Paid Attention

As ever, the onus is on brands to find compelling ways to earn the attention of the consumer. Yet content scarcity has given way to overload, fixed channels have dissolved into fluid networks, and audiences have become participants in consumer-driven conversations. This shift requires a new course of action for brands; it demands new marketing imperatives. Paid Attention is a guide to modern advertising ideas: what they are, why they are evolving and how to have them. Spanning communication theory, neuroscience, creativity and innovation, media history, branding and emerging technologies, it explores the strategic creation process and how to package ideas to attract the most attention in the advertising industry.

Packed with real-world examples of advertising campaigns for companies including Sony, Red Bull, HP and many more, Paid Attention provides a robust model for influencing human behaviour. Referencing a wide body of theory and praxis, from behavioural economics and sociology to technology and even science fiction, Faris Yakob maps advertising onto a wider analysis of culture. Containing practical advertising and branding templates, including a new advertising planning toolkit, it is ideal for students and practitioners looking to get noticed in today's cluttered marketplace. Online resources include additional toolkits with advice, techniques and best practice on brand behaviour, new ideas and effective communication.

“"What Faris does a great job at is walking the reader through the recent past to the now in advertising, punctuated by case studies that help add color along with good footnotes. It is the evolution of tools at our disposal that have really changed the way we communicate, and to a degree, what we communicate."”

