Madison Avenue Manslaughter: An Inside View of Fee-Cutting Clients, Profit-Hungry Owners and Declining Ad Agencies Paperback – February 21, 2017

What happened to the great agencies of advertising's golden age (the 50s, 60s & 70s)? Their owners took them public and the fortunes they made shocked their clients awake. Then they sold to financial hacks who imposed profit pressure, while consultants and purchasing departments attacked margins. But then there was a lot of fat... so they just kept carving at it. And eliminating training. And cutting out layers. And inflating titles. Until the shivering exposed thing that remains isn't anything like the great agency of the golden age. If you want to understand the forces that have been hollowing out large advertising agencies, there is no better book to read. If you are contemplating hiring a large agency, you really need to read this book. I've spent almost thirty years in this business, the first five in the middle of this beast and the rest happily competing against it. Advertising is still the most fun you can have with your clothes on -- but the advertising business as these people practice it is no fun at all.

A must-read for anyone in advertising or covering it or trying to understand marketing's broader place in the larger world of how a modern business works in a world ruled by financial markets. Devastatingly deconstructs how the holding company model has created companies that support a small number of executives making lots of money and huge, ever-churning interchangeable wage slaves. Because margins have fallen so dramatically, the fallback option to support the holding company stock price is overworking rank & file employees. Meanwhile, a few people at the top make bank while offering promises of future bonus and raises that never come or come smaller, slower and more begrudgingly. Farmer writes matter-of-factly and not with a lot of humor, and some of this get pretty dry. But the overall message is an urgent one, though probably just another warning that will go unheeded before the entire business model collapses.

This book charts the trials and travails of the advertising industry (well, the broken agency model) in a way that is engaging at first, but then gets lost in the weeds of the granular details. The second half of the book would be better served as an industry white paper, though admittedly agency staff will want to pore over the analysis which is very well researched and presented. I found the transition from narrative to detailed business analysis to be too jarring and I abandoned the book after chapter 13.

Advertising is being challenged from all directions. if you work in advertising it's always great to read a fresh perception. Michael farmer knows his stuff. I am reading this a second time but this time am taking notes.

For someone with 35 years in ad business this is the most accurate description of the industry's decline, cause and effect you can read. Also a good summary of the type of relationship that adds the most value going forward

I feel it's a must read for anyone supporting Marketing and Communication leaders in a financial capacity.

A must read to understand why modern agencies struggle to find the right balance between profitability and services quality.

Fabulous book and insights into the Agency world.

More than reference tool, the book is a call to action for creative agencies to be more commercial. It explains the history of marketing services agencies from being respected business partners to commoditised suppliers and how pricing has played no small part in the process.Farmer tracks the extent to which advertising pricing has dropped over 20 years by 60%, through a combination of falling fees and increased scope. He then offers up practical advise on how to deal with the problem, in short, 1) Provide genuine business solutions for clients, 2) Ensure you get rewarded accordingly. One feeds the other, without the right level of compensation there is no way we can deliver the right service.As a business book junkie there are few books in adland that really make a lasting impact. Madison Avenue Manslaughter is not only informative and rich in history, it also a hugely practical set of guidelines that will help build revenue and margin for the marketing sector.First time round I couldn't put it down, I'm on to my second round with a notepad and pen this time.

A great book. Would have been even better by detailing and quantifying the importance of agencies for holding co.

lots of common sense

Well written

Considero um clássico. Uma abordagem completa e bastante objetiva sobre os erros que acometeram o mercado publicitário. Essencial, recomendo para todos que trabalham na área.