490 Inside The Black Box by Bob Hoffman

Inside the Black Box: How Marketers Waste Billions in Online Advertising by Bob Hoffman 

ABOUT THE BOOK:

In 2024, marketers will spend over $650 billion on online advertising. A substantial proportion of this - perhaps in the hundreds of billions - will be completely wasted.

Not for the usual reason - their advertising stinks - but for another, darker reason. They have been cheated, conned, and robbed.

It has been clear for about a decade that a great deal of online advertising is crooked. It is a black box. Money goes in and nobody knows what comes out.

Between ad fraud, made for advertising sites, hidden middleman fees, crooked publishers, unreliable data, unreliable reports, viewability issues, click fraud, false attribution, consumer inattention, and the utter lack of transparency, advertisers are being fucked blind.

The book should be of particular value to executives (like CEOs and CFOs) who cross their fingers and hope their marketing people know what they're talking about (Spoiler alert: They don't.)

It's also for marketing people who believe their suppliers give them accurate information (Spoiler alert: They don’t.)

It's also for media buyers who think they know what they're buying (Spoiler alert: They don't.)

It is written in simple English, so you don't have to be a tech-head to get it.

And, best of all – the book is free!  

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Bob Hoffman is the author of several best-selling books about advertising. He is also one of the most sought-after international speakers on advertising and marketing.

His books include:

• Marketing Stinx
• ADSCAM: How Online Advertising Gave Birth to One of History's Greatest Frauds, and Became a Threat to Democracy 
• Advertising for Skeptics
• Laughing at Advertising
• BadMen: How Advertising Went From A Minor Annoyance To A Major Menace AND
• Marketers Are From Mars, Consumers Are From New Jersey

... all of which have been featured on The Marketing Book Podcast.
 
He is the creator of the popular “Ad Contrarian” blog, named one of the world's most influential marketing and advertising blogs by Business Insider.

Bob was the CEO of two independent agencies and the U.S. operation of an international agency. 

Bob's commentary has appeared in the BBC World Service, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, MSNBC, The Financial Times, The Australian, New Zealand Public Broadcasting, Fox News, Sky News, Forbes, Canadian Public Broadcasting, and many other news outlets throughout the world. 

And, interesting fact – he is now a member of a VERY exclusive club with 3 other authors - The Marketing Book Podcast 7-Timers Club!