Disruption: Overturning Conventions and Shaking Up the Marketplace

If you ask me, this book belongs right up there with "Positioning" as one of the all time must-reads, not only for marketers and advertising people, but really for anyone in business. And while it was published in the mid-90s, it couldn't be more relevant today. At heart, what Mr. Dru says (and then supports with many examples) is that the only path to genuine business success is to fly in the face of conventional thinking. Mr. Dru's background is as the leader of a large advertising agency; so many of his examples come from this area. However, as he points out, taking the safe route in almost any business endeavor-product development, business process design or marketing communications-is often the most dangerous course. Because any business activity that fails to disrupt, i.e. break with the norm, is unlikely to attract much attention (or business). Which, at a time when revenue and earnings growth is stagnant for most firms, and the tools of financial engineering all but exhausted, would seem to point to this new "best practice". Read this book and then inject a massive amount of disruption into the thinking that powers your enterprise.

This is a classic which should be in the library of anyone serious about our craft - or business, if that's the way you see it. J-M Dru sets out to break the rules - systematically. Its a little like how Edward de Bono approaches thinking: he gives you random and therefore unusual starting points so your journey will be a different one. Disruption is challenging stuff. In fact, I'm not convinced that every ad can or should be disruptive. But I do believe we should be asking the question of ourselves every time and saying "yes" a whole lot more often. Some of the tools he includes can be put into practice easily and they work well. I recommend them to young people in our agency. You never stop learning in the ad game. Buy this book or [...].

The most fascinating aspect of Jean-Marie Dru's book is that it gives you a new way of looking at things... Of finding solutions to problems... Be it in advertising or in any other profession. In `Disruption', Dru sets up a premise for questioning conventional patterns and methods in order to move forward and beyond. To create path-breaking solutions in terms of strategies and communication. And, in support of his ideas, Dru provides examples from the world of advertising, where the forces of `disruption' have indeed created memorable brands all around the world. Some, even before the publication of this book. Although the core idea in `Disruption' originates in advertising, it actually transcends any trade or profession and influences the very essence of life itself. As Dru puts it succinctly in the preface of his book, 'Disruption is at once a method, a way of thinking, a state of mind.' This book is sure to change the way you look at advertising, and your life.

Why there are only few different and successful advertising campaigns even though everybody is talking about the differentiation in advertising meeting, planning book and creative meeting. This book shows how to develope the different and effective advertising campaigns you wish to create. The concept of this book is so clear and easy to understand. Most of all, over 100 disruptive campaign cases are the heart of this book. I could understand the strategic background of numerous great advertising campaigns which I have seen before in real advertising field.

The most striking part about the book is the fluid model that the author proposed. In today's world of deterministic modeling, it is refreshing to find that someone has taken the trouble to create a model that has no set boundaries, no set method, yet is applicable. And produces results too, as in the case of BMW or Danone. This is a must read for anyone who is interested in a career in advertising.