"What you say in advertising is more important than how you say it."
- David Ogilvy

I couldn’t agree more. Sort of. Here’s the deal. Consumers ain’t dumb…in fact, they’re smarter than ever as a result of today’s information-centric world. When they shop, they arrive armed…for the most part…with information, comparative pricing, consumer reviews, etc.

So yes, Mr. Ogilvy, what you say in advertising is more important than how you say it.
But you can’t stop there. Or even start there.

You see, advertising doesn’t build brands. Heresy? Not at all. It plays a critically important part of the communications stream…whether it’s a web site or an outdoor campaign. Advertising informs, alerts, inspires, reacts, communicates, announces, excites, pleases, annoys and lots of other things – but it does not build the brand.

And that’s where most companies fall flat on their faces.

And that’s where brand development comes in. As a Certified Brand Strategist and a managing partner of the world’s largest brand development organization, The Brand Establishment, we teach and train our clients to build the brand from the inside out. That’s where the brand’s unique, deliverable aspects live anyway, so we work from this vantage point first. Internalize, then externalize.

It’s called Turning The Telescope™ and it works.