AI may have changed marketing in the blink of an eye, but some marketing lessons are timeless. (And some of the marketers who originated those lessons had some very unusual side hustles.)
3 Marketing Lessons That Are Older than AI
It’s not enough that something is true — your audience also has to believe that it’s true. Framing the truth well > stating it bluntly.
How old is this lesson? 76 years old. It’s from The Art of Scientific Investigation by W.I.B. Beveridge, who was an animal pathologist who studied swine flu.
Do this: Take your weakest-sounding true fact and reframe it around what it means for the customer. In the podcast ep, Kieran tells a story about a copywriter who took “we’re going bankrupt” and turned it into “you’re getting a great deal because of it.”
“If you want true originality,” Kieran says, “you have to be inspired by places that are different from where everyone else is getting their ideas.” If everyone prompts the same tools, everyone lands on the same ideas.
How old is this lesson? 42 years old, published in Direct Mail Copy That Sells by Herschell Gordon Lewis, who was also a horror filmmaker. Marketing advice from the Godfather of Gore!
Do this: Keep a swipe file with ideas from films, history, and music. Before your next brainstorm, pick one outside source and ask how its structure maps onto your campaign.
Engagement bait might grow your audience — but if you can’t sell to that audience, do those clicks really matter?
How old is this lesson? Around 80 years old. It was popularized by ad man Rosser Reeves, who also created the first-ever TV commercials for a U.S. president (Eisenhower, in 1952).
Do this: Audit your last 10 top-performing pieces. How many attracted people who would actually buy? Weight your content mix toward the ones that did, and report on resonance, not just reach.
Open Tabs
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This week's email was brought to you by Laura M. Browning. Editing by Jana Rumberger.
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