The difference is that we don’t rent a list, hire a lettershop and count results in a spreadsheet for the next 3 weeks like I did early in my career. Now, given enough data, we can do true A/B or MVT splits and come away with actionable data in hours.

So your Dad is spot-on too. What would probably blow his mind is that the barrier to entry to hanging out a shingle is so low. Cost was a relatively effective barrier in print days. Now with that barrier lowered, it’s much easier for any secretary at Google (even those who can’t cook) to track things marketers only dreamed of tracking back in the day.

Sometimes though I get a strong “tell me the time, not how to make the watch” message from older clients who want to know the possibilities. Then younger clients decide they want keyword lists for their campaigns because they just know their market better than any keyword research ever.

Marketing’s sword has many edges.

E credo che questo sia il tuo post migliore.
Ciao, da Italia.

Yawn.

I don’t think the urge to kick one’s dad ends much before 40. But you might beat the odds ;)

Both of my parents have no clue what this “blogging thing” is about. I overheard my mother telling someone at a party that I was “doing something with the computer.”

I especially like your point about everything being on the record these days. Without being paranoid, one has to assume that a camera or recording device is within range at all times. The old adage, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all,” takes on new meaning in today’s digital age.

Call me conservative but at the core of every strategy is probably the same belief system or rationale that Ogilvy had in the late 40′s. Unless you plan on smacking someone’s face in the name of advertising, you probably aren’t striking conceptual gold.

Great post, Lisa.