"David Brent is one of those people who are described as
"before their time". When I first met him, [in 1972] he
had dragged a couple of tough guys in the ad business into the era
of Advertising Planning, a move which helped them make private
fortunes and industry reputations as their agency grew in leaps and
bounds."
"Advertising research in those days had a poor
reputation - creatives knew instinctively that there was no known
way to forecast behaviour on the basis of a single exposure. You
could sort out the disasters but the potential for babies with
bathwater was enormous. Accordingly they assembled their arguments
against research and attacked with vehemence any threat to their
creative wisdom."
"Imagine my surprise when I met David solidly ensconced
in the midst of the enemy and having them vigorously support his recommendations for research."
"How did he do it? To this day I am not sure, but
reading his reflections on his career will certainly give you some
insights."
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