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Just as Jackie had Marilyn  Tupac had Biggie and Smax has  Ruckles, so too  David Ogilvy had Bill Bernbach.  

Ogilvy and Bernbach, the original Madmen, left very distinct impacts on the industry.  As you all already know by one such Thunder From Down Under and his fellow sidekick Boom Boom Pow, Ogilvy believed the ultimate success of campaigns depended on research and rules. To rival Bernbach, running his own shop just a few blocks down Madison Avenue, creative intuition was the underlying force. A few minor points of contention:

David "Oh No He Didn’t" Ogivly: News or benefit-centric concepts – spoon feed the reader the reasons they should buy the product.  Long copy with consumer research. Bottom line: Tell the people what you want them to do to the very last detail to make it as simple as possible for them to say yes.

"Bad Boy" Bill Bernbach: Short, offbeat, unexpected concepts that leave the reader with an "ah ha" moment, making them figure out the connection. Valued inspiration over research. Bottom line: Tell the people what you want them to do, but let them think they thought of it, then pat them on the back for being so darn clever.

Personally, I think of Ogilvy as the father of modern day Direct Response, and Bernbach as the father of the creative revolution.  Digest the contrasts between the two original Mad Men, as in their own words...

Ogilvy: "A good advertisement is one which sells the product without drawing attention to itself."
Bernbach: "If your advertising goes unnoticed, everything else is academic."

Ogilvy: "What you say in advertising is more important than how you say it."
Bernbach: "Because an appeal makes logical sense is no guarantee that it will work."
 
Without a doubt, both gentlemen impacted the word of communications and business forever, perhaps as  two ends of the same marketing coin. But how do their different methodologies stack up in the affiliate space – could that same two-sided coin even make some dime these days?

Stay tuned my affilifriends, as fellow firecracker Lorenzomg Green digs into this clash of the copy writers with real case studies....dum dum dummm!

E to the Weezy.

“Direct response is my first love, and later it became my secret weapon.”  ~ David Ogilvy

 
I was inspired to write this guest post for Mr. Green after reading (albeit a little post facto) Shock Marketer’s blog http://shockmarketer.com/calculate-statistical-significance/. To Mr. Shock de la Rock, whoever you are, your blog is tip top.
 
A longtime ago and far far away, before there was Don Draper and Roger Sterling, there was David Ogilvy. Mr. Ogilvy was the King of Madison Avenue, and the man knew how to sell.
 
Before my life in affiliate marketing, Miss Ewoww worked at a direct response advertising agency working on DR TV shows, radio spots, print ads, catalogs, and a lot of direct mail. And we were all fanbois of David Ogilvy.
 
“In print advertising, you know that long copy sells more than short copy. You know, that headlines and copy about the product and its benefits sell more than cute headlines and poetic copy. You know it to a dollar… Never stop testing, and your advertising will never stop improving.”
 
Sound familiar? There are a LOT of old school marketing tricks from that golden era of advertising that should be brought back (and I mean besides the 3 martini lunch).
 
It’s time to go back to our direct response roots (and no, I’m not referring to that “blonde” Hydra AM <cat sound!>).  You can build all the scrapers you want but if you don’t start figuring out why something is working than you’ll always be a step behind the innovators, chasing the trends. As Father Flipside called it (although I do believe that grandfathered in from Mr. Affbuzz, who originally coined the term)  the “WickedFire mindset.” 
 
For example, let’s talk segmentation and targeting my affilifriends. Know who your product is for, and I mean specifics. Certainly not for everyone, not for people trying to lose weight, not for women trying to lose weight, but possibly about for first-time moms trying to lose the baby weight but finding themselves with no free time and exhausted more than ever desperate for a quick fix to get their bodies back in pre-bambino shape.
 
Ogilvy was already hip to your so-called farticle.
 
“It has been found that the less an advertisement looks like an advertisement, and the more it looks like an editorial, the more readers stop, look and read. Therefore, study the graphics used by editors and imitate them. Study the graphics used in advertisements, and avoid them.”
 
What you call linkbait or subject lines, the Direct Response world calls teasers and headlines. Some headlines tips from Mr. Ogilvy…

1. Try to put news in the headline. The words new and free are the most powerful
words that can appear in the headline.

2.  There are several other words that are effective: How to, Suddenly, Now,
Announcing, Improvement, etc.  Headlines can also include emotional words.

3.  Include a promise in the headlines, and longer headlines sell more than short
headlines.  Make the consumer curious.

4. Do not try to write tricky headlines, be simple and to the point.

5. Do not use negatives in the headlines.

 Some more words-o-wisdom from the King of Madison Avenue:
 
“The more informative your advertising, the more persuasive it will be.”
 
“A good advertisement is one which sells the product without drawing attention to itself.”
 
“Long copy, long headlines, address people as individuals, use plain conversational language (Ewoww note: aka the flog) and write your copy in the form of a story.”
 
