David Ogilvy Branding Commandments | Hacker News Reader

David Ogilvy Branding Commandments

brandingstrategyinsider.com

8 pointsrantfoil4 comments

A friend of mine introduced me to Ogilvy a few years ago. I still remember his basic strategy : -Have a good product. Say what's good about it. (Once it was successful, Ogilvy's firm used to turn down clients whose products they didn't think were salable.) And a couple ancillary points: -Sex doesn't sell, unless you're selling cosmetics. -Don't let graphics crowd out content.

Ogilvy's Ogilvy on Advertising is a good antidote to marketing stupidity. Even though he dealt entirely with print advertising, it's still relevant.

Really refreshing to read such clear and down-to-earth advice on advertising / promotion / branding.

Anyone care to review how well my firm's new product + web-site http://bcisive.austhink.com/ (pre-launch) stack up against the Ogilvy check-list?

Your tour makes good points about your product, but doesn't show off the product well. I think you should have a "features" page with links to pages on individual features or groups of related features.

It helps you be more confident - show how. It saves time and effort - explain, and show, ways it does that. Helps you live longer - don't believe it - just say it reduces stress, show how.

A point Ogilvy used to make over and over is: customers want information.

Peak their interest, then let them explore. Currently, looking at your website, it looks like it might be a useful product, but I'm not sure. I want more details.

Note: I couldn't watch your slide show because I'm using Linux, so if it already addresses these comments, please ignore. Hope it helps.

Thanks for the constructive feedback; I think that all of those suggestions would help.

The slideshow at least partially addresses some of these issues, but if that contains the more effective message, then Ogilvy's point about finding an ad that works and repeating it may well apply.

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