WATCH THIS, LISTEN UP, CLICK HERE Inside The 300 Billion Dollar Business Behind The Media You Constantly Consume By David Verklin and Bernice Kanner Publisher: Wiley Publication Date: May 2007 Price: $24.95/hardcover ISBN-10: 0-470-05643-6 ADVERTISERS ARE WATCHING YOU. WHERE YOU GO, THEIR MONEY WILL FOLLOW. David Verklin, CEO Of Carat, The World's Largest Independent Media Buying Agency, And Journalist Bernice Kanner, Take Readers Behind The Scenes Of The Multi-Billion Dollar Advertising Industry In New Book The days of passively waiting, reading, watching, and receiving information are gone. Today, each of us is in control of what, when, how, and where we consume information and entertainment, whether we're watching television, listening to satellite radio, downloading podcasts, or blogging our hearts out. And nothing in the world of advertising and marketing will ever be the same again, explain David Verklin and the late Bernice Kanner in their new book, WATCH THIS, LISTEN UP, CLICK HERE: Inside The 300 Billion Dollar Business Behind The Media You Constantly Consume (Wiley, May 2007). Verklin, who is CEO of Carat Americas and Chairman of Carat Asia Pacific, the world's largest independent buyer of advertising time and space, and Kanner, New York magazine's long-time marketing columnist, explain how technology has forever changed the media, revealing how that affects consumers' viewing, listening, and clicking habits, and in turn what advertisers are doing about it. "There has been more change in the media world in the past twenty-four months than in the past twenty-four years," they say. "And change in the next twenty-four months will be just as significant, scary, unstable, eventful, fruitful, exciting, imaginative, and innovative." Consumers are spending less time watching broadcast television, and more time watching cable TV and using their digital recording devices, computers, iPods, cell phones, and PDAs - and advertisers are following. Yet, even as television advertising budgets shrink, the audience for TV shows grows as technology provides new outlets and means of distribution. Fans who once missed a favorite TV episode can now watch it on their iPods. Others discover shows on their iPods, and then tune into conventional TV to continue watching. Advertisers are savvy to consumers' shifting viewing habits. Verklin and Kanner examine the innovative ways that companies are reaching viewers whether through product placements, product give-aways, or other creative means. WATCH THIS, LISTEN UP, CLICK HERE also looks at the changes that are taking place as satellite and online radio overwhelm traditional radio. According to the authors, the number of terrestrial stations offering news/talk rocketed to nearly 2,000 last year, as people turn to other sources to get their music. Even more interesting, radio broadcasters like Clear Channel are selling songs and music videos online while others have become aggressive podcasters. NPR now delivers podcasts to mobile phones, and Clear Channel has been talking to carriers about doing the same. Where will radio be in 2010? Verklin and Kanner predict that "it will be a scrollable, narrowcasted, healthy medium that provides an earful to listeners and a good way for advertisers to reach them." New technologies have also grabbed huge amounts of advertising dollars from magazines and newspapers. In order to survive, print publications must beef up their online presence and capitalize on new media opportunities, write Verklin and Kanner. Sports Illustrated has succeeded in doing this by posting its swimsuit edition online, including outtakes and additional content, and by selling videos of the photo shoot on iTunes. The authors predict that soon, subscribers to any magazine will be able to customize their own issues and access them on their personal computers or portable devices. As for newspapers, the authors point to changes that are already taking place. Newspapers such as USA Today, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Chicago Tribune have dismissed fifty years of tradition, and are now running ads on their front pages. This comes as a response to competition from websites like Craigslist.org and free daily newspapers in major markets. Other changes include the electronic delivery of newspapers, their ability to be interactive, as well as their increased focus on local news and events. Verklin and Kanner also dissect the fast-moving, $12 billion world of online advertising, currently dominated by Google with its ability to target consumers with ads that correspond to their online searches. The authors take a thorough look at blogs, other search engines, social networking sites, and more, emphasizing the importance of "engagement" as the metric that matters most to marketers, both on and offline. WATCH THIS, LISTEN UP, CLICK HERE even includes a chapter devoted to the new-found reach of outdoor advertising as it takes advantage of "smart" technology to present ads carefully targeted to passersby. The authors say, "In the not-too-distant future, billboards will talk directly to your cell phone, PDA, or iPod." Every day, each of us is exposed to approximately 3,000 marketing messages from the time we wake up until we go to sleep at night. WATCH THIS, LISTEN UP, CLICK HERE presents a cornucopia of invaluable insights into this powerful world of ideas and persuasion that surrounds us. This fascinating book is a must-read for anyone interested in a behind-the-scenes look at the media and the ways that advertisers influence what we see, hear, and read. # # # About the Authors DAVID VERKLIN is the CEO of Carat Americas and Chairman of Carat Asia Pacific, the worldıs largest independent media buying company. A visionary in the development of the media services industry, Verklin sits on the Board of the American Advertising Federation, the Audit Bureau of Circulation, and the Virginia Commonwealth Universityıs AdCenter. Inducted into the AAF Hall of Fame for under 40s in 1996, and named one of the 100 most influential people in the American media industry by The Myers Report, he is regularly quoted by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and USA Today. Verklin frequently speaks at industry conferences on marketing, media, and management. BERNICE KANNER was a marketing expert who spent thirteen years writing New York magazineıs "On Madison Avenue" column. She also authored twelve books, including Pocketbook Power: How to Reach the Hearts and Minds of Today's Most Coveted Consumers - Women and The Super Bowl of Advertising: How Commercials Won the Game. She passed away in October 2006.
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