If David Ogilvy Was Starting Today, He’d Be A Search Marketer

David Ogilvy was one of the godfathers of Madison Avenue. His book, “Ogilvy on Advertising” remains a marketing bible and his agency, Ogilvy & Mather, a worldwide force.

What’s interesting is how he got his start.

He sold stoves door-to-door in Scotland during the heights of the Depression. In becoming successful at it, he became fascinated in how what he said made a difference between whether he got in the door or not.  He learned, tested new approaches and eventually became so successful they asked him to write the sales manual for the entire company. By the end of the 30’s he had followed his interest across the Atlantic to work for Gallup Research. He later cited their emphasis on meticulous research and adherence to reality as a major influence on his thinking.

 

His Approach

“I prefer the discipline of knowledge to the anarchy of ignorance.”

“Do your homework. Study the product you’re going to advertise.”

(more…)

Internet Marketing Strategy: Do You Have A Tagline Or A Proposition?

Last week, in my monthly guest post on the Search Engine People blog, I provided the backdrop for taglines vs. propositions and made the point that, with the decline of interruption media and the rise of relevant media, the ‘Just Do It’ tagline era is over as you lose in internet marketing by being vague.

In this post, I’ll share how to find out what you’ve got and steps you can take to improve it and, subsequently, your online marketing performance.

Why Is A Value Prop So Damn Important?

Call it what you want: Unique Selling Propositions or Value Propositions. I think they call them props because they prop up an old business to keep it from falling down or, when done really right, they pull a business forward, increasing its speed to help it fly.

Whether it’s an email subject line, your Pay-Per-Click ads or the landing page, if you don’t have a good prop, your internet marketing is just going to fall down or just sit there.

How To Build A Strong Value Proposition

Here’s 6 steps to get you (more…)