Internet Advertising Agency

Advertising should be judged only by the goods it is conclusively known to sell at a givencost. Mere Opinions on Advertising Copy should be excluded from consideration.
Opinions on Advertising are as conflicting as opinions on Religion. Forty per cent of all the people in the world are Buddhists, and are of the Opinion that Buddhism is the only true religion. Twelve per cent of the world’s people being Roman Catholics, are firm in the opinion that the remaining 88 percent are wrong, and sure of damnation accordingly.

Eight percent of the world’s people being Protestants believe that both the Buddhists and the Catholics, and all others, are deplorably ignorant of the only true faith, which of course must be their own particular sect of Protestantism. And, neither Buddhist, Catholic, nor
Protestant, can convince the 2 per cent of Jews that their opinion is wrong and should be changed.

This is a side-light on the inconsistency of mere Opinion. Religion must continue in the realm of Opinion, because no one can decide which Creed is right;, and which wrong, till he dies and finds out the facts for himself. And no mere man who died has ever come back to Earth to settle the dispute.
But, it is different with Advertising, as it is with Mechanics or with Medicine, all three of which can be conclusively tested.

Many Advertisers, however, seem satisfied to spend their money on mere Opinions about Advertising when they might have invested it on Evidence about Advertising. These are the Advertisers whose business must die before they can be convinced that “General
Publicity” (merely “Keeping-the-Name-before-the-People”) is wrong and “Salesmanship-on-paper” right.

They blindly gamble in Advertising when they might have safely invested in it. If they were to buy any other kind of Service, except Advertising, they would demand tangible proof of
its efficacy before they spent money on it.

If they hired a Salesman, for instance, they would expect him to prove he was earning his salary by making a satisfactory Record on Sales. They would not accept, for long, statements from him that he was “Making a General impression on the Trade” for his salary.
Nor would they be satisfied with the statement that he was “Keeping-the-Name-before-the- People” profitably enough to compensate for lack of Sales.

Nor would they enthuse over a report from him that he was “Influencing Sales” for their other salesmen. What the Advertising Employer would demand from his Salesman would be profitable Orders. He would demand Sales, clearly made by the Salesman himself, each sale carrying a given profit over cost for the Employer

That is just what the Advertising Employer should demand from his Advertising Expenditure, too-Sales-proven Sales, carrying a satisfactory profit. And, if he insists upon it he can get the kind of Advertising which will actually produce Sales instead of a vague “General Influence on Sales.”
Because, true Advertising is only “Salesmanship-on-paper”after all. When it is anything less than Salesmanship it is not real Advertising, but only “General Publicity.” And, “General Publicity” admittedly claims only to “Keep the Name before the People,” – to produce a “General impression on the Trade,” and to “Influence Sales” for the salesmen.

It makes the same lame excuses as would be made by a Salesman who failed to earn his salary in actually selling goods. But “General Publicity,” or any other Advertising, should be judged by the selfsame standards as the Salesman is judged, viz., by the goods it is clearly proven to sell at a given cost per dollar invested in it.

----------------------------- Dennis Gartland is editing the works of some of the greatest advertising minds. Dennis is one of the foremost experts on search engine optimization, pay per click advertising and combining traditional and internet media. He is also CEO of Net Advertising Group. You can reach Dennis at 330-503-3108, www.netadvertisinggroup.com or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ----------------------------