Paid attention - Faris Yakob

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.

Faris Yakob is the co-founder of Genius Steals, an itinerant strategy and innovation consultancy. Previously he was Chief Innovation Officer of MDC Partners; founding partner of digital agency Spies&Assassins; Chief Technology Strategist at McCann Erickson NY; and Digital Ninja at Naked Communications.

A respected thought leader in the field, Faris Yakob is a prominent speaker at international events and conferences, as well as guest lecturer for a number of universities. He received his Masters in English Language and Literature from the University of Oxford. Fast Company named him one of ten modern-day Mad Men. He is a contributor to their "creative brainstrust" and has written for Maxim, Financial Times, Forbes, Huffington Post, and most publications with 'AD' in their masthead.

"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

"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, Associate Professor and Associate Chair of Communication and Media Studies at Lincoln Center, Fordham University

"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

"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

"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

"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

"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, Partner, Chief Digital Officer, Deutsch LA

"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 of Percolate