“Advertising that sells”

“Advertising that sells”

David Ogilvy (1911–1999) was “a British advertising tycoon, founder of Ogilvy & Mather, and known as the “Father of Advertising”. He attributed the success of his campaigns to meticulous research into consumer habits.”

In this memo (1972), what are the most durable/immutable themes?

Insights that people in the ad space should still treasure, to have an impact on consumers in today’s digitized and hyperconnected world?

My top 3 and why – For each, tagging a supporter and a contrarian:

“Psychological segmentation”: with the growth of available data, many companies started to micro-target their audience, at the expense of reach, with a consequent (negative) impact on brand growth. It’s key to balance reach (all potential category buyers) vs. micro-targeting to consumers that are about to buy. Enrico Ferrari, Gerry D’Angelo

“Grabbers”: in an evergrowing cluttered ad space, grabbing consumers’ attention early on can make a difference between being ignored vs. driving sales. While efficiency has grown over time (more data), effectiveness has declined. This is one of the reasons why “attention” metrics are attracting advertisers’ interest. Sorin Patilinet , Max Kalehoff

“Localize headlines”: creative personalization can drive up to +50% in sales lift. Yet, it is important to keep the right balance i.e. personalize creative based on maximum 3-4 key parameters (e.g. location, gender, lifestyle, context), because hyper personalization increases costs without relevant increases in sales lift. The balance may have changed with GenAI. Al Kallel, Byron Sharp