Facing pressure for heightened accountability, many marketers are putting much more emphasis on measuring actual performance of their programs.
Having helped many clients build state-of-the-art direct marketing strategies, I have compiled five typical mistakes companies make in designing their marketing strategies. Hoping we can all learn from the mistakes of others to build better and more effective campaigns, I suggest these mistakes as five ways of increasing marketing effectiveness through better planning — rather than better measurement after launching a plan.
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The Conversation of the Future?
Over the holidays, my 12 year-old son went shopping for a present for his mom on his own. After browsing around in Borders bookstore, he sent me a text which listed the things he was considering. I suggested he send me a photo of his favorite option. He did, I approved, and I can still recall the feeling as if I participated in the decision, even though he was exercising his independence. What a great experience and a nice connective moment for us both.
This got me thinking about what it means — or doesn’t mean — to have a conversation in an age of mobile ubiquity.
Humans have long enjoyed the art of the conversation. These days, we “talk” in many ways, including in person, over the phone, texting and tapping social media applications. What if brands spent less time prying their way into those conversations, and more time adding value by making it easier for us to converse about our brands and products?
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I think it’s fair to say that most marketers don’t aspire to win the Nobel Prize. But there are lessons.
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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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