review and FIRE Summary of this unique book.

Rating
4.5 out of 5 stars

Review
The Self-Made Billionaire Effect is more than just a bio of several high profile and highly successful business people. The book also talks of creative thinking, the workings of disruptive minds and certain patterns behind phenomenal success. The authors took us on a tour of successful companies from Morningstar to Lululemon and pioneering billionaires from Mark Cuban to T.Boone Pickens. The Self-Made Billionaire Effect contains many specific cases, examples and detailed accounts to support its arguments.

The authors bubble up the observations and concepts, of "empathetic imagination", "patient urgency" and "inventive execution" as being core to the success of these $billion-busting renegades. The books is most suitable for corporate executives and teaches how to recognize producers and performers and retain them. For individuals, this book illustrates the skills that lead to protagonists' incredible success. It turns out that established companies often cannot "see the wood for the trees." They simply fail to recognize producers.

It seems that most billionaires didn't make a mint through "blue oceans", rather they spot opportunities to disrupt red oceans (existing markets) through insightful ideas in established markets.

The Self-Made Billionaire Effect is well written and well structured and tackles a very broad topic. At times, we would have liked to get even more insight from some of its characters' stories, but the book already spans over 200 pages - perhaps there is an opportunity for a follow-on.

The Self-Made Billionaire Effect is definitely worth a read, especially if you have a C in front of your title.

FIRE Summary (Facts, Ideas, Resources, Expression)

FACTS
- There are approximately 800 self-made billionaires in the world.
- Billionaire wealth grew faster than the world economy from 1987 to 2012: from 2% to 7% of GDP. Less than 20% of the sample were in high-tech industries.
- Producers have the ability to keep the long term vision in the back of their mind while concentrating their energies on urgent execution issues at hand. Producers are company visionaries.
- Performers focus and execute. More than half of the billionaires started their business as part of a producer-performer partnership.

- Billionaires juggle judgement and vision, which according to neuroscience sit on opposite ends of the mental spectrum. Self-made billionaires effectively operate in a world of dualities - they seamlessly hold on to multiple ideas, perspectives and scales.
-Self-made billionaires are not huge risk takers, but they see risks in not taking opportunities.

- Most billionaires are already mature professionals when they launch their blockbuster idea(s). 70% of the sample were over 30 when they launched. 80% sailed in "red oceans", operating in highly competitive mature industries. 75% had direct sales experience. 70% had ownership of a P&L by age 30.

- Organizations tend to skew heavily towards performers, and need to groom more producers. Producers are capable of full imaginative ideation because they refuse to limit themselves. They don't box in thinking to existing parameters, but rather punch through to new ideals to produce insights capable of creating explosive value.

- Businesses that work relentlessly in pursuit of between one and three priorities do more and achieve more than those that try to pursue six or eight at one time. Maintain patient urgency on other areas of interest, but focus on the few that count.

- 79% of reviewed billionaires had sales experience.

- Producers need the time and space to be able to daydream and think.

IDEAS
- Empathetic Imagination and Inventive Execution are the power duo of billionaires success.

- Empathetic imagination: This is the ability of identifying and understanding problems by being emphatic to the potential customer and use creativeness to find a solution.

- Inventive execution: where emphathic imagination is the ability to dream in order to find ideas in a creative manner, inventive execution is the ability to act in a creative manner to create a blockbuster product.

- Patient urgency: This is the ability to slowly prepare and wait for an opportunity and move quickly when it is the right time.

- The producer and performer are a pair of thinker/doers who complement each other, and integrate concept and action.
- The test of a first rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.

- Producers have extreme empathy for customers and an imaginative mindset for generating untested original ideas.

- Producers are deviants. They redefine companies by reaching beyond bounds of current thinking.

RESOURCES
- See Rex Jung's work. He's a neuropsychologist from the University of Mexico that showed that creative people are able to turn off the evaluative functions of their brains to allow themselves the mental freedom to invent. Its called TRANSIENT HYPOFRONTALITY. They need to be in an environment where mind wandering can happen. Give producers less to do so they have time to create.

- See 'Prospect Theory' - Daniel Kahneman

EXPRESSION (What you should do next)
- Mark Cuban credits his success with his appetite for information. Billionaires consume LOTS of information. Read more, more strategically!

- Billionaires guard their time, doing away with extras, distractions, and nonessential activities so they are able to support their most vital work. Take time to cultivate your innate curiosity and read and converse widely, and focus.

- Focus on ideas that have the promise of scale. Producers consistently dedicate their time only to ideas that had the potential to build massive value, at real scale.

