Launch! Advertising and Promotion in Real Time

Reviewed by Katryna Johnson, Professor of Marketing, Metropolitan State University on 2/1/18

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

The text provides a survey of advertising and promotion concepts. The authors provide good links to external resources at the end of each chapter. The discussions on ROI and measurement are well written and provide students with a good illustration of the concept and how to measure it. This text is over 400 pages and gives a cursory look at promotions. The text lacks depth as it does not go into detail on many important concepts. The text focuses on advertising which is only one aspect of promotions. While the text does mention Integrated Marketing Communications, little detail is provided on topics outside of advertising. Direct Marketing, Public Relations, Sales Promotions Broadcast, Event Marketing, Sponsorships receive a brief discussion. IMC is defined to the extent that students will know it stands for Integrated Marketing Communications, but there is little discussion on what it actually entails (producing a consistent message) or on how this should be done. The chapter on research provides a good summary table of qualitative versus quantitative research, but the chapter lacks a discussion on content analysis. While the table lists different methods, there is no or limited discussion on what each of these methods entails. For instance, projective techniques are listed, but no definition is given.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The writing is focused on industry practices with very limited explanation of theoretical concepts. The industry information is accurate and interesting, but since there are limited attempts to discuss theory and provide definitions, students may be confused as to what the concepts are that are being illustrated.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The examples in the text are good illustrations of practice in the verbal descriptions, but should be updated especially in the area of online social media such as including a more complete discussion on search engine optimization, types of paid searches (organic vs nonorganic), contextual advertising and using social media sites such as Instagram or Pinterest. Illustrations of how these are used should also be included. Additionally, more examples (illustrations – not just text descriptions) of all types of promotions should be included such as out of home advertising, support media, product placement, green marketing, etc.

Clarity rating: 3

The writing is easy for students to understand, but concepts are usually not defined. This would make it difficult for a student to apply concepts at a later time. The authors frequently mention concepts and then give an example without providing a definition leaving it up to the student to figure out what the concept actually is.

Consistency rating: 5

Each chapter is structured in a similar format providing learning objectives, text, key takeaways and exercises. Some portions of the book also have a section entitled “Tie it all Together” and “Use What you Learned”. It would be helpful if there were an introduction to the book explain to students the purpose of each section.

Modularity rating: 3

An instructor would be able to extract some components of the text for discussion (ones that are not reliant on the case). However, there is a case that ties the book together so moving some of the sections could be confusing.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 3

There is no table of contents to the text in the pdf version. While the broad topics are illustrated in a figure, there is no way to view how the ideas connect. A glossary and table of contents would greatly aid in this. Additionally, if the authors added in an upfront section explaining the sections in each chapter it would facilitate learning (such as explaining what the “Dig Deeper” section is intended to accomplish). The online version does have a table of contents. The 4 Ps are presented after discussion on promotion. Students need to understand the 4 Ps first to see the broad picture and then ensue in a discussion on promotion. It needs to be made clear that advertising is only one of many components of promotion. Concepts are often discussed before they are defined. For instance, segments and branding are discussed without first providing a definition for clear understanding.

Interface rating: 5

Overall, the text is easy to access in Pdf format (although there are gaps leaving big white spaces and returns sometimes occur at the wrong time breaking up a sentence). The online format is much easier to read and as it has a table of contents making it is easier to maneuver in the interface.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The text contains no grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

The text writing is generally not culturally insensitive, but the illustrations need to include people of different ages and include people with disabilities. Having no illustrations of ads with seniors is not current with work being done today in advertising.

Comments

Any instructor using this resource must be prepared to supplement it.

Reviewed by Kathleen Stansberry, Assistant Professor, Cleveland State University on 1/12/15

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

This text tackles a broad array of topics related to the evolving strategic communication industry. Because the range of topics addressed throughout the book is so extensive, the authors often provide only imprecise references to major concepts and theories relevant to professionals in professional communication fields. This book would benefit from more nuanced discussion of the foundations of strategic communication theory and practice. At more than 400 pages this is a hefty read. I would also like to see a glossary of key terms and index to assist in navigation of the book.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

This book is well-researched and the information provided is accurate. That said, the references to media theory are vague and provide only basic information about the application of major theories in the practice of strategic communication.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 3

This book is written from an industry perspective with a strong focus on the use of case studies to illustrate key concepts. The reliance on industry examples and case studies does tend to date much of the material in the book. This book should be updated to include references to more recent technologies and current information regarding social media tools. The segmented nature of the book chapters, with separate sections that expand on examples or provide mini-case studies, make it easy to update. However, it does not appear that the authors have addressed outdated content at this time.

Clarity rating: 5

The authors of this text avoid the all too common practice of lapsing into convoluted academic speak. Industry terms are clearly explained and references to professional practices that may be unfamiliar to readers are elaborated on appropriately. I appreciated the straightforward prose of this text and believe students would find if an easy read.

Consistency rating: 4

The consistent structure of each chapter makes this text easy to navigate. The inclusion of learning objectives, key takeaways, and hands on exercises build a clear framework that is maintained throughout the book. The use of graphic elements, although a welcome addition to the text, vary substantially in design and would benefit from a more uniform style.

Modularity rating: 3

The book is divided into a coherent chapter structure, each of which is further subdivided into content areas. However, the use of a single case study throughout the text would make it difficult for an instructor to realign readings. The text is clearly meant to be read from beginning to end in a linear manner.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 3

In an interesting departure from typical strategic communication textbooks, Launch! Is organized around the process an advertising agency would engage in during the course of a campaign. The book chapters cover such topics as the client pitch, research, audience identification, tactic development, and assessment. This promising method of presenting information appropriate for a survey course in strategic communication campaign development falls short of expectations. The overarching case study related to the msnbc.com campaign appears intermittently but does not coherently tie the vast range of material presented in this book together.

Interface rating: 5

The text is well designed and no significant interface issues are evident.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The text is well-written and no grammatical errors were identified.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

This text is not culturally insensitive or offensive, but it also does not use examples that are inclusive of a variety of races, ethnicities, sexual orientations, classes, or backgrounds. The book was written by representatives from both academia and industry. Many of the examples and case studies in the text appear to be from accounts that SS+K, the agency partner that participated in the development of the text, worked on. The book focused on for-profit clients and business campaigns. It would benefit from the inclusion of other types of strategic communication case studies such as from nonprofit, advocacy, political, and healthcare industries.

Comments

The links to sources, which were included both within the text and in the works cited sections at the end of each chapter, represent a wealth of great resources for students in strategic communication. This is obviously a well-researched text and the authors should be commended for their efforts.