I played the piano for 8 years when I was a kid. I could sight-read Bach, Mozart…anyone, really. But I was never as good a musician as my friends who understood musical theory. The theory just never interested me. So I couldn’t take piano playing any further than I did.

In college, however, I was obsessed with literary theory. Barthes, de Saussure, Derrida, even Foucault – these were my supermen. Understanding the mythologies and iconic systems we use to explain our world to others was fascinating. I hope to spend my retirement exploring these ideas.

Some readers may remember I love comics and graphic novels. I recently picked up Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art. He begins the book with a broad explanation of comic theory (yes, there is such a thing and it’s really interesting). Citing everything from Egyptian hieroglyphics to the Bayeux Tapestry to Rene Magritte’s famous pipes, he begins with theory of – our philosophy of – sequential art.

But today, I’m a marketer. And it’s likely that you are as well. How should we interact with theory?

Theory Takes Work

If abstract elements like music, literature, and comics have theory, surely we can agree that theory will be useful for our marketing.

And let’s face it – your marketing will suck without theory.

If your designers create something beautiful without knowing how it will sell the product: Fail. If your copywriters dream of being Hemingway rather than John Caples: Fail. If you can’t communicate a product’s benefits to the consumer: Epic fail.

You must know your craft. We ought to say we “practice” marketing the way lawyers “practice” law. Every day is an opportunity to learn more. David Ogilvy understood this:

We prefer the discipline of knowledge to the anarchy of ignorance. We pursue knowledge the way a pig pursues truffles. A blind pig can sometimes find truffles, but it helps to know that they grow in oak forests. (page 20, Confessions of an Advertising Man)

In other words, you might hit on a “Got Milk?” every once in awhile, but that’s no way to run a business.

Study, Study, Study

How much do you study your craft? I’m not talking about skimming through Ad Week while you’re on the toilet. I’m talking about really learning it, practicing it, and molding yourself into the best there is.

Ogilvy wasn’t charmed by our reliance on art or a flowery sentence. Later in the same book, he stated: “This willful refusal to learn the rudiments of the craft is all too common. I cannot think of any other profession which gets by on such a small corpus of knowledge. (my emphasis)”

Read as much as you can. I’m nowhere near the best at what I do, but I’m trying. I recommend learning from these sources.

But look outside the fishbowl as well. Learning the ways in which our brains operate can make you more persuasive. Learning how and why people make decisions can help you inspire their future choices. Look for inspiration in weird and wonderful places.

What About You?

How are you using theory to improve your marketing? Do you think about the philosophical ramifications of why you do what you do?

I firmly believe that history bears proof that tough practice trumps a fuzzy type of innate “genius” any day of the week. So how are you going to out-work your competitors this week? How will theory make the difference between an impression and a sale? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

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(Image of Roland Barthes courtesy of believekevin via Flickr)

The Modern Agency Still Sells, Right?

I am particularly proud of this piece because it has the potential to jolt agency employees out of their social media fascination. I contend that some agencies are losing their focus in the web 2.0 world.

They’ve forgotten to work for the sale.

The initial idea for my post came from Phil Johnson’s Ad Age article, Agencies Should Be Defined by What They Know, Not What They Make. I was alarmed by the focus on marketing agency knowledge, rather than a focus on creating something (ads, copy, even social media opportunities) to fulfill a client’s business objectives.

From my post:

Clients aren’t comforted by what you know. They’d rather see how you turn that into sales.

Agencies that use social media, then foster loyalty and trust, and then turn that into sales – those agencies will triumph. But agencies that dabble in social media without even considering ROI or sales…think Pets.com 2.0.

Marketers and advertisers who consider sales not lofty enough of a goal would do well to remember David Ogilvy’s number one obiter dictum from Confessions of an Advertising Man:

“We sell – or else.”

What do you think? Am I off base to warn agencies about their potential social media amnesia? Has the role of the agency really moved from selling in a web 2.0 world?

Check out the the post and feel free to leave a comment below.

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The header graph above illustrates a curious trend I’ve seen regarding advertising/marketing over time.

It’s no surprise that our attention spans have decreased considerably. But over time, there have been interesting changes in the ways we communicate features and benefits.

I’m wondering: have we gone full circle? Do we care more today about products than in recent decades?

Epoch 1: Product Features Rule

Early advertisements featured a lot of text; consumers appear to have had more time and patience for ads back then. And the focus is squarely on the product’s features.

