PRESENTATION
This monographic volume o f « Comunicazioni Sociali » recalls another one, also edited by Edoardo Teodoro Brioschi, on Business Communication.
E. T. Brioschi, who this year celebrates his 30 years o f teaching at the Scuola di Specializzazione in Comunicazioni Sociali (School o f Specialization in Social Communications) o f the Università Cattolica o f Milan, and his 28 years at the Faculty o f Economics and Business (by the way, congratulations and best wishes!), is now focusing his attention on the problem o f advertising communi
cation, which he places within total communication and in an international sphere.
Sagaciously combining together original texts written especially f o r this number o f « Comunicazioni Sociali » and the contributions o f a Conference he organized, Brioschi presents a really exhaustive survey o f the current situation and o f the perspectives o f growth or crisis, i f any, o f this phenomenon.
Starting fro m a re-examination o f the m atter o f total communication and, in particular, o f public relations within business economics, and fro m a proposal about the evaluation and measurement o f their effectiveness (on this p o in t see the contributions by Brioschi, Nelli and Bensi), almost in order to establish an organic connection with the preceding monographic study o f « Comunicazioni Sociali », this articulated text treats the problem s o f advertising with resolution, referring to the Proceedings o f the VTh Education Conference o f the Interna
tional A dvertising Association (1994) and to other specific essays on the effec
tiveness o f advertising communication.
The themes treated by the various authors are o f great topical interest and have a remarkable impact on the specificity o f a type o f communication which has always been dallying with low repute on the one hand, and with an excessive consideration on the other.
The subjects vary: re-positioning o f the product, m otor-car industry advertising, short- and long-term effects, but there is also a thorough treatment o f the impact o f communication on economics and brands, o f the relationship (currently and properly considered very important) between advertising and con
sumers, o f the sense o f research, o f competition, o f the quality o f advertising communication and o f the instruments f o r its control.
A s f a r as the educational aspect is concerned, o f crucial importance are the themes o f the involvement o f the businesses, educators’ responsibilities, the relationship between this fie ld and that o f business.
390 PRESENTATION
In conclusion, it is a collection o f texts which not only pertain to the chosen topic, but which are adequate to our times and to the opportunités and differentiations that contem porary reality proposes.
This is a harmonious com position o f analyses and expectations that advertising communicators (and the scholars) cannot ignore and must, on the contrary, investigate furth er and constantly em ploy in their daily work and com m itm ent o f efficiency and creativity.
Gianfranco Bettetini
