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Did you know that 99% of businesses today do not use direct response marketing strategies?
And yet, those strategies and techniques have generated over $15.6 billion in new income for hundreds of companies and professional practices in over 400 different industries!
You may have even heard of some of these companies - AT&T, FedEx, Holiday Inn, GE, Sears, Microsoft - just to name a few.
And yet direct response strategies are not taught in colleges and universities — you know, those places that are supposed to be known for churning out MBA’s and BA’s in marketing and business? I know this because I’ve worked shoulder-to-shoulder with many MBA’s from prestigious business schools.
All too often they’re all sheepskin and no experience.
So . . . why do businesses keep churning out impotent advertising copy and continue to market the old-fashioned way?
Because marketing has lost its direction. Because their marketing MBA’s are either too afraid to face up to the fact, or too ignorant to know that by the time their college professor (who had no real-world experience) taught those marketing strategies — they were already 5-10 years out-of-date.
So they settle for the booby-prize. They settle for marketing and advertising focused on how “cool” or “high-tech” looking they can make it. And advertising agencies are the worst offenders. Agencies have one eye on your checkbook and the other one their next Clio or Peabody award.
And they’ve got a pretty good racket going that is a clear conflict of interest because essentially they’re getting their clients to fund their award submissions.
The hapless clients just want a greater return on their advertising and marketing dollar.
But the agencies want to with their prestigious awards.
Doesn’t that sound like a conflict of interest to you? Sure does to me.
The realities are (and I’ve worked for a couple) agencies rarely care whether the ad is effective or not. And their results typically bear this out. How often do you remember the slick ad you saw on TV last night? And if you happen to remember it, how often do you have difficulty remembering the product or service it represented?
Do you think that sells?
Current research is showing that it doesn’t - although the agencies’ ads do win lots of awards.
Good for the advertising agency’s trophy wall, bad for your bottom-line.
Like what you read? Then click here to buy me a coffee.
By Walter |
Topics: From The Trenches |
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