“Never stop testing.” - This excellent marketer packed out the opening of a grand hotel with just a direct postcard campaign!
Did you know who’s behind the founding of this huge advertising, marketing, and public relations agency? It’s none other than… David Ogilvy, the Father of Advertising! Read on to learn more about Ogilvy’s humble beginnings and how he became one of the greatest marketers of all time.
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“Never stop testing.” - This excellent marketer packed out the opening of a grand hotel with just a direct postcard campaign! David Ogilvy: The founder of Ogilvy & Mather and the Father of Advertising David Mackenzie Ogilvy, born on June 23, 1911, is a British advertising executive known for his emphasis on creative copy and campaign themes. Aside from that, he is also the founder of one of the globally known advertising companies, Ogilvy & Mather. Let’s first take a look at Ogilvy’s roots and humble beginnings before he became one of the greatest marketers of all time. Ogilvy was a son of a classics scholar and broker. However, due to financial reverses, his family experienced quite a difficult circumstance when he was just a boy. Despite that, Ogilvy still managed to earn scholarships at the Fettes College in Edinburgh and Christ Church in Oxford. When he left Oxford without a degree, Ogilvy worked as an apprentice chef at an exclusive Parisian hotel and as a stove salesman. That experience opened him to the world of advertising. Soon after, someone from British advertising agency, Mather & Crowther, offered Ogilvy a job. Eventually, he became an account executive there and had the opportunity to go to the US to learn more about American advertising techniques. It wasn’t long before Ogilvy was flexing his creativity and ingenuity. When he was already well ahead in his experience and knowledge in the business and marketing industry, that’s when his first big win came. One hotel owner walked into Mather & Crowther with USD 500 to promote the inauguration of his new premises. The thing was, with such an amount of budget, one would think there’s no way for that hotel owner to successfully and effectively promote his building’s grand opening. Even so, Ogilvy still took the USD 500. Guess what he did with that? He used the money to buy postcards advertising the new hotel to people in the telephone directory! See? Just when others thought there was no way the news of the hotel inauguration would reach a lot of people, Ogilvy saw another way through it. Thanks to his quick-wittedness, the new hotel opened with a full house and the owner was more than happy about it! After that, Ogilvy asked the executives of Mather & Crowther to back his plans to open his own agency: Ogilvy, Benson, and Mather (OBM). After getting their favor, Ogilvy started his business with USD 6,000. The agency was founded on the principle that the function of advertising is to sell, and selling relied on an understanding of the consumer. Then, after experiencing initial struggles to gain customers and clients, Ogilvy’s agency gathered steam. One of Ogilvy’s biggest campaigns? The Guinness Guide to Oysters for the Irish beer brand Guinness in 1950! The campaign was a simple yet effective one. Here, Ogilvy highlighted fascinating foods that drinkers often ate while indulging in a brew.
The advertisement was subtle―the descriptions for the oysters seemed more like little stories than an ad copy so consumers didn’t easily notice they were being advertised to. This campaign became a huge success. In fact, it was even followed up with other posters featuring the Guinness Guide to Cheese and Game Birds, as well as other foods. The concept was later acknowledged as native advertising, in which ads are placed in the context of the platform or medium where they are released. Fast forward to two decades, Ogilvy cemented his status amongst the giants of the industry by winning rights to various major campaigns from General Foods, American Express, Shell, and Rolls-Royce. Everything Ogilvy touched turned to gold. The campaign he created, The Hathaway Man, contributed to a 160% sales increase for Hathaway Shirts, an obscure company with a history spanning over a century. These are just a few of Ogilvy’s contributions to the field. If we talk about all of them here, we might end up writing a whole book instead of an article. These events show why Ogilvy was coined the Father of Advertising. He used every opportunity wisely and creatively to successfully make a name for himself. Until now, Ogilvy still continues to make a tremendous impact in the advertising industry and his company is still one of those big names when it comes to helping other businesses market their brand. By putting emphasis on the “Big Idea,” maintaining professional discipline, valuing the importance of research, and delivering actual results for clients, Ogilvy was able to define his work. I think we also should take these qualities to heart. A key takeaway from Ogilvy’s life as an entrepreneur and marketer? Develop a deep understanding of what your target market needs and wants. Only then will you be able to advertise your brand in a manner that appeals to them. Hope you’ve found this week’s insights interesting and helpful. Follow us on LinkedIn. Stay tuned for next Monday’s MicroBusiness Marvels! Learn more about Mary Kay and how pink Cadillacs and her cosmetics company became an iconic duo on next week’s MicroBusiness and Marketing Marvels! |
