J. Opl Res. Soc. Vol. 38, No. 5, pp. 465-467, 1987 Printed in Great Britain. Operational Research Society Ltd
Book Selection Edited by RICHARD EGLESE and MIKE PIDD P. QUINN: The Secrets of Successful Copywriting J.A. SAUNDERS, J.A. SHARP and S.F. WITT: Practical Business Forecasting R.G. BROWN: Advanced Service Parts Inventory Control
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The Secrets of Successful Copywriting PAT QUINN Heinemann, London, 1986. 212 pp. £12.95. ISBN 0 434 91611 0
This book begins by describing how copywriters fit into agencies. Then it talks about the structure of the advertisement itself. The rest is about the techniques of writing headlines and copy, or in other words, what makes for a good ad or a bad one. It spends a lot of space talking about how to make a rather boring (or even very boring) production interesting, which the author maintains is the principal occupation of all but a few favoured copywriters. There is a chapter on the headline, and then one on the copy. Then some examples of good ads are discussed. Another chapter is called "Words, campaigns, research and things", but he doesn't have much to say for research. Then he covers radio and, to a lesser extent, television. Along the line somewhere there are some exercises in the writing of headlines and copy, with possible solutions. There are no models in this book, not even soft ones, and the quantitative approach is not evident. In fact, it isn't one of.the first books one would put on a list of essential volumes for an OR library. Nevertheless, it is interesting. For anyone involved with advertising, it gives a very clear picture of the considerations that go into the headline and copy of an advertisement. It also stimulates thoughts about other forms of communication. After all, the advertising element is implicit in much of what we write. Perhaps even, it may be relevant to approaching new management clients. This is the blatant end of the advertising spectrum. The other end is telling the customer we are boring and haven't anything much to offer. If we understand the .spectrum better, we may be able to place ourselves on it more advantageously. I enjoyed reading Pat Quinn's book, which is very clear and quite amusing in places. At least it will give added interest to the ads that take up so much space in my newspaper and magazines. NORMAN TOBIN Practical Business Forecasting J.A. SAUNDERS, J.A. SHARP and S.F. WITT Gower, Aldershot, 1987. 340 pp. £29.50. ISBN 0 566 02516 7
"This is a book for the manager who uses forecasts and for anyone involved in preparing them." So says the first sentence of the flysheet. That this readable and comprehensive text succeeds, where many similar books have failed, in this goal reflects the varied interests and wide practical experience of the three authors. The structure of the text and the forecasting techniques described is in no way innovative: a general introduction to the area of forecasting/ planning provides the backcloth for the exposition of the most popular forecasting approaches (time series analysis, ratio models, causal methods, judgemental forecasting and curve fitting).
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