How many of us will be able to make that claim?
Well, the classic Claude Hopkins book Scientific Advertising is still a must-read. It’s a slim 56 pages, but blows just about every advertising book ever written out of the water.
No less than David Ogilvy said that everybody should read it seven times, and that it changed his life.
Good enough for you? Download an open-source PDF file here. Read it at lunch.
Then go forth and do likewise.
You plan for offensive operations, while you prepare to play defense. You’ll find this concept in both warfare and sports, and it’s applicable in business as well.
I much prefer playing offense, because that’s where you score and generate revenues. A strong business offensive plan also limits the amount of places you’ll need to prepare to play defense, freeing up more resources for–you guessed it–playing more offense.
What’s an example of planning as opposed to preparations in a marketing context?
A great example can be found in the United States Postal Service and the annual postage increases. If you’re using direct mail as a marketing channel, you can be sure of two things:
At one point during my college days I wanted to be an A&R guy for a record label. My reactions to smoke-filled clubs and early-to-bed habits caused me to rethink that career option.
But music, and the marketing of it, has remained a lifelong interest.
Last night, my wife and I saw Duran Duran at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD. This was her 11th or 12th time and my 10th time to see the band.
When you go to a Duran Duran show, you know you’re going to see a great performance, an enthusiastic crowd and hit after hit.
What I didn’t expect was a textbook example of creating and maximizing a marketing channel, and an example of how big a part luck plays in everything we do as marketers.
Are you using sampling in your marketing efforts? Ad Age had a quick article on some of the sampling efforts being undertaken by major marketers this summer.
What’s old is new again. Is it better to hit a prospect with 3 to 5 impressions and tell them about your product or is it better to put the product in their mouth or on their skin and show them how great it is?
If you think about it, the Web 2.0 technique of giving away your entire product dates back to the days of the local shopkeeper.
Back in the day, the general store owner would give you a taste of what was in the barrel to get you to purchase the product. Now, digital products and services providers allow you to use virtually all of their services free of charge, with the hope that you’ll come back repeatedly and purchase the premium (paid) product or generate pageviews to generate advertising revenue.
Sampling’s an old marketing technique, but it’s taken hold in Web 2.0 products and, with the advent of more granular tracking tools, is becoming more popular with traditional CPG.
As Winston Churchill once said, “The further back I look, the further forward I can see.” What other “old” marketing techniques can you think of that can be resurrected in your marketing efforts?
