Is it possible that messaging maxims from over a century ago can still be relevant today? The answer is a resounding yes. In 1923, Claude Hopkins, an immensely successful advertising writer and strategist, wrote Scientific Advertising. As you can tell from the title, he believed that the success of advertising shouldn’t be determined by the whims of individual tastes but rather by the results it garners. Even further, his premise was that by monitoring and tracking results, it was possible to create an objective prescription for effective advertising. Was he successful? Well, in 1907, he was hired at an annual salary of $185,000, equal to $6,049,500 in 2023. In addition, his work has been touted as a must-read by advertising giants like David Olgivy.
What’s more impressive is that Hopkins’s principles form an effective playbook for today’s school messaging and marketing. I was astounded by how almost every one of his imperatives can be used to make school marketing more successful. Here are 11 of his most powerful ideas.
A note about language: In 1923, the advertising business (and maybe all businesses) was male-centric. Hopkins’s use of “salesman” and “advertising men” permeates the book and may be jarring to our current sensibilities. His word choice is unaltered to be authentic to his 100-year-old thinking.
1. The best messaging drives action
Hopkins: “Give them enough to get action.”
The maxim: Messaging is intended to provoke action – to make someone do something, whether that’s applying, inquiring, or requesting more information.
2. Good messaging gets more results than praise
Hopkins: “Ad writers … forget they are salesmen and try to be performers. Instead of sales, they seek applause.”
The maxim: The goal of messaging and marketing is to deliver results, not win awards. I have judged independent school marketing award competitions. The results garnered by any particular initiative are not reported and are never a criterion in decision-making. The playbook for creating very clever and beautifully designed campaigns isn’t necessarily the same as the one that delivers robust results.
3. Personas supercharge messaging
Hopkins: “When you prepare an advertisement, keep before you a typical buyer. Think of a typical individual who is likely to want what you sell.”
The maxim: Using personas is a very effective way of creating marketing and messaging campaigns. You can create them by thinking about families that recently inquired and applied. You can also create a composite based on applicants’ demographic, historical and attitudinal data if that’s available. I always use the findings from focus groups with various segments of parents to conjure the profiles of typical parents.
4. You need to be in the other person’s shoes
Hopkins: “The advertising man … tries to place himself in the position of the buyer. His success largely depends on doing that to the exclusion of everything else.”
The maxim: Empathy is the foundation of all successful messaging. Seth Godin says, “If you believed what he believes, you’d do precisely what he’s doing.”
5. Keep your eye on the target
Hopkins: “You are presenting an ad to millions. Don’t think the millions will read your ads to find out if your product interests them. They will decide to by a glance – by your headline or pictures. Address the people you seek and them only.”
The maxim: Particularly in digital channels, ads could potentially be seen by thousands (and maybe millions). Success lies in not being enamoured by the number of impressions, but rather understanding who exactly is your target family and crafting the messaging that will speak directly to and get results from them.
6. Originality is overrated
Hopkins: “When we see a winning method, we note it down for use when occasion offers.”
The maxim: Austin Kleon, in Steal Like An Artist, said, “All creative work builds on what came before. Nothing is completely original.” The greatest messaging successes are built on paying attention to what has already been proven successful, understanding why those initiatives worked and borrowing the ideas. That’s true whether that’s another department in your own school or another school altogether.
7. Shorter isn’t always better
Hopkins: “There is a fixed rule on the subject of brevity. Whether long or short, an advertising story should be reasonably complete.”
The maxim: In order to get people to read “the whole story,” messaging must be well-written and speak to the heart. Too often, the reason that readers give up on copy isn’t they lack time, but the messaging fails to hold their interest. Mediocre messaging that is brief won’t be any more successful than a longer version of the same.”
8. Make sure that pictures say the right 1,000 words
Hopkins: “Pictures in many [products] form a major factor … But the picture must help sell the goods.”
The maxim: Images are a key component of messaging. They can convey as much about a school as any amount of copy. However, the corollary is that a poorly chosen image can undo the impact of the best messaging, either because it creates an undesirable impression or because it is not consistent with the copy and creates confusion for readers.
9. Strategy first, messaging second
Hopkins: “Genius is the art of taking pains. The advertising man who spares the midnight oil will never get very far … Thus, an advertising campaign is usually preceded by a very large volume of data.”
The maxim: The best messaging is built on a solid strategic foundation. Market research, including both qualitative and quantitative components along with competitive analysis, should always precede writing a single word. Beyond that, the strategic foundation is a touchstone—a way of keeping messaging grounded. When I work on messaging projects, I always refer back to focus group findings for both inspiration and validation.
10. The metrics of messaging
Hopkins: “Almost any questions can be answered, cheaply, quickly and finally, by a test campaign.”
The maxim: The evaluation of messaging is subjective. What is brilliant to one person can be pedestrian to the next. That’s what makes strategy so important. Instead of using individual tastes and preferences, messaging can be evaluated based on whether it realizes its intended goals. And, testing – whether done via focus groups, A/B mail and email tests, or digital ad variations – provides empirical proof of whether messaging is working.
11. Differentiation is in the eye of the beholder
Hopkins: “A person who desires to make an impression must stand out in some way. We try to give each advertiser an individuality best suited to the people he addresses … To create the right individuality is a supreme accomplishment.”
The maxim: What a fabulously nuanced point! Of course, your messaging should make your school stand out. But the finesse is to differentiate your school as it relates to the families you can serve best and are most likely to be interested in what you offer. That means you must have done the research to determine what parents value most and how your ability to deliver compares to competitive schools.
Not only was Hopkins a trendsetter a century ago, his work has stood the test of time. His 100-year-old maxims are just as relevant today and shrewd is the school leader who can learn from his wisdom.