"Ever been on a roller coaster? They tend to hold your attention well. Slowly scaling great heights, then wonderful views, sharp unexpected turns, fast paced, and great fun. Faris's book is a roller coaster of a book - full of ideas on ideas, it held my attention at every turn. Packed full of theories and evidence to weigh and consider, this is the advertising/communications/ideas book of the year."--Adam Ferrier, Chief Strategy Officer "Cummins & Partners " ""Paid Attention" gives a comprehensive view of how the advertising industry has evolved and how new technologies and social media have affected what people demand from brands today. Faris covers philosophy, psychology, behavioural economics and social behaviours to look at how planners and creatives can ensure their work is relevant, engaging and appropriate. He covers a great deal of information in an approachable and straightforward way, with stacks of recent examples of successful advertising."--Emily Hare, Managing Editor "Contagious Magazine " "In today's global, 24/7, hyper-connected environment, our attention is the most prized commodity. New media call for new approaches to strategic communication. Drawing upon a rich and highly interdisciplinary body of scholarship on the links between cognition, symbolic expression and behavior, Paid Attention is a primer for the praxis of persuasion in the 21st century. Clearly fluent in both academic research and marketplace realities, Faris Yakob offers a welcome bridge between theory and practice. Scholars and professional communicators alike should pay attention."--Gwenyth Jackaway, PhD, Assoc Prof & Assoc Chair of Communication & Media Studies "Lincoln Center, Fordham University " "Faris's phaser is set to stun as he reverses the polarity of the ad industry in a cautionary tale against old media thinking. Salvation comes in the form of numerous helpful thoughts starters for those genuinely interested in exploring the future of marketing."--Johnny Vulkan, Founding Partner "Anomaly " "In the digital age and beyond, marketers can no longer buy attention. That means how we define strategy, creative ideas, media, and even the role of the consumer has to change. Faris Yakob has spent a career writing and speaking about these topics. Few thinkers better understand the challenges that confront marketers, advertisers and agencies in the years to come. Finally, we have his knowledge --captured in a clear, logical text that offers readers an understanding of the recent changes, and what we can do to prosper."--Edward Boches, Professor of Advertising, Boston University "formerly Partner and Chief Creative Officer, Mullen " "A lively, penetrating, thoroughly intelligent investigation of how content wins attention...or fails to do so. Let Faris be your guide to new ideas and best practice."--Grant McCracken "Affiliate Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University " "[A]n interesting and challenging book that allows any person in charge of marketing or advertising a business to rethink their advertising system."--Charles Franklin "Small Biz Trends " "A new marketing philosophy for our time."--Ben Richards "Global Chief Strategy Officer, Ogilvy & Mather " ""Paid Attention" is a must-read for anyone struggling to understand media s changing relationship with consumers in a world being transformed by digital. Funny and provocative, and packed full of great examples, it ll get you thinking differently, whether you re an advertising professional or a media entrepreneur trying to reposition your business to take on the next generation of opportunities."--David Flynn "Chief Creative Officer, Endemol UK "" Great ideas, as the book explains, are borrowed bits of other great ideas recombined in new and interesting ways. "Paid Attention" doesn t just explain the concept, it lives it, combining ideas from economics, psychology, philosophy, media studies, and, of course, advertising, into a coherent narrative for this particularly incoherent time. The book is well worth your attention and you re sure to find a few ideas to steal for yourself and your brand. --Noah Brier, Founder "Percolate "" "Paid Attention" gives a comprehensive view of how the advertising industry has evolved and how new technologies and social media have affected what people demand from brands today. Faris covers philosophy, psychology, behavioural economics and social behaviours to look at how planners and creatives can ensure their work is relevant, engaging and appropriate. He covers a great deal of information in an approachable and straightforward way, with stacks of recent examples of successful advertising. --Emily Hare, Managing Editor "Contagious Magazine "" "The most over-asked question by five-year-olds is the most under-asked questions by adults - 'why?' Why do we do things this way? Why do we make certain assumptions? Why don't we try a different method? Faris steps into the role of advertising's irritating toddler in an effort to understand why the industry is in the state it's in and what it can do to regain its relevance. Faris asks the questions the rest of the ad industry are too scared to ask. And now that he's done it, it'll be interesting to see which agencies will make the changes the rest of the industry will be too scared to make. Here lie the nuggets of wisdom you'll hear repeated in ad agency board rooms for years to come. Take a read, collect some quotes and sound like the smartest person in the room before someone else does."--Dave Birss "Editor at Large, The Drum " "This fantastic book will challenge how you think and view the world - it also happens to be incredibly useful for anyone who wants to understand the current and future direction of advertising. Faris takes us on a journey through communications theory, neuroscience, and the history of media, and leaves us with practical and actionable ideas on how to do better work. An absolute must-read!"--David Passiak "Head of Innovation and Reseach, Dubizzle " "Faris has hosted sessions for my students on our many trips to New York. His passion and particular lexicon have both challenged and inspired students from around the globe. His new book is about the now and treats digital as the norm that it has become. Unusually for this genre of book, it is light of touch, eminently readable and seamlessly integrates different cultures so as not to appear out of the US. Philosophy, yes in part, but with the common touch."