Online Advertising Playbook
Despite intense interest in online advertising and consumer behavior, advertisers have only committed about seven percent of their budgets to online advertising and, on the consumer side, online retail sales still remain in the single digits. Have advertisers concluded that online advertising doesn’t work, or is it a matter of knowledge? At the ARF we learned that advertisers want two critical questions answered: how does online advertising work, and why does it work?
We decided to throw light on these questions by undertaking the industry’s first comprehensive review of what’s known, and from that to extract principles and guidelines that provide practical advice on using online to achieve the full range of business objectives, from lead acquisition to loyalty.
The Playbook was written to be read from cover to cover, or consulted as a resource to address specific issues that arise, such as using email as a relationship builder, behavioral targeting or understanding the connection between search engine marketing and consumer purchasing. The Playbook gives you proven advertising strategies that can score for your brand.
Playbook Authors
Steve Rappaport
Steve Rappaport is Director of Knowledge Solutions at the ARF and principal author of the Playbook. Mr. Rappaport’s experience includes leading research and strategy groups for companies such as Interpublic, McCann Worldwide, BBDO, and DMB&B focused on digital media and their impacts on marketing, advertising and the brand-consumer relationship. On the client side, Steve headed up marketing and product development for ILS, a software and services firm, which made extensive use of the internet as part of its communications and product delivery strategy. His undergraduate and graduate studies, at Stony Brook University and the Annenberg School of the University of Pennsylvania, respectively, concentrated in mass communication and society.
Joe Plummer
Joe Plummer is Chief Research Officer for the ARF and co-editor of the Journal of Advertising Research. Dr. Plummer began his career in advertising at Leo Burnett in Chicago, eventually becoming Senior Vice President of Research. He then joined Young and Rubicam where he became Worldwide Research Director. His career path then led him to McCann-Erickson where he became Executive Vice President and Director of Brand Strategy on Global Accounts before becoming Director of Research and Insight Development. Later, Dr. Plummer was Vice Chairman and Worldwide Planning Director at DMB&B advertising, and Vice Chairman of the research firm ASW. In addition to his work at the ARF, Joe Plummer is a contributor to several scholarly business journals and teaches advertising and integrated communications at Columbia Business School. Dr. Plummer gained his undergraduate degree from Westminster College and his Masters Degree and Doctorate from Ohio State University.
Ridgway “Taddy” H. Hall
Ridgway “Taddy” H. Hall is Chief Strategy Officer at the ARF. Before joining the ARF, Mr. Hall partnered with Clayton M. Christensen in writing The Innovator’s Solution and on a related consulting practice. Mr. Hall’s resume also includes management of the WebMiner database marketing system and the Guby Network, Latin America’s largest independent search engine. Mr. Hall pioneered the Internet Business Services Division for Keystone Automotive and was CEO of Au Bon Pain, Chile. He also has five years experience with Advent International, a private equity firm. His expertise in innovation and strategy is well known in the advertising community. Mr. Hall earned his undergraduate degree at Yale University and his MBA from Harvard University.
Robert Barocci
Robert Barocci has been President and CEO of the ARF since 2004. Previously, Mr. Barocci was President of Leo Burnett International. After leaving Leo Burnett, he founded and led McConnaughy Barocci Brown and later became Director of Central and Eastern Europe for Young and Rubicam. Just before joining the ARF, he was Director Communications for Bob Kerrey’s leadership team at New School University. Mr. Barocci received a degree in mathematics from the University of Wisconsin and an M.B.A. from Harvard University.
Amazon 5 Star Review
December 6, 2007
When I first received the book and skimmed it very quickly, I was initially disappointed. Too much text, lack of "punchlines", and seemed to cover only small number of facets of online advertising.
After reading the book carefully, though, I was impressed. Very detailed coverage of many topics, excellent citations and references to actual studies, and many cases that are discussed in detail.
The book would be an excellent textbook for a course on online advertising. It is not a "how-to" book, with lists of to-do items. Everything is substantiated by pointing to a related (academic or professional) research study. Many discussions reveal things that are not obvious even to seasoned professionals.
In short: Buy the book if you plan to invest the time to actually read the book, and you are interested in understanding in-depth many aspects of online advertising. If you just need a book that can be read quickly and you simply want to follow blindly its instructions, search for something else.