Ogilvy on Advertising for Presentations

David Ogilvy has been called the Father of Advertising. In 1962, Time named him “the most sought-after wizard in the advertising business.” He was revolutionary in the industry and created some of the most recognizable campaigns of his time. He wrote his all-encompassing book Ogilvy on Advertising in 1983 detailing his thoughts and reflections on advertising. While not every presentation is a direct advertisement for a product, most are attempting to sell an idea to the audience. Much of Ogilvy’s commentary on how to produce advertising that sells can be applied to giving an effective presentation. You may not be selling a product up there, but you are selling an idea. You want to convince the audience to believe and trust in what you are saying, and using advertising techniques in your presentation is an effective way to do so.

First, Ogilvy says to do your homework. “The more you know about it, the more likely you are to come up with a big idea for selling it,” he writes. Know your material better than anyone else. If you don’t know an aspect of your presentation well enough, go back and learn more about it. Knowing the meticulous details of each and every facet of your presentation will lend itself to a clear, concise delivery because you’ll know exactly what needs to be said and what is better left unsaid. Also, the more familiar you are with your subject, the more likely you’ll be to create better ways to effectively deliver the material.

Next, consider positioning, which Ogilvy defines as “what the product does, and who it is for.” He gives the example of positioning Dove soap as a toilet bar for women’s dry skin rather than a detergent bar for men’s dirty hands. Position your presentation appropriately and smartly. Know who you are speaking to, and determine how you can better tailor your presentation’s content for that audience.

Ogilvy says that “products, like people, have personalities, and they can make or break them in the market place.” This is especially apt in relation to presentations. Image matters. How you deliver a presentation matters. How you look when you’re delivering the presentation matters. How you interact with the audience matters. You may have exceptionally strong content accompanied by masterfully designed slides, but if you are dressed in a wrinkled shirt with holes in your pants and scuffs on your shoes, you’re not going to be remembered for the former. You are selling your presentation, and that includes selling yourself as credible, trustworthy and respectable. Ogilvy says that it pays to give products an image of quality. Give your audience quality material with a quality delivery. That is what they’ll remember.

As we continually harp on in this blog, great presentations always have a compelling story with an overall theme, or big idea. Ogilvy says that those big ideas come from the unconscious. He says to “stuff your conscious mind with information, then unhook your rational thought process” and let the big ideas come to you. So fill, fill, fill up your brain, then let it all go and the big idea will hit you when you least expect it.

Lastly, Ogilvy urges advertisers to keep it simple. “Most campaigns are too complicated. They reflect a long list of objectives, and try to reconcile the divergent views of too many executives. By attempting to cover too many things, they achieve nothing.” As we’ve said many times before, simplicity is paramount in presentations. Break through the clutter to get to the meat of the matter. Don’t get bogged down by trivial details and too many objectives. Choose the three most important points, find an appropriate, sexy theme that encompasses them and get to it. Avoid espousing too many generalities and too few specifics.

Our favorite takeaway from Ogilvy on Advertising? “There are no dull products, only dull writers.”

Touché. There are no dull presentations, only dull presenters.





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