- Broadcast stories of Inventive Execution. They should be celebrated and become part of your company culture.

- When you fail, try and determine what might have turned things around.

- You have to pick good people and let go. Find people who have faced down real life challenges and know how to get back on their feet.

Review Contributors
Mark Brooks (PLD 2014) - CEO, Courtland Brooks
Andre Lamontagne (PLD 2014) - Research Manager, Servomex
Boris Tsimerinov (PLD 2013) - VP, CCC Investment Banking

]]><![CDATA[Review of Kartikeya Kompella's new Book, "The Brand Challenge"]]>Sun, 15 Feb 2015 05:00:00 GMThttps://www.prolificwisdom.com/updates/review-of-kartikeya-kompellas-new-book-the-brand-challenge

The Prolific Wisdom community of Harvard alumni reviewed Kartikeya Kompella's new book, The Brand Challenge which is a compilation of thought-leaders' wisdom on branding. Here's our rating, review and FIRE Summary of his book.

Rating
Highly recommended reading, 5 out of 5 stars

Review
Kartikeya, the Editor, did a great job of pulling together wisdom from some of the world's experts on branding. The Brand Challenge has broad appeal and is a compilation of essays covering various aspects of branding from some unusual perspectives. Its not just for brand managers but is for anybody interested in business strategy. The book is well written with many practical examples and gives a good overview of branding.

Topics include branding focus, identity, innovation, luxury branding, retail, B2B, managing media, non-profits, fashion, the branding of cities, technology, and football clubs! The luxury chapter was particularly enlightening. The first half of the book was particularly strong. The chapter on hotels branding was well-researched and referenced but a little dull.

We recommend this book to anyone looking to understand branding both at a high level as well as very specifically in industries ranging from luxury goods and financial services to not-for-profits and technology.

Here's the top things we learned from the book...

FIRE SUMMARY (Facts, Ideas, Resources, Expression)

FACTS
The Battle For Your Mind
- The biggest misconception in branding strategies is people tend to believe branding is about market share, but it is really about mind and emotion share.

Respect & Love
- Brands are still about respect and love. Brands are people, their values, a psyche.

Top 2 Brands Dominate
- A market is normally dominated by two main brands. 20% of brands attract 80% of profits.

Branding Takes Time
- Branding takes time! Its about building the signals to generate associations. Its how the story gets told.

You Can't Hide Any More
- Consumers share more, more instantaneously. They'e more empowered than ever and brands MUST be faster to listen to them and adapt. There's incredible transparency now. You cannot hide.

Go Local First
- In most of the cases, brands are developed locally before being taken globally. It gives them some heritage, and helps them prove themselves out.

Create Clubs
- The Economist makes readers feel like they are part of an elite club yet anyone can join. NY Times also continues to do well as a powerful media brand people are willing to pay for. They are strong leading brands.

Use A Visual Hammer
- The leaning tower of Pisa sees a hundred times moire visitors than the Panthenon in Rome because the message is simple. Its a leaning tower. Its simple to tell someone about the tower. "Focus on a single visual and then use it to hammer your word into your consumers' minds."

Marketeers Are More Technical
- Gartner predicted that by 2017 CMOs will spend more on IT than CIOs.

IDEAS
If They Go Right, You Go Left
- If you are not the market leader, be the opposite (Redbull vs Monster, iOS vs Android).

Become Known For Something, Or You Won't Be Known For Anything
- Brand focus: Before, brand managers were using USP (unique selling points) to position the brand by analysing competitors and identifying holes. Now, it is known to be better to focus a brand, be narrow, and then expand it. The brand has to address what the customers have in their mind. Examples of brand focus are Volvo with safety and BMW with driving experience.
- Narrow your focus. i.e. Saburu narrowed to 4 wheel drive only vehicles and reversed their downward slide in the USA.

Trademarks Are Identity Beacons
- Great trademarks are the tips of great identity icebergs. They were distinctive when conceived, continue to make sense and expert guardians have carefully managed their use over time.

Think About All The Senses
- Think about all the senses when considering brand. i.e. smell is more recognizable over the long term than visuals.

Brands Make Life Better
- Brands are a reflection of customers uniquely shared value. Brands capture an irresistible idea, and make life better. i.e. Nike swoosh is about confidence.

Stand For Something
- Brands have the power to change the world, not just to sell products and make profits.

Some Will Love It, Some Will Hate It. That's OK
- Innovating the brand purpose - What will your brand enable people to do? Be prepared to alienate some people. Some people will love your brand, and others will hate it.