--Bruce Sinclair "Principal Lecturer, Bucks Adschool, Bucks New University " "Reading this book felt a little like intellectual pinball as I was bounced between the worlds of psychology, philosophy, economics and advertising history: always entertaining while also sometimes genuinely profound. At a time when almost every pundit seems to be questioning whether advertising has a future, Faris is offering some answers."--Will Collin, Founding Partner "Naked Communications " "Sometimes, reflecting on a broken mirror is a fascinating thing. When chaos disrupts the perception of order it can offer a fresh perspective and jarring insights. Faris brings indisputable advertising credibility to the fluid timeline of the now. The ongoing polemic of conversation in advertising and the precision and force of his thought, against an ever changing context, not only makes Paid Attention a powerful read, but a necessary one for any practitioner in marketing today and likely for years to come. I'm not usually one for grand pronouncements, but this could be the most important 'tool' I equip myself with for a very long time." --Michael Kasprow, Partner and Director of Innovation "Union Creative " "Great ideas, as the book explains, are borrowed bits of other great ideas recombined in new and interesting ways. Paid Attention doesn't just explain the concept, it lives it, combining ideas from economics, psychology, philosophy, media studies, and, of course, advertising, into a coherent narrative for this particularly incoherent time. The book is well worth your attention and you're sure to find a few ideas to steal for yourself and your brand."--Noah Brier, Founder "Percolate " "Great ideas happen when you ask a lot of questions. If you want to ignite culture, you need to challenge conventions. Faris is one of the brightest and most curious minds in advertising, and in Paid Attention: Innovative Advertising for a Digital World, he asks questions that every advertiser and marketer should be asking themselves today about breaking through in an increasingly on-demand and attention scare world. In the process, he arrives at some revealing brand tactics and strategies that will help you create advertising people seek out not skip. Recommended reading for anyone in the advertising and marketing business." --Winston Binch, Chief Digital Officer "Deutsch LA " --Jane Goldman "Adland.tv " "Faris Yakob, you most certainly have my attention. But, then again as one of my most valued advisors in this world of communication and creator of the LIA NEW Category, you always have always made me pay attention. What a marvellous read. Intentionally or unintentionally, you have put into perspective the way all media are converging with one another and share similar methods for success, despite which platform they come from or how content is now consumed. Brilliantly, you examine how crucial it is to distribute your work in order to achieve your goals. It is incredible how the concepts, like sharing, which were learned as toddlers in the sandbox, are now the governing rules for a fruitful, profitable campaign. I know this book will be the gold standard for understanding modern concepts about media. But then again, technology changes so quickly, that by the time you finish reading my review, this book will need to be amended in your enviable style. A MUST-read for anyone living in this world of infinite content. I really Paid Attention to every single word."--Barbara Levy "President, London International Advertising Awards " "The brand communications playbook has changed little in the last century. I think it's safe to say the world we live in has changed dramatically in that time. Paid Attention is a hugely useful playbook to draw from in order to develop communications for the world today, not the world of yesterday."--Gareth Kay "Co-founder, Chapter. Former CSO, GS&P " "Paid Attention is a must-read for anyone struggling to understand media's changing relationship with consumers in a world being transformed by digital. Funny and provocative, and packed full of great examples, it'll get you thinking differently, whether you're an advertising professional or a media entrepreneur trying to reposition your business to take on the next generation of opportunities."--David Flynn "Chief Creative Officer, Endemol UK " "We don't think of it this way, but advertising is an industry with a history of its own, shaped by heroes, epiphanies, disasters and luck. It's not often analysed like other industries, but in his book, Faris has laid out a rich and intricate landscape that not only frames the state of advertising today, but the events that contributed to it, and how advertising should evolve in the face of that fast-arriving future we've heard so much about. Grab a thesaurus and get ready for a Billy Madison-esque learning montage."--Amber Finlay "Director of Communications Planning, Converse " "Paid Attention gives a comprehensive view of how the advertising industry has evolved and how new technologies and social media have affected what people demand from brands today. Faris covers philosophy, psychology, behavioural economics and social behaviours to look at how planners and creatives can ensure their work is relevant, engaging and appropriate. He covers a great deal of information in an approachable and straightforward way, with stacks of recent examples of successful advertising."--Emily Hare, Managing Editor "Contagious Magazine " "We don t think of it this way, but advertising is an industry with a history of its own, shaped by heroes, epiphanies, disasters and luck. It s not often analysed like other industries, but in his book, Faris has laid out a rich and intricate landscape that not only frames the state of advertising today, but the events that contributed to it, and how advertising should evolve in the face of that fast-arriving future we ve heard so much about. Grab a thesaurus and get ready for a Billy Madison-esque learning montage."--Amber Finlay "Director of Communications Planning, Converse ""

Faris Yakob is the founder of Genius Steals LLC, an ideas and innovation consultancy. Previously he was Chief Innovation Officer at MDC Partners and Executive Vice President, Chief Technology Strategist at McCann Erickson. He regularly writes about brands, media, communications and technology in publications such as the Financial Times, Forbes, Advertising Age and Media Week. He is a frequent speaker at international conferences and lectures at MIT and USC. He is also a contributor to What is a 21st Century Brand?, also published by Kogan Page.

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