Welcome to the final Part of your “Lost Secrets of Marketing Legends” e-course.
In this final part we will introduce you to some more great names from the past. Names you will do well to remember, as a study of their works could give you a very unfair advantage over your competitors.
We have already mentioned great ad men like Claude C. Hopkins; Elmer Wheeler; Robert Collier; Robert Ruxton; Professor Walter Dill Scott; Maxwell Sackheim; Charles Schwab; E. Haldeman-Julius; Albert Lasker; John E. Kennedy; John Caples; David Ogilvy; and Ted Nicholas.
Now we will introduce you to Rosser Reeves, the “inventor” of USP; Leo Burnett (the creator of “inherent drama”); Clyde Bedell; and James Webb Young. We could go on, but if you study these masters’ works you will learn their secrets and become rich.
As recently as 1961, Rosser Reeves, chairman of Ted Bates and Co. advertising agency, published his book: “Reality of Advertising.”
In this book he revealed a revolutionary new concept. Almost as revolutionary as John E. Kennedy’s “Salesmanship-in-Print.”
He showed the world a new technique which made him famous. He called it: “The Unique Selling Proposition” or USP.
Reeves describes his USP as having 3 parts:
- Each ad must make a proposition
- ”Buy this product and you’ll get these benefits”
- The proposition must be unique
- Something that your competitors do not, cannot, or will not offer
- The proposition must sell
- It must be something prospects really want, it pulls them over to your product.
Basically, your USP should clearly explain in simple language a single quality that your product, or service, has that makes it stand out against any competition.
Your USP needs to make it easier for your prospects to remember your advertising – because they only have to remember your one, strong claim.
Use this checklist to help you create your own USP:
Your product, or service, must:
- Have a unique benefit
- Have a unique discount, payment, or price
- Have a unique guarantee
- Be in a unique niche
- Have a unique celebrity as a testimonial
- Be in a unique location
You only need one of the above. The main point being is that you, and only you, offer this.
Maybe you can think of other “unique” selling points to add to this list.
Our next guest from the past is James Webb Young.
In 1919 James Webb Young became famous for his Odorono ad.
This was the first attempt ever at advertising women’s deodorant. At the time, there was up-roar. Many women perceived his ad as offensive.
His headline ran: “Within the Curve of a Woman’s Arm.” But he was proved right as sales of the product soared over 100% in the first year.
In the 30s he worked as a professor and he used his lecture notes to publish his first book: “How to Become an Advertising Man.”
In this tome he lists 7 concepts that, according to him, everybody should know:
- Proposition
- Markets
- Message
- Message carriers
- Trade channels
- How advertising works
- The specific situation
In the 1940s he published an entry every week in ‘Advertising Age.’ He later crammed all these into a book called: “The Diary of an Advertising Man.”
His other works included: “A Technique for Producing Ideas.”
Next in our ad marketing giants gallery is Clyde Bedell.
Bedell, as well as being a super salesman was a university lecturer. He became frustrated at not being able to find a suitable book on persuasive copy. So he decided to write his own.
In 1940, “How to Write Advertising That Sells” became a best seller.
And in 1963, due to popular demand he wrote: “How to Convert White Space Into Advertising That Sells.”
Bedell established 6 fundamental principles that he taught to his students. These were:
- All good selling is serving
- Don’t follow the rule of most big companies who try to make their ads clever or fancy. - People only buy to get benefits
- Human psychology is such that people will only buy if they can see ‘what’s in it for them.’ So, tell them. - Benefits must be supported by product facts
- Once people have bought by emotion they then need to rationalise that purchase by logic. Give people facts to enable them to make a decision. - Prospects will read any amount of copy
- Your prospects will read long copy, providing it is both interesting and serves their self-interest. Ted Nicholas is also an advocator of this. He reckons a 4 page letter out-pulls a 2 page; and an 8 page letter out-pulls a 4 page; and a 16 page letter out-pulls an 8 page; and so on. Of course, the content must be on point. - Plan for consistent profitable advertising
- Keep advertising. This is especially true during hard times. But it needs to be part of any budget. - Management must support and enforce these ideas
If you’re part of a team, you all need to be singing from the same song sheet.
Bedell’s principles are laid out in some detail in his books.
And our last guest from way back is Leo Burnett.
Burnett is probably mostly remembered for his “Marlboro Man” ad in 1955. The image of a cowboy changed the fortunes of this minor cigarette brand and made it into a big seller.
He is recognized as the man behind the most successful ad campaigns.
As well as the Marlboro Man he is famous for ‘The Jolly Green Giant’, ‘The Pillsbury Doughboy’, ‘Tony the Tiger’ and many more.
He was quoted as saying:
“Make it simple
Make it memorable
Make it inviting to look at
Make it fun to read.”
Leo Burnett “invented” a marketing concept known as “inherent drama”. He reckoned that every product or service, no matter how boring, had an inherent quality.
Somebody must keep on buying them, somebody must keep on making them, and it was this “inherent drama” that makes the product stand out.
Burnett believed that people are attracted to stories, they want to experience new characters; they want to read about mystery and romance and anything different.
Perhaps that’s why he took a lot of his characters from history and folklore. He knew what triggered his prospects’ minds.
We’ve now come to the end of your e-course and this last part was largely to give you yet more resources.
But the point is, all these marketers from the past all made a fortune plying their trade. There is a common denominator to all of them. They all followed the same basic philosophy.
They all used techniques that have been tested over time. They all used the principles that worked and still work in today’s markets.
So, why re-invent the wheel? Study these past marketers and by-pass years of trial and error.
Most, if not all, of the resources mentioned in this e-course are out-of-print and extremely hard to find.
You should try to get hold of as many as you can and study them. The secrets contained within them will make you a fortune, just like it did for the masters that wrote them and is still doing for the top marketers of today.
Congratulations on reading this far. You already have a head start over your rivals! For sure if you study the secrets of the past, you will know more than your competitors and that means you will have the edge.
Good luck with your marketing efforts, and we wish you the very best for the future.
Want even more long lost secrets? Remember, this e-course is only a tiny sampling of what’s waiting for you. Get 4 nearly forgotten yet timeless Long Lost Marketing Secrets at www. secretsofmarketinglegends.com