Luxury Is Incomparable
- The goal of luxury is to create incomparability. Fashion is distinct, and not luxury.
- Luxury brands avoid simple feature-benefits against pricing. Its more about the art and indulgence, and culture. Its based on implied superiority and does not even acknowledge competition.
- Luxury is built on incomparability and timelessness.

Fashion Is Fleeting
- Fashion is fleeting, and not necessarily expensive, Quality is less of an imperative. Once the fashion is over, its deep discounted.

PR Rules!
- Al Ries. "Companies should launch new brands with PR, not advertising."

RESOURCES
Red Bull
- See the amazing Red Bull Media House (http://www.redbullmediahouse.com/) which runs the Red Bulletin (http://www.redbulletin.com). Its a great example of a brand using media to drive their position, and its actually its own profit center now!

Brands Working For Good
- See the new B Corporation for a new kind of corp that focuses on principles over profit.

Crazy Bank
- Find inspiration in Umpqua bank from Oregon. e.g. they allow people to sit down and have a coffee and then the teller comes to them.
- They also have book clubs and 'business therapy sessions.' They host local bands on Friday nights! Their experimental bank has a bowling alley. They aim to be interesting when most banks are boring.

HSN Is Good For Establishing Brand Stories
- Home Shopping Network and QVC TV networks are good places to display goods and start 'telling stories' to bring meaning to them, especially for fashion goods.

Consider Facets of Brand Equity
- Aaker's dimensions of brand equity. Awareness, Image, Perceived Quality and Loyalty

Book: Branding Examples
- Allen Adamson - The Edge: 50 tips from brands that lead.

EXPRESSION
How Does It Help People to Do Better?
- Describe how your brand enables people to do better.
Rationally - What does it enable customers to do?
Comparatively - Why does it enable them to do it better?
Emotionally - How do people feel about the brand as a result?
Connect these three to your purpose for your brand and articulate it in a memorable way!

Don't Interrupt! Tell Stories
- Interruption advertising is dead. Now you have to have brand resonance by telling stories that are relevant and timely to engage people during and beyond their purchase point and drive advocacy!

Be Careful With Brand Extensions
- Before extending your brand, carefully consider the brand and innovation journey, the sequence of which can ensure success or failure.

Evaluate
- What do you do better than anyone else and deliver value and impact. Define your unique leadership position and set out your promise. Do an internal valuation. What do you do you do best now and what can you do best in the future? Do an external valuation. How are you different from competitors? What space could you own? Then consider your core constituent understanding. What do key audiences and stakeholders value?

Review Contributors
Mark Brooks (PLD 2014) - CEO, Courtland Brooks
Boris Tsimerinov (PLD 2013) - VP, CCC Investment Banking
Andre Lamontagne (PLD 2014) - Research Manager, Servomex
Hena Rana (PLD 2014) - Operations Manager, Beca

]]><![CDATA[Interview with Mike Smith, Author of "Targeted"]]>Mon, 22 Dec 2014 05:00:00 GMThttps://www.prolificwisdom.com/updates/interview-with-mike-smith-author-of-targeted

The Prolific Wisdom community of Harvard alumni reviewed Mike Smith's new book, Targeted, about the rapid rise of online advertising. Here's our rating, review and FIRE Summary of his book. Also see Prolific Wisdom video interview with Mike Smith.

RATING
Recommended reading. (4 out of 5 stars)

REVIEW
Targeted provides a clear overview of the digital advertising landscape. This space is booming, but due to its scale and multitude of participants it's often confusing for someone outside of this industry. The book is engaging and well written. It gives a very good overview of the evolution of digital advertising, the rise of Real Time Bidding, retargeting and display advertising as well as outlines key trends likely to impact digital advertising in the near future.

Targeted makes readers realize just how much personal information we provide without knowing how, why and who will be using it. We agree to terms and conditions without reading the contract.
This book is a little slow to start, but once it gets going, it relates a mix of stories from the author's experience and the pace picks up to make Targeted an enjoyable read. For a newbie to online marketing, the book isn't too heavy or too laden with the industry jargon. We enjoyed the author's style throughout and his use of valuable statistics in several of the chapters.

