The Tribune

MARKETING REVOLUTION

By D’Arcy Rahming

In 1923, Claude Hopkins wrote the book, ‘Scientific Advertising’. Unless you are a student of the direct response marketing game you will not recognise his name. He is the guy who invented the risk-free trial and the money back guarantee, as well as a number of other things that we see in our advertising messages every day.

He ended his book with the hope that now, because of a preponderance of measurable evidence, advertising would be less of a mystery and become more science than art. He hoped that marketers would embrace the techniques available so that the average business owner could understand how his or her hard-earned marketing dollars are spent. Sorry, Claude, that has still not happened.

In fact, I just published my latest book, the ‘New Scientific Advertising for 21st Century Entrepreneurs, Fast Start-ups and Local businesses’. And I include a copy of Claude Hopkins’ original text in the book. The reason I did this is because I wanted to give credit where credit is due, and since his work is in the public domain, this means that I could use it. You would think that good old Claude and I sat down together, and he wrote his part and I wrote mine over a couple of adult beverages. That’s how relevant the stuff he wrote about was.

Remember now, Claude wrote ‘Scientific Advertising’ before Facebook, texting and the Internet. Even before television. Yet when he was running his advertising agency he constantly encountered the same opposition I do every day, even though it is 99 years later. “That won’t work here.” Everyone seems to think that their industry or country is so unique that to reach their clients a new methodology has to be invented.

There is nothing further from the truth than this. Anyone who reads the Good Book will realise that human nature has not changed for thousands of years. The technology, the language, the cultural norms and values will change. But humans are still motivated by emotional triggers such as fear, guilt, trust and greed. We still love a bargain and want to do things quick and easy. And we still want to belong.

Just because we’re from the Bahamas, or we’re super wealthy or highly educated, does not mean that we are exempt from these emotions. Or just because we’re from the US, or we’re poor and never finished high school, also does not meant that we are exempt from the same emotions. Good marketing uses these emotions, and targets customers with the right message for them at the right time.

NB: D’Arcy Rahming holds a Masters of Management from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. A lecturer at the College of the Bahamas, Mr Rahming has clients in the general insurance, retail, health and medical fields, sports federations and financial services. To receive his marketing newsletter FREE go to http://DArcyRahming.com or contact him directly at gmail.com” darcyrahmingsr@gmail.com