madison avenue manslaughter
Michael Farmer’s book Madison Avenue Manslaughter has been described as “required reading for everyone in the business of buying and making marketing communications” (John Seifert, Ogilvy & Mather CEO) and “a wake-up call for marketers and advertisers” (Ken Auletta, New Yorker media critic).
Farmer spent years analyzing the advertising business as a consultant, working for Boston Consulting Group and Bain & Company in locations around the world. This book outlines what he see are the 3 key challenges in the advertising world:
- the workload challenge
- the mission challenge
- the accountability challenge
At a presentation in Toronto November 2017, Farmer expanded on those challenges, and the strategic trap that so many agencies find themselves in – caught between fee-cutting clients and profit-hungry owners.