FIRE SUMMARY (Facts, Ideas, Resources, Expression)

FACTS
25% of ad dollars go to digital advertising ($40B a year)
One of every four ad dollars spent is for digital advertising. TV is still the top ad category. In 2013, USA online advertising amounted to $42.8B and intermediary 'middle-men' account for over 60% of online ad dollars spent.
Google dominates
The search advertising industry generated $19.9B in sales in 2013. Google generated 70% of this revenue. Interestingly, Google conducted 67% of all searches done in the USA in Dec, ’13. Meanwhile, display ads sold $17.8 billion, which was 42% of total online ad spending.
Real Time Bidding (RTB) works well
In studies, RTB has been shown to get better Click Thru Rates (CTR), and double the ROI of Run of Network advertising.
Digital ads $185B by 2017
Price Waterhouse Coopers predicts digital advertising will reach $185 billion worldwide in 2017. (eMarketer predicts $72 billion in the USA for 2017).
Mobile to dominate
eMarketer forecasts that by 2017 60% of US digital ad spending will be for mobile device ads. Mobile (apps) will dominate. There's one billion active smartphones worldwide now and this should reach two billion in the next three years.

IDEAS
Agencies behind the curve
Online advertising became very complicated and fragmented which confused advertisers and grew beyond the resources of ad agencies, so new intermediaries have sprung up.
Shifting media landscape
Most obvious area for growth is in mobile and tablet advertising due to the growth of the usage of these platforms from a small base. Digital TV provides an intuitive opportunity, but the current infrastructure makes it harder to execute and leaves that a question mark.
RTB, Adapt or die
Results of ad buys can change quickly, so its best to learn and adapt quickly, so Real Time Bidding really helps optimize in the moment.

Display + retargeting is better than search
Retargeting can endow display advertising with the same intent quality as search advertising, yet display ads sell for less and are far more immersive and better for brand building than flat paid search ads. People spend 5% of their online time at search engines, and 95% elsewhere...in front of display ads.
The future = display ads, video, mobile, RTB
eMarketer predicts display advertising will grow 23.8% in 2014 vs 13.4% for search advertising. Digital video and mobile are growing faster but have smaller bases. By 2018 RTB display advertising should reach 30% ($12.5B) of online display ad spending vs 22% ($4.9B) for 2014. Display advertising will surpass search advertising in 2015. By 2018 display advertising should be $41B vs $32B for search. Over half of all online ad spends will be for display.

RESOURCES
Small niche networks
Blogads, Deck Network, and Federated Media are smaller niche ad networks
Big ad exchanges
Ad exchanges use an auction system. Yahoo’s Right Media, Google’s DoubleClick and Microsoft’s AdECN are three of the biggest. Google and OpenX have large online display ad exchanges.
DSPs and SSPs
Demand Side Platforms (DSP’s) work with media buyers and agencies and to buy ad inventory and improve targeting. MediaMath, DataXu and Turn Inc. Supply Side Platforms a.k.a. yield optimization platforms help sellers get more for their ads by improving their technology for targeting. See Google’s Admeld, PubMatic, and The Rubicon Project.

Behavioral data
Data Aggregators/Providers are controversial because they share information and behavioral data about people. See BlueKai, eXelate, Nielsen, Intelius, and Spokeo.
Ad research
Moat is an analytics company for online display ads. They're developing new ways of measuring how ads change attitudes and actions, to help advertisers move beyond mere CTR measurement.

EXPRESSION (What to do next)
Beware of bots
When buying advertising on CPM, ask how bot, crawler, and spider traffic is removed from your traffic count!
RTB imperative
Get your head around the top RTB ad exchanges. Seek out opportunities to use display RTB retargeted ads.
Beware of RON
Be careful with Run Of Network advertising. Your ads may be placed in inappropriate places for your brand.
Privacy guard
Be more careful about the information you give out. Be more mindful of the ads presented to you. Click on the wrong one, and they will follow you for a while. Be conscious that ads are targeted to your past behaviors.
Move quickly, focus on behaviors and keep your eye on predictive analytics
When buying ads focus on observable behaviors rather than pre-conceived notions and stereotypes. Look at engagement first. Don't use static campaigns. Look at results and adjust your audience quickly. It will be interesting to see how predictive analytics develop to boost ad results.

Review Contributors
Mark Brooks (PLD 2014) - CEO, Courtland Brooks
Boris Tsimerinov (PLD 2013) - VP, CCC Investment Banking
Georges Selvais (MBA 1975) - MD / Co-founder, Catalyst Quality
Andre Lamontagne (PLD 2014) - Research Manager, Servomex
Katherine Montero (Mgmt 2009) - Director, Global Deeds Foundation
Vikram Banerjee (PLD 2014) - Head of Consultancy, Footdown
Hena Rana (PLD 2014) - Operations Manager, Beca

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