You Need To Get A Bible- In my first experience in media sales, selling radio, I was hired at the same time as four other people. It’s what’s commonly known as a “cattle call.” In this case, you throw five rookies up against the wall (unbeknownst to me) and see who sticks after a period of time. In some circles today, this is still the hiring methodology, unfortunately. I was determined to make it. I had two young children to feed and a wife at the time. I was highly motivated. Failure was not an option. I already thought I was paying to work there -- drawing $100 a week against collections and a $75 gas allowance. With no list, and filled with packages to sell, I didn’t know any better at the time. Fifteen percent commission -- that’s what I cared about. During my initial training period – i.e. no official training period -- I was told to go get the Bible. Jeez, I already thought this was going to be a tough job, but maybe this was going to really be tough as I had to read the Bible before sales calls? I told the sales manager I already owned a Bible and, as ritual of mine, I always carried it with me. He told me to go get “the bible,” the one written by David Ogilvy, who he said was considered the “Father of Advertising” – the next thing to God in the field. David Ogilvy was a principle at Ogilvy and Mather Advertising Agency in New York City. Since this was 1986, and Ogilvy’s book Ogilvy On Advertising had come out in 1983. It was still on the bookshelves, where it remains today, some 30 years later – and for good reason. It’s the first book you should own if you’re in the business of advertising. I always remember the Rolls-Royce ad he came up with in his book: At 60 miles an hour the loudest noise in this new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock. A couple weeks ago, I came across at article from Sara Weissman who wrote 5 Ogilvyisms That Still Apply To Digital Media. It of course caught my eye. I think the “5 things” go far beyond what still apples to digital media -- I think it applies to all media in today’s advertising world. How could some of the things he wrote some 30-50 plus years ago still be relevant in today’s advertising world? Let’s take a look at those five.
Posted on: Mon, 24 Mar 2014 14:57:17 +0000
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