I leave you with this my affilifriends… If this video doesn’t stir you ever the slightest, then take a knee spaceman and move on. Affiliate marketing ain’t for you. Enjoy ripping landers and trying to fill the post-continuity void, get back to me when you move back in with mom and pops. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Br2KSsaTzUc

And if it did, go pick up David's classic handbook, "Ogilvy on Advertising." You'll be glad you did!

-Ewoww

Is it me? Or is it just tough these days for affiliate marketing? What with last year's Google slaps, this year's Facebook furry,  the end of continuity (yup, get over it and move on already),  and the relative lack of scalable offers and traffic sources...  now is precisely the time  TO GO to ad:tech. Let's face it, this show is all about traffic sources, and  while fewer affiliates go, the ones that do are there to do business and as such, probably better folks to talk shop with. Besides, Inside Social Apps is going on too, so if web development is your bag, that is always open to you - www.insidesocialapps.com.

And don't let all the biz dev chatter fool you, there will be plenty of tom foolery and brew ha ha. The meetups both announced and yet-to-be are sure bets. The man, the myth, the legend Mr. EWA is throwing a bash with Barboy, and despite the ambiguously neon party flyer, there's no doubt this will be the highlight snausage fest of the week (YT and Hustle and Davice, oh my!).  When in doubt, head to the Clift and you'll be sure to find plenty o' industry fish with which to mingle...don't forget the obligatory photo in the really big chair in the lobby.

Just take note of a few things to make sure all goes smoothly....

Birfday Boy. Affbuzz is turning 1! If you check this on the daily like we do, congratulate accordingly with high fives, +1s,  and donations in the form of Starbucks or chocolate strategically left at the AKMG booth (5878).  :)

Game Plan. Make it. All the exhibitors are listed, go ahead now and figure out who you want to meet with, and I don't just mean which companies, I mean the individual people you want to make sure you get to introduce yourself to, along with a set of objectives for what you want to walk away from the conversation with.  Have an action plan of what you want to accomplish, and be sure to follow up within 48 hours, less they forget your conversation in the hungover haze of the PPC.BZ bash....

Business cards. Bring 'em. Now, admittedly this is in fundamental disagreement  Mr. Cakes' opinion on the matter (who, Nicky? Opinions? NEVER!), but I  think it's fair to say that to put your best face forward and look professional, business cards are a must.  You want the right people to be able to follow up with you, and frankly people are in the habit of receiving and handing out business cards. So bring 'em, have them look halfway decent (there's still one weekend left to hit Kinkos), and bring a pen to take copious (albeit tiny) notes on the cards you want to keep. Bonus tip: Any and all cards with an "AKMG" on them should be in your "keeps" pile, just trust me on that one. ;)

Skate decks. Get 'em. Only 100 San Francisco 2010 edition decks were made - and if history proves any indication, these are sure to be snatched up quicker than the free beer at the Convert2 booth, so get them early! We're continuing with the theme started at Vegas, and let me tell you affilifriends, you're sure to not be disappointed. :)

That's all for now my New Dorks, see you in San Francisco - booth 5878!

E-woww

PS - for everyone who can't make it out to San Fran, AKMG has FTD for Mother's Day so get a head start on the biggest flower holiday of the year! Hit up your AM today to get set up and watch your revenue bloom.... (always love to end on a good pun)...

The mighty GOOG announced this morning that it will be redirecting Chinese search visitors from Google.cn to Google.com.hk - which sits safely outside the Great (Fire) Wall of China - in response to the widely-reported cyber attack on Google in December.

Although Google users will be redirected for web, news and image search to the Hong Kong site, which will now show simplified Chinese in addition to traditional Chinese and English results, it's likely that Google.com.hk will be blocked at least as aggressively as Google.com was if not more.

Uncensoring may have broader ramifications. In addition to the obvious PR benefits for Google of looking good to it's user base as unbiased source of information, it's been proposed that Google's decision could help future companies make headway on the censorship issue, as the Chinese government won't ant to risk future public embarrassment with a US company.

But put down that freedom fist, there's still money on the table of the planet's most populous market. Google’s music search and maps products will remain live, says the company. And Google will "retain research and development and sales teams in China."

Google holds a mere 20% in the Chinese market share, the majority stakeholder here being Baidu (my sources tell me that the panda pawprint logo was the driving force skyrocketing this Chinese search engine to the top), who's stock is up about 50 percent since Google first warned that it might pull out of the China.

In honor of today's news, I am officially ordering an extra freedom fortune cookie for dessert with my lunch. Crunch on that, Communism!