Consider this 1898 ad for the Western Electrical Supply Company (courtesy of telmore.com):

This ad fits into the first row of my header graph – it focuses on the product’s features. In this case, simple brightening and dimming capabilities and the connection of a circuit sans socket or receptacle.

Epoch 2: Product Benefits Rule

This next time period focused on the benefits a product could provide, while still prominently featuring the product, itself. David Ogilvy defined it in his book, Confessions of an Advertising Man:

“The key to success is to promise the consumer a benefit – like better flavor, whiter wash, more miles per gallon, a better complexion.” (page 25)

You can see an example of this in Oglivy’s own “Head Over Heels In Dove” ad, seen on page 72 of On Advertising. (You can also find it as the first result in this Google search, courtesy of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.)

The focus is on the benefit to the consumer, rather than the features of the product. Additionally, the text is greatly decreased (though still far more than we would have today) – indicating a decreasing lack of consumer attention.

Epoch 3: Consumer Benefits Rule

As shown in the header graph, epoch 3 is characterized by an ever shrinking attention span, and a shift of focus from the product to the consumer, herself.

Think about your quintessential ’80s beer commercials.

Products no longer seem to just add to the consumer’s life – they create something new, something totally outside of the ability of that product. In epoch 3, a light beer can create an insta-party, complete with co-eds, cult status, and catchphrases. Here is one example (courtesy of idsgn.com):

These jeans do not come with an orgasm guarantee, but it’d be understandable if you thought that from the ad. Whatever the ad is trying to communicate goes way beyond any benefit of the jeans.

Epoch 4: Product Features Rule…Again?

So what’s happening today?

I would argue that in this fourth epoch – our modern day today – we’ve actually gone back to an emphasis on product features. This might sound crazy, but hear me out.

Ads are now just the entry point. Instead of being the only means of communication as they were before, now ads point us to websites where we can explore whatever information we care to.

You’ll notice in my header graph that this epoch is marked by an even shorter attention span, but a wider one as well – to accommodate the research consumers do online. Think about all the time you’ve spent checking out products on Amazon or specialty sites like AutoTrader before you’ve made your purchase.

Augustine Fou touched on this process in his ClickZ article recently:

Modern consumers will tend to go online and do their own research to inform their own purchase decisions, rather than rely on what a paid ad claims. Finding objective information from an advertiser or simply knowing what information is official, standard, or true, is far more useful than the superficial claims made in very brief ads.

Let’s take one more look at that header graph:

So, what do you think? Have we gone full circle – back to caring most about product features?

In each epoch (shown by the white numbers in black circles), there seems to have been a change in behavior in how we advertise the product to the consumer (the little green guy).

Does this make sense or is it all a bunch of bunk?

I’d love to hear what you think in the comments section below.

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I was figuratively punched in the gut by one part of Joshua Ferris’ And Then We Came To The End, a book I highly recommend to anyone already in or considering a job in advertising or marketing.

Several characters in the book are copywriters, a title that has been present on my business cards, from time to time. Copywriters aren’t just characters in the book, they’re often characters, themselves.

Copywriters are often an interesting group. Well-read, imaginative, delightful at cocktail parties – it’s practically written into the job description.

Baby, You’re A Killer

And maybe it’s imagination that allows us to create personas about ourselves. We are people who sit in offices, but frequently imagine ourselves as much, much more.

Consider this excerpt from Ferris’ novel:

“‘What’s your idea?’ asked Joe.

Her idea? We’ll tell you her idea, Joe. To slaughter. Nobody talks about it, nobody says a word, but the real engine running the [advertising agency] is the primal desire to kill. To be the best ad person in the building, to inspire jealousy, to defeat all the rest. The threat of layoffs just made it a more efficient machine [page 109].”

Writers as killers? It might seem like a stretch, but consider this from On Advertising by David Ogilvy, father of one of the most successful advertising agencies ever and constant advocate of good copywriters:

“‘Most good copywriters’ says William Maynard of the Bates agency, ‘fall into two categories. Poets. And killers. Poets see an ad as an end. Killers as a means to an end.’ If you are both killer and poet, you get rich [page 32].”

Now, we’re killers and poets? And we still wear ties?

Or Really Just Nerds?

And yet, something struck me about this quote from Almost Famous in which two writers are discussing their place in the world:

Lester Bangs: They make you feel cool. And hey. I met you. You are not cool.

William Miller: I know. Even when I thought I was, I knew I wasn’t.

Lester Bangs: That’s because we’re uncool. And while women will always be a problem for us, most of the great art in the world is about that very same problem. Good-looking people don’t have any spine. Their art never lasts. They get the girls, but we’re smarter. …The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what we share with someone else when we’re uncool.

So Which Is It?

Personally, I can see all of them. Advertising and marketing agencies are highly creative, highly political, highly charged environments. So it’s understandable to put yourself in any of these roles (sometimes all of them in a single day!).

What do you think? Which is most accurate metaphor for copywriters? Is it killer, poet, nerd, or something else? I anticipate your answers in the comments section below.

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(Image courtesy of jbhill via Flickr)

I’ve written before about the need for marketing folks to always be studying, constantly learning their craft. Here are the top five books that marketers on your list will need to succeed in 2009.

Top 5 Gift Books For Marketers

1. Groundswell: Winning in a World of Transformed by Social Technologies by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff – This is my pick for best marketing book of 2008. Li and Bernoff explain social media marketing with more analysis, data, and charts than any other book on this list. Every page is filled with nuggets of wisdom, but be warned: this is not a book for the uninitiated. Readers should have a basic understanding of marketing and online behavior to get the most out of this book.

Who should receive this book?: Hard-core marketers, social media junkies, small businesspeople who already “get” blogging and Twitter.

2. Made To Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip and Dan Heath – You may have read the Heath brother’s monthly article in Fast Company magazine. Like their articles, this book is always thought provoking, drawing from research that crosses the boundary of marketing into psychology and sociology. There is a science to persuasion and a commonality in successful marketing campaigns. This book does a great job of explaining why and how you can replicate that success.

Who should receive this book?: Young creatives at a marketing or advertising firm, psychologists turned businesspeople, marketers who want to understand how to “go viral.”

3. Join The Conversation: How to Engage Marketing-Weary Consumers with the Power of Community, Dialogue, and Partnership by Joseph Jaffe – Jaffe is one of the leading thinkers and proponents of new marketing. As a thought leader, it’s no surprise that his book is chock full of insight. This book is intended not just to teach marketers the particular skills they need to thrive in this new environment, but also to change their very way of thinking. It’s not quite as radical as that sounds – it is always pragmatic – but it is certainly convincing that the ways of marketing have indeed changed forever.

Who should receive this book?: College students considering a career in marketing, retired marketers looking for new thoughts and ideas, businesspeople in other departments who are curious about the changes they may see in their own marketing department in the future.

4. Secrets of Social Media Marketing: How to Use Online Conversations and Customer Communities to Turbo-Charge Your Business by Paul Gillin – Gillin says that the book is intended for the 90% of marketers who are not yet comfortable with social media marketing tools. As a member of the 10% who are, I would disagree. I got a lot out of this book. It’s full of examples and great tips, but most importantly provides a complete overview of the social media world. My personal copy is marked up and dog-eared – a sure sign of a useful book.

Who should receive this book? Old-school marketers pessimistic about this “Web 2.0 stuff,” work-from-home Moms building a new business, the I.T. guy you fight with whenever you want to include more functionality on your website.

5. Ogilvy On Advertising by David Ogilvy – Do you notice how much shorter this title is compared to the others? The book reads the very same way. Ogilvy, likely a master of the art before you were born, says what needs saying and nothing more. Though the book was published in 1983, the universal truths provided in the book stand the test of time. It pays to know where your industry came from, in order to really move it forward.

Who should receive this book? Idealistic young advertising staff, copywriters of any age, the agency tough-guy who needs to hear advice from the original Ad Man.

Only For The Hard-Core

It’s a little tough to imagine, but if the marketing person on your list is the hardest of hard-core, they may like a MarketingSherpa report under the tree. They’re a little pricey, but the amount of money saved by taking their advice makes it worth it.

I recommend either the 2009 Email Marketing Benchmark Guide or the 2009 Search Marketing Benchmark Guide (on sale). Not for amateurs!

My Hope

My sincere hope is that you have friends and family to share the holidays with. And if you’re able to afford gifts this season, I hope you consider the ones I mentioned above. They’ve truly helped me this year and I hope they do the same for the marketer on your list.

If this post was helpful, stumbles and re-tweets are like holiday gifts for me!

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(Note: I am an affiliate with Amazon and MarketingSherpa, but I’ve read every page of the five books I listed and think they are absolutely worth purchasing. My commission is like, 3 cents anyway.)

(Image courtesy of Randy Son Of Robert via Flickr)