In times of huge economic and social change, knowledge becomes a critical success factor. Change doesn't come much bigger than the sudden arrival of all the new digital communication tools, and we created the Digital Book Club as a way of recommending a few titles that will take your learning and knowledge that little bit further. The books bring you closer to the people and ideas shaping the digital networked economy, and the Digital Book Club contains simple short reviews of texts we think you'll find useful. They include some of the books our team have written or contributed to, but no publisher has paid to be here. Some titles are specific to individual areas we train on, while others reflect general principles of how the new economy works. As the number of titles swells we can only scratch the surface, but if you've found a certain book particularly useful then why not let our editors know? We hope you find the reviews useful and enjoy reading the books.

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Joseph Jaffe (Wiley, 2007)

April 2008

Joseph Jaffe challenges the status quo of marketing, bringing a confrontational freshness to the channel mix and the nature of consumer engagement. In the digital landscape brands need to build awareness and image by taking part in conversations, and this book explains both why and how. Firms need to accept a step-change in their relationships with customers, and ‘Conversations’ is a great catalyst for encouraging them to dare to think of a taking leap beyond the standard media plan or campaign idea. Marketing is changing, but not all firms will adapt.

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Rob Graham (Learningcraft Press, 2006)

April 2007

Fishing From a Barrel is an exploration of the processes, planning and tools available to marketers using Behavioral Targeting to reach online audiences. An in-depth look at:

• The role of behaviourally targeted advertising
• Why targeting campaigns consistently result in higer ROI and greater marketing impact
• The process of behavioural data capture and analysis
• Harnessing behavioural targeting to meet unique challenges of online communication and marketing

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Biz Stone (St Martin's Griffin, New York)

February 2006

Billed as a 'hyperconnected peek at the world of blogs', Biz Stone unpacks the rise of blogging and delivers a simple, accessible, 'how to' guide for those who want to get to grips with one of the latest crazes to hit the online mainstream. Publishing tools that would have cost $100,000 a few years ago, are now given away for free, letting anyone enjoy the benefits of powerful content management systems. But the technology is only the starting point: what should you write and why? Stone has some intriguing answers.

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Buy Who let the blogs out? on Amazon.co.uk

William J Mitchell (The MIT Press, Massachusetts 2003)

January 2006

Chronicles of the future don't come richer, better grounded or more intense than Mitchell's trilogy of the networked world. Me ++ untangles the way fleshware weaves into the urban futurescape with such clarity and intensity you're left reeling. But here's a warning: if you are one of those who 'want a simpler life, choosing to unplug and to live off the grid in Idaho', then this is not for you. Mitchell describes himself as an electro-nomadic cyborg; 'Disconnection would be amputation. I am part of the networks, and the networks are part of me. I show up in the directories. I am visible to Google. I link therefore I am'. Mitchell is head of the MIT Lab's academic program in Media Arts and Sciences, and former dean of MIT's School of Architecture and Planning.

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Buy Me++ on Amazon.co.uk

Richard Eyre (Penguin, 2005)

December 2005

This month's edition of DSC's Book Club features the debut novel from media pluralist Richard Eyre. In a change from the usual marketing texts we enjoy a classic whodunit, but one with a few business lessons along the way.

There's adrenalin rushing through the corridors of Acrobat television, and it's even stronger in the boardroom than under the hot lights down on the live studio floor. Eyre takes us inside the doors of a youth channel that's broken the mould, but not the markets. Punchy programming, naked ambition, hungry for acquisition; now under attack.

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Julian Saunders (ed) (2004)

September 2004

The Communications Challenge addresses itself to the `how to` question in the development of marketing communications in a changing media and technology environment. Subtitled ‘a practical guide to media neutral planning’, the book lives up to its name by being packed with case histories and examples of research and working methods. In it, a picture emerges of innovation, new practices and methods as well as the updating of established thinking.

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Matt Haig (Kogan Page, 2003)

June 2004

Matt Haig, independent consultant advising organizations on creating integrated marketing solutions, challenges his readers to examine their own problems with branding. What are the seven deadly sins of branding? Haig describes them well: they’re amnesia, ego, megalomania, deception, fatigue, paranoia, and irrelevance that stand behind the biggest failures in brand marketing. All filled with an abundance of recent cases studies. As marketers we can learn as much from examining the causes behind these failings as we can from the MBA-taught models of success that we strive to follow.

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Buy Brand Failures: The Truth about the 100 Biggest Branding Mistakes of All Time on Amazon.co.uk

Malcolm Gladwell (Abacus, 2003)

June 2004

The Tipping Point is a book about change. In particular, it's a book that presents a new way of understanding why change so often happens as quickly and as unexpectedly as it does. The Tipping Point does not challenge the notions of brand and response marketing, but instead provides a window through which to view and re-view markets, plans, products, and ideas. It is a health check to strategy, a model for marketers a framework every marketer should learn, a tool to embrace with passion.

