The new book Madison Avenue Makeover by Michael Farmer effectively documents the transformation process that ad agency Huge has followed in defining a new operating and business model.
What it does well is describe how ad agencies work and the challenges in the industry. It does a good job of documenting the specific meetings, decisions, and personnel changes made throughout the journey from July 2021 to the end of 2022. It clearly documents the new operating model for Huge and how this new model is expected to overcome the business model challenges facing the industry.
However, the author admits that it’s still too early to know whether or not it’s going to work. The new model is a collection of hypotheses that are still being tested and are expected to be tweaked over time. It’s also not a very exciting story for those outside the industry. For those in the industry (especially those at Huge), the book may provoke some important questions or uncover some meaningful insights.