David Ogilvy’s 7 Truths of Marketing

David Ogilvy

The 7 Truths of Marketing

1. GIVE THE FACTS

David Ogilvy believed strongly in laying out all the facts. In his book “Confessions of an Advertising Man” he talks about Dr. Charles Edwards from the Graduate School of Retailing at New York University, who once said: “The more facts you tell, the more you sell.

An advertisement’s chance for success invariably increases as the number of pertinent merchandise facts included in the advertisement increases.”

Marketing people know the term “Benefits over Feature”. Ogilvy agrees and says: “The key to success is to promise the consumer a benefit, like better flavor, whiter clothes, or more miles per gallon.”

Of course this does not mean never to mention features and other information about your product or service. Customers simply want to know facts which are relevant to them early on.

Here are a few wise quotes from Ogilvy’s book:

• “Don’t beat around the bush—go straight to the point.”
• “The headline is the ‘ticket on the meat’. Use it to flag down the readers who are prospects for the kind of product you are advertising.”
• “Avoid blind headlines—the kind which means nothing unless you read the body copy underneath them; most people don’t.”
•  “The curious thing is that the techniques which work best in ‘direct’ advertisements are seldom used in ordinary advertising—like giving factual information about the product.”

In the end, the important part is that your customers can clearly understand what you are selling, without any confusion.

2. BE TRUTHFUL

Do not sugarcoat reality. Stay honest when describing your product or service. Common ethics are enough to follow this principal. Customers will spot a lie or deception immediately and will call you out on it. And once you lose their trust, you will never get it back.

One of the most repeated sentences in Ogilvy’s book is:

“Never write an advertisement which you wouldn’t want your own family to read. You wouldn’t tell lies to your wife. Don’t tell lies to mine.”

He also presents more specific rules to pursue:

• “Good products can be sold by honest advertising.”
• “Avoid superlatives, generalizations, and platitudes.”
• “Avoid bombast.”

3. BE HELPFUL

Besides being honest, focus on actually helping your customers. David Ogilvy supports two kinds of helpfulness:

a) Help your customer to understand your product

Quotes:

• “Include your selling promise in your headline.”
• “Every headline should appeal to the reader’s self-interest …”
• “Research shows that it is dangerous to use negatives in headlines.”
• “Some copywriters write tricky headlines — puns, literary allusions, and other obscurities.
• This is a sin.”

b) Give prospects valuable information and advice for free

Do this especially in the food industry by adding recipes to your ads. Ogilvy is not suggesting doing it out of kindness, but to boost the engagement with your product or service. Which will lead to a better performance of your ad.

Another way to increase performance, is to give advice or a service in addition, instead of just copy about your product or service.  It is estimated that this added care will hook 75% of the readers.

4. HAVE A BIG IDEA

Ogilvy describes the importance like this: “Unless your campaign contains a big idea, it will pass like a ship in the night. Don’t let your marketing efforts pass like a ship in the night. Find your big idea.”

Now, how do you define a Big Idea?

Marketing consult agency Kantar Millward Brown defines it like this:

• have to resonate with consumers
• are disruptive
• have talk value
• stretch brands
• transcend cultural and geographic boundaries

No matter what kind of marketing project you are working on, an advertising campaign, a new website, etc., always stay focused on your objectives, and prioritize them accordingly.

It is important to center everything around one single big idea. Because it is impossible to communicate everything at the same time. Go step by step.

Here is what David Ogilvy has to say regarding the matter: “Most campaigns are too complicated. They reflect a long list of objectives and try to reconcile the divergent views of too many executives. By attempting to cover too many things, they achieve nothing.”

5. DON'T BE BORING

The biggest sin in marketing is being boring. There is no way to get a customer to buy your product or service when they are bored to death. The only way to achieve this, is by being interesting.

To be able to spark motivation you need to gain your customer’s interest. Therefore you need to know who they are, and what they value. In short: If you want to be interesting, be interested.

Quotes by David Ogilvy:

• “People are more likely to read your body copy if your headline arouses their curiosity; so you should end your headline with a lure to read on.”
• “Tell the truth, but make the truth fascinating.”

6. UNDERSTAND YOUR CUSTOMER

This ties into all the previous and following points. If you do not understand your customers, you will not be able to build a Big Idea. You will not be able to communicate in a meaningful way. You will not know what facts really matter, and you definitively will not be able to capture their attention in any way.

Be empathetic and demonstrate that you understand their problem. Show authority by showing them how many people you have helped, and that you know how to solve their problems. Do not speak in industry specific language, even if they would understand every word you are saying. Speak to them on a basic level, about things they care about.

Quotes by David Ogilvy:

• “Unless you have some special reason to be solemn and pretentious, write your copy in the colloquial language which your customers use in everyday conversation.”
• “Don’t let men write advertising for products which are bought by women.”

7. STAY TRUE TO YOUR BRAND

No secrets there. It requires a good amount of self-discipline and self-restraint.

“Most manufacturers are reluctant to accept any limitation on the image of their brand. They want it to be all things to all people … They generally end up with a brand which has no personality of any kind, a wishy-washy neuter. No capon ever rules the roost.”

—Quotes by David Ogilvy

If you are a startup or small-business, and do not know your brand, because you thought this is only something that big companies do, you will be surprised. It’s something that every business, large or small, should build from the start.

David Ogilvy’s position on the importance of brand-building is:

• “Every advertisement should be thought of as a contribution to the complex symbol which is the brand image.”
• “Every radio program, every TV commercial is not a one-time shot, but a long-term investment in the total personality of their brands.”
• “The manufacturer who dedicates his advertising to building the most sharply defined personality for his brand will get the largest share of the market at the highest profit.”
• “Nobody has ever built a brand by imitating somebody else’s advertising.”

In Conclusion

David Ogilvy: “Don’t bunt. Aim out of the ballpark. Aim for the company of immortals.”

1.     Give the facts
2.     Be truthful
3.     Be helpful
4.     Have a Big Idea
5.     Don’t be boring
6.     Understand your customer
7.     Stay true to your brand