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1866 - 1932
Llega a Lord & Thomas a los 41 años, después de casi 25 de experimentar en otras empresas, tanto en el dominio de las técnicas de venta como en la redacción de textos. Para Hopkins la publicidad tiene que vender y sus ideas no se limitan al anuncio sino a la distribución, los estudios de mercado o la creación de recursos de apoyo. Para él la prioridad del texto sobre las ilustraciones es absoluta; en cualquier caso, para saber si sus propuestas funcionan bien, la mejor forma de saberlo -dice- es someterlas a prueba.
Sus textos notables como el eslogan de cerveza Schiltz la cerveza que hizo famosa a Milwakee, lo llevan a ser contratado por Albert Lasker de Lord & Thomas, Chicago, en 1907 por U$185.000 al año. Insiste en que los redactores adquieran conocimiento detallado de los productos de sus clientes, y produjeran textos cortos, simples y con fundamento. También promueve el uso de cupones, premios, muestras gratis, pedidos por correo e investigaciones sobre publicidad. Para la crema dental Pepsodent, descubre la placa bacteriana; invierte en esta compañía y hace fortuna. Publica Scientific Advertising en 1923, tras su retiro de L&T, donde fue presidente y jefe de la junta directiva.
As one of the greatest copywriters of all time, Claude Hopkins developed phrases and methods that had a deep impact on the advertising world and brought a great success to his clients. He wrote one advertisement for Van Camp Evaporated Milk that brought in more than 1.46 million coupons. By learning the science behind brewing, Hopkins was able to organize and write a campaign that propelled Schlitz Beer from fifth place to a tie with Budweiser for first.
Hopkins' success as a copywriter led him to the presidency of Lord & Thomas, where he helped to build the agency into an advertising powerhouse. By 1927 the agency stood behind only J. Walter Thompson in total billings. It was Hopkins' talents and his partnership with Albert Lasker that made this success story a possibility.
Hopkins wrote two books, My Life in Advertising and Scientific Advertising, which quickly became classics in the advertising industry. Scientific Advertising outlined the basic tenets of his philosophy. David Ogilvy praised Hopkins's book, proclaiming "Nobody should be allowed to have anything to do with advertising until he has read this book seven times. It changed the course of my life."
Hopkins greatest contribution to the advertising industry was clearly his insistence that advertising should be scientifically tested and proven as a sales tool. His strong advocacy of "reasons why" advertising led him to adopt many innovative methods for promoting a product. He was the first copywriter to put coupons in ads offering a free sample of the product and a pioneer in the field of test marketing. Hopkins also emphasized the importance of strategic preparation to cut waste.
Claude C. Hopkins (1866-1932) was one of the great advertising pioneers, he believed advertising existed only to sell something and should be measurable and justify the results that it produced.
He worked for various advertisers, including Bissell Carpet Sweeper Company, Swift & Company and Dr. Shoop's patent medicine company. At the age of 41, he was hired by Albert Lasker owner of Lord & Thomas advertising in 1907 at a salary of $185,000 a year, Hopkins insisted copywriters researched their client products and produce