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Buy The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference on Amazon.co.uk

Richard Harper (ed) (Springer 2003)

November 2003

Richard Harper's passion is to develop tools and techniques for understanding user behaviour in workplaces, mobile settings and the home. After 20 years of various experiments he is the person to predict what our future homes will look like. Will our fridge make the shopping itself using the internet? Will the lights switch on when we tell them to do so? Intelligent homes have be the domain of futurologists and visionaries. Now with the new technologies progressing so quickly we may find oursevles in a smart home sooner than expected.

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Buy Inside the Smart Home on Amazon.co.uk

Fiona Gilmore (Profile Books 2003)

October 2003

Since intense competition propelled Brand to become the key differentiator and corporate success factor we have all been transformed into Brand Warriors. That’s the theory at least although reading through the trade press one wonders how many companies are yet to put into place the tools behind their fighting rhetoric. Following the success of her first title Fiona Gilmore returns on fighting form with the ‘High Wire’ edition, assembling a series of personal accounts of the meaning of Brand as witnessed through the eyes of seventeen executives who have driven their high profile organisations’ powerful brand strategies.

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Buy Brand Warriors on the High Wire on Amazon.co.uk

Philip Kotler and Fernando Trias de Bes Wiley (John Wiley & Sons 2003)

August 2003

Although all marketers will enjoy the wake-up call, Lateral Marketing gears itself primarily to strategic marketers in the driving seat of product development, target market strategy or marketing mix control. The roadmap includes a choice of paths: new product development, market reassessment, rebuilding the marketing mix. It helps answer such questions as: which nonpotential customers could be reached, what else could a product be used for, which other needs could be satisfied.

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Buy Lateral Marketing: New Techniques for Finding Breakthrough Ideas on Amazon.co.uk

Paul Smith and Dave Chaffey (Butterworth-Heinemann 2002)

February 2003

Smith and Chaffey have woven case studies, screenshots and context into the fabric of every section, allowing the reader to relate the theory elements directly to websites and brands they will have experienced. 'E-marketing Excellence' will guide you convidently through the digital models and marketing plans, suggesting how to drive your internet business forward.

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Buy E-Marketing Excellence on Amazon.co.uk

James Matthewson (Butterworth-Heinemann 2002)

January 2003

Can e-business theory and practice be explained in a simple and easy way? James Matthewson, Digital marketing specialist, proves it possible. In his practical guide readers will find the key terms, concepts and their relationship explained in a gripping way. If you wonder what the processes are to develop e-business strategy and who on the market does it well and who does it badly, 'E-business' is a good place to start your digital journey.

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Buy E-business – a jargon free practical guide on Amazon.co.uk

Hugh Davidson (Butterworth Heinemann 2002)

June 2002

Hugh Davidson challenges us to think again about visions: what they are, what they mean, how they change us, why we need them. You may, like many senior managers feel they are unnecessary, a corporate self-indulgence that simply detracts from a mountainous in-tray. Or you may like the idea but simply never get round to ever tackling it. Or you may simply feel disenfranchised, too small a cog in a vast machine. Or you may just be comfortable the way things are and be looking forward to your pension. If you’re in that last group skip the rest of these notes and relax it will soon be home time and the Journal can go back on the no doubt impressive book shelf.

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Buy The Committed Enterprise on Amazon.co.uk

Jason Jennings and Laurence Haughton (Harper Collins 2000)

February 2001

This is one of those rare business texts that once you start it’s genuinely tough to put down. What Jennings and Haughton have succeeded in doing is taking Darwin’s observations of species and researching whether or not they apply to companies. Darwin said “It’s not the strongest or most intelligent species that survive; it is the one most adaptable to change”, and what this text proves is that time and time again really successful companies have an ability to adapt quickly.

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Buy It’s not the big that eat the small it’s the fast that eat the slow on Amazon.co.uk

In times of huge economic and social change, knowledge becomes a critical success factor. We created the Digital Book Club reviews to bring you closer to the people and ideas shaping the digital networked economy. They are short reviews of texts we'd recommend, and are published monthly. We also publish similar Digital Thought Leadership interviews and Digital Insight Reports to accompany our own talks and training workshops. Knowledge and training can unlock the potential of your team.

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Digital Insight Reports are published monthly and summaries are sent to our clients. If you're not yet a client, we may be able to give you free access for a couple of editions. Just tell us a little about yourself and your firm, and why you'd like us to give you our research.

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Series Reviewer: Danny Meadows-Klue

Danny has been a researcher and commentator in the digital networked industries since 1995. He managed the UK's first online newspaper and has helped run web businesses ranging from mass market portals and consumer magazines, to online stores, search and email services. Among his industry roles he is the co-founder and former chairman of the UK and European Internet and Interactive Advertising Bureau, and has been lecturing on digital marketing for more than a decade. He set up Digital Strategy Consulting in 2000 to help firms get the most from the digital networked economy.