On Copywriting

Oldsmobile & Old Navy

Oldsmobile is basically a defunct brand. Due to falling profits, General Motors stopped manufacturing Oldsmobile vehicles in 2004. After all, the perception of Oldsmobile among consumers was that the cars were for older people. Even the name sounded "old."

Oldsmobile was started in 1897, and was named after the founder, Ransom Olds. So I guess there was good reason for putting "old" into the name.

Then there's Old Navy, a clothing store I frequent. I think it's ironic that the company markets clothing to a young audience with the name "Old" Navy.

According to The Gap family of brands, the company was named after a bar in Paris. That's a piece of trivia most folks don't know. (I didn't know it either until a few minutes ago.)

Here's what I wonder about: will Old Navy eventually fall prey to the same fate as Oldsmobile? Will consumers begin to think of Old Navy as clothing for "old" people? Will history repeat itself?

Direct Response Branding

Die-hard direct response marketers do branding a disservice by acting like it's of no importance whatsoever.

Die-hard branding marketers, on the other hand, do direct marketing a disservice by pretending that awards are more important than sales.

Does it have to be "one or the other?" Where's the common ground? Do these two ever overlap?

I believe they do. And the phrase "direct response branding" is a good way to illustrate my point.

Here's a fact. You have a brand. Every company has a brand. It does not matter if you do "branding" or not. Your brand still exists.

So it makes sense to "manage" your brand, at least to a degree.

Now, in my opinion, your brand should never take precedence over sales. Sales come first, then branding. Branding should be a byproduct of your direct response sales efforts.

Direct marketing first, branding second.

Hence, the phrase I've coined: "direct response branding."

Note: Unethical sales never come before branding. Dishonesty will wreck your brand (read "reputation"). For the sake of this article, I'm assuming all your direct response advertising is honest and ethical. That's why I say sales come first, then branding.

P.S. This past summer (2006), Armand Morin talked about his big initiative for the following year. What was it? To incorporate branding into all of his direct response sales letters. Interesting, huh?

P.P.S. Michel Fortin spent some time recently to give his site a fresh look. He adopted a new, more serious looking photo of himself, among other things. I believe this is another real-world case of "direct response branding."