core genius

"In writing advertising it must always be kept in mind that the customer often knows more about the goods than the advertising writers because they have had experience in buying them..."
- John Wanamaker
He also said: "Half the money I spend on advertising is a waste. The problem is I don't know which half."
Often called the Father of Advertising, Wanamaker was a genius in merchandising. He understood the core premise of advertising: it's about the consumer.
How often do we forget the consumer or donor when we write, design and publish? How often is our audience pushed aside for organizational detail and sector language? How often do we allow our own tastes to influence our decisions?
In my early marketing years we were asked to beat a very successful control package. It reigned supreme for over 10 years. In my youthful naiveté I thought: "How hard could it be?" So Kev and I (Kevin and I have been working as business colleagues and partners for more than 15 years -- why mess with a good thing?) created a test piece. The core idea resonated with each of us, but when the creative was done we both looked at it and said: "We really hate it."
It out performed the control considerably.
What we were so close to forgetting was: it isn't about what I like or what I would respond to. It's about our audience.
Before we launched the new creative we did a focus test group with people who matched our audience demographics. They loved it. So we decided to include the piece in our test.
Had we relied on our own tastes and design leanings we would have made a big mistake.
Every day I challenge myself to think beyond myself and look to the demographics, the tests and the results. When I am in a meeting and there is a lot of chatter about what the likes and dislikes of the people in the room, I know immediately I am not in a marketing meeting -- I am in a room of amateurs.