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/new-approach-to-china-update.html

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-03-23/google-faces-no-hong-kong-censors-after-china-retreat.html

Univision is but the latest media conglomerate to launch its own ad network, targeting the less-cluttered Spanish-language media and mobile market.Univision's Spanish-language web sites include US, Spanish and Latin American sites and reportedly has significant reach to the U.S. Hispanic audience. It boasts a broad range of content sites from such as entertainment-oriented Caracoltv.com and news-focused Perfil.com to sports-minded Tycsports.com and business-centric Ambito.com (ay dios mio, was that a mouthful).Mucho dinero at stake too, affiliate fiends, so put down that margarita and pay attencion. There are more than 48.6 million Hispanics in the U.S. (17% of the total U.S. population) and the group yields $964 billion in buying power. This will grow to $1.1 trillion by 2010. I've noticed multiple networks featuring Spanish-language versions of their top offers, including your friendly neighborhood AKMG (Dish en Espanol, Your Baby Can Read, er, Tu Bebe Puede Leer!, etc.).In the past year, internet penetration among Hispanics has grown almost five times faster than among non-Hispanics, according to the Univision Partner Group website. And don't even get me started on international health continuity in Spain and gaming/downloads in Latin America...While you're waiting around for your (increasingly competitive) French campaigns to get back up, consider testing south of the brie and baguettes to sangria and serrano... Spain (and Italy) are growing hotspots for health and beauty. What are you waiting for tortugas, expand your reach in what you already know works and deepen your pockets in doing so.Mamasita de AKMGPS - Get your vote on para la ppc.bz, and andale already!http://www.affiliatesummit.com/pinnacle-award-nomination/

It’s hard to believe that just over 12 months year ago I left the traditional direct response advertising world to join the online performance space. First stop? Affiliate Summit Vegas, just a week green into the industry. Talk about diving into the deep end to learn how to swim.I can’t help but to reflect on the past year that has brought us to this tumultuous point as we reset and start 2010. Oh 2009 – what a rollercoaster you have been.The Harpo Hammer came down when Oprah decided enough was enough. Then Google followed suit (pun intended).The Recession. The FTC crackdowns. The Google slap. The Frozen merchant accounts. The Facebook pages popping up like “These People Don’t Pay.” The Acai Berry Jello wrestling…2009 has certainly seen its ups and downs, and it is not by happenstance we find ourselves in somewhat intrepid crossroads. This past year has seen an explosion of advertisers , networks and affiliates in this space – some of which were unscrupulous in their pursuit of a quick buck.Looking forward to the new decade, two tiers are emerging: those who innovate and those who replicate, and the chasm between is only deepening. This goes for affiliates, networks and advertisers.This industry is continuously evolving. Smart people adapt and find smarter ways to succeed. Lazy efforts lacking any strategic plan for long-term sustainability, sloppy executions and a disregard for playing by the rules will leave you out in the cold.As free trials and flogs are getting G-slapped snookie style and competition increases , capitalize on branded offers and leverage the money already invested in them by your offline counterparts (think: P90X all over Maxim Magazine and late-night TV)…Which leaves us to the most important questions… how do we proceed from here? Just what skate board will AKMG be representing this year? And really, what would Ryan Eagle do?

Tis the season for pink and red hearts 'n cupcakes, and ain't love sweet? Nothing like a commercialized holiday just brimming with the optimal blend of opportunity and obligation. Single males 18 to 84 know that their target market, namely single females of a corresponding age, are on this calendar date one large, nation-wide bridal party. Time to cash in on the fun!Enter FTD.com - FTD is synonymous with online flower deliver, and AKMG is direct and has the best payout, hands down! FTD offers present the opportunity to give fellas a gift quickly, easily and successfully, and to take advantage of the nation wide population of hopeful bridesmaids-to-be.And don't forget the "other woman," aka...Mommy. Mothers separated by time zones or irreconcilable familial differences, can be given the shout out that says "Hey Mom, I am sorry about not enabling you to overcome all the obstacles given to you by my Dad, and to make up for that here is a bouquet from FTD flowers - so glad I remembered on time..ish."Moms, kids away at school, and lovers alike also love to see their name on anything and everything, and AKMG will beat your payout on any Personal Creations campaign (message in a bottle, personalized treat jars, etc).Less we forget those looking for love, too! Online dating is up across the board, and historically dating numbers spike in Feb. AKMG is chock full of hot dating deals targeting: seniors, Christians, black singles, single parents, and bbws! For those who know love knows no bounds, Mate 1 is open to all channels and countries!Mailers - Hit your Hotmail and Yahoo...weekends are best.Mail-Me-Nots - Dating is hawt on social and Yahoo SEM right now. POF a little too saturated? Check out some of the other free dating sites online for new traffic sources!Christian singles is a top-performing niche that converts great on broad traffic - no need for specific targeting! BBW is also one of our most stable niche dating campaigns... hit up your AM for ideas today!

SLACKERS - listen up! MyFunCards is a huge hit each and every holiday, but Valentines is by far the biggest and AKMG WILL MATCH OR BEAT YOUR PAYOUT. Nuff said.- Cupids Lil Helper