Big River salutes..... David Ogilvy

If there is one person that truly embodies an industry, that person surely was David Ogilvy. An advertising man par excellence, his body of work is the industry’s standard. From the extravagant man in the Hathaway eye-patch to the fable of the electric clock in a Rolls-Royce, Ogilvy’s ‘Big Ideas’ has served as a benchmark on how to combine creative flair with proper mass salesmanship. In short, his ideas worked.

In fact, it is the pursuit of the Big Idea that is at the heart of Ogilvy’s success (though never his best trait, he was modest enough to admit that he’d only 20 big ideas in his career). He was never a man who valued quantity over quality (during his reign, Ogilvy & Mather only had 19 clients). He never cared much for artistic flair in advertising but had high regards for delivering factual information about a product. For him bigness is never about extravagance but about honesty and integrity.

Born in 1911 in West Horsley England, the son of a Scottish father and an Irish mother made his name as the head of Ogilvy & Mather in New York. For those interested to know more about his life do read Confessions of an Advertising Man and Ogilvy on Advertising. In fact, anyone interested to know more about advertising, marketing or the business world in general ought to read those two books. Even though some of the passages in the books might seem a tad dated the ideas, anecdotes and rules are as relevant now as it was when they were published.

While his very nature protruded an unending desire to succeed, it was his humanity and morality that makes him a true marketing great. He once said that “we like people who are honest in argument, honest with clients and, above all, honest with consumers”. As admen from the New York’s 5th Avenue to the posh surroundings of Damansara Heights, Malaysia toil over the next big thing in advertising, the ghost of David Ogilvy puffing away on his pipe will hover upon them while subliminally reminding each and everyone that “unless your campaign contains a Big Idea, it will pass like a ship in the night”.

Big River on….. Celebrity Endorsement

When people talk about celebrity endorsement, it is always on either its advantages or foibles. Perhaps, it is much more important to discuss what you ought to be doing to get the best out of any endorsement.

1. It’s about the face

More than anything else, looks are everything when it comes celebrity endorsement. Forget ‘attitude’, ‘accomplishments’ or ‘embodiment’. A face is tangible, it can be seen. It is the first thing that will struck the hearts of customers and more often than not the make or break factor in any campaign. But it is not just the face that wears the latest super luscious mascara that matters; the face of the whole campaign must count as well. From the copy, the theme, objective of the campaign and everything else must revolve around the celebrity of choice and the offering at hand. It goes beyond what is visible and should encompass every aspect of the campaign strategy. Yes, face matters but it should be more than just the face on billboards, hoardings and at the side of buses and commuter trains.

2. Product first…. Always

Ray Ban never wears Horatio, it is Horatio that wears Ray Ban. Well, CSI Miami’s top gun is not on Ray Ban’s payroll but you get the drift. However hot the celebrity is, the product must come first. Remember, a campaign where the product means more to the celebrity will probably be more effective that a campaign where the celebrity means more to the product. You want to feel like a real woman (if you are a women that is) when you wear Armani Diamond perfume but do you really want to be Beyonce? It is good to know that she has the same taste as you but the customer will always be her (or his) own self. Putting product first in any endorsement strategy means putting the most important person in any business first, your customers.

3. Get the most out of the deal

Forget clichés. Picture of some old duffer from an old television series with a thumb up holding your product is just boring. Make them do more. You are paying big bucks so use them for personal appearances, a lot of them. Estee Lauder showed how it should be done. A celebrity in her own right she often conducted product demonstration herself and that was a great hit among customers. When it comes to celebrities, people like to be seen with them so give ‘em the chance. Add that to your campaign and you will have a more personalized touch to the whole strategy.

So, that’s about it for now. There will be further discussion on the subject later. Perhaps though, the best form of celebrity endorsements is the ones that are serendipitous in nature. My all-time favorite is when Steve McQueen wore a blue strap Tag Heuer Monaco wristwatch in the movie Le Mans. That marked a beginning of a campaign that is still ongoing long after McQueen’s death. Like I said earlier, its always about the face, but coolness helps as well.

Welcome to the Big River.....

Welcome folks.... Why big river? Well, it's the first thing I saw when trying to find a name for this blog (it's on my blues harmonica, an instrument I'm yet to master). There's also a biggish river running through my town (though its rather dry thanks to El Nino & global warming) and I kinda fond of it. So that's about it for the name.

What's the blog all about? Well, I don't know yet but hopefully it'll be about marketing. I teach marketing so it's natural that I want to (or feel comfortable to) talk about it. But why limit myself. Just like a big river you bound to find almost anything floating by and that's how it will be at the Big River Blog.....

- Syed Izzaddin