Old Adages, New Rules: Are classic marketing principles still true?

We’ve all sat through events or meetings where someone references a well-known quote from an advertising guru or a timeless marketing adage. One of the most frequently cited quotes about advertising spend is by John Wanamaker: “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.” It has always been fair to say that this statement has been regarded as gospel… However, the speed of the evolution of the communications landscape leads me to ask whether this and other bedrock marketing quotes still hold true today.

I’ve been reflecting on this and some of the other statement quotes to see if they are still relevant in today’s consumer-first, digital, and cynicism-driven world of communication. They guide many of our marketing principles and give us direction, but are they still relevant?

Wanamaker made the very relevant point that although he could see that advertising investment was effective, he understood that not every penny encouraged consumers to take the desired action. In the days before digital data, cookies, and data scientists, it was nearly impossible to connect all the dots.

Today, however, we can learn a lot more about our users with cookies (while we still have them), fingerprinting, Marketing Mix Modelling, MMPs, and other attribution tools and principles. With these resources available, this quote is no longer valid today as marketers work to optimise campaigns and better understand their return on investment, ensuring attribution is everything. The power shift: what defines a brand today?

Another of my all-time favourite quotes is, “A brand is no longer what we tell the consumer it is—it is what consumers tell each other it is” – Scott Cook (Founder of Intuit).

Even in the days before digital media and connectivity, it was always a given that word of mouth was the most potent form of advertising. You would take a friend or colleague’s recommendation over a TV ad or poster any day of the week. And now, there’s been such a seismic shift in power from companies to consumers that word-of-mouth, social media, and customer reviews are more influential than ever in shaping a brand’s reputation.

Treating your customers like kings and queens has never been so important. Consumers have a louder voice than ever, and we, as marketers, need to adapt to a world where trust and authenticity are nailed on. Solving problems over selling products

What about “People don’t buy products; they buy solutions to problems?”  I don’t believe this can be attributed to anyone, but it is a classic marketing principle.

I still wholeheartedly agree with this principle: marketing isn’t just about selling a product but about understanding and addressing the customer’s needs and, in doing so, making them a focal point of any marketing strategy. You must identify the problem and position your product or service as the ideal solution. In a world where consumers have more choices and points of reference than ever, your communications must resonate with their needs to stand out.

The meditation and wellness app Calm is an excellent example of this. Their primary audience is people dealing with issues like stress, anxiety, insomnia, and burnout. Instead of just advertising their app as a “meditation app,” they focus on its benefits—stress relief, better sleep, and mental clarity—the solution, not the means to achieve it. Harnessing creativity in a privacy-first era

Bill Bernbach’s quote, “Creativity is the most powerful force in business,” was a guiding mantra for agencies in the 1980s and ’90s. However, I reckon it is now more relevant than ever in today’s digital marketing landscape! This is especially true for in-app user acquisition, where recent privacy changes - like Apple’s SKAdNetwork (SKAN) and its impact on using Meta and other walled-garden channels) have dramatically altered how advertisers can target and track users.

With only 30% of the granular targeting data we had just a few years ago, we, advertisers, can no longer rely on precise targeting to reach the perfect audience. Instead, creativity has to become the secret sauce, laser-focused on capturing attention, delivering relevance and compelling the viewer to click.

High-quality, engaging, creative content will stand out in a crowded digital space and grab users' interest. Now more than ever, marketers need to develop more universally appealing and contextually relevant ads that don’t depend on micro-targeting. We must connect with users through compelling storytelling, relatable themes, and emotional appeal. It has become the primary way for brands to stand out, drive awareness, and build meaningful connections with their audiences. Are classic marketing principles still relevant?

With one or two notable exceptions, marketing adages from the recent past are still very relevant today. Although the advertising landscape has changed beyond recognition, the bedrock marketing principles of yesteryear should still guide today's and tomorrow’s successes.