Welcome to re:direct, a conversation about modern direct marketing.

David Ogilvy began his advertising career first doing research for Gallup and selling Aga stoves door-to-door. He learned precious lessons in salesmanship and how to communicate with people to help them make a decision. Ogilvy placed a high value of not just guessing at would work, but knowing what would work. He insisted on direct response being an integral part of the agency he built.

For all the rigor as it has evolved from mail order to database marketing to CRM and digital, direct seems stuck in a decade or two past. We believe it’s time for a second coming, especially creatively.

We’re tasking talent across Ogilvy — from creative and strategy to analytics and media — to tackle this and showcase work. We’re also asking the wider marketing community to participate and push us all towards some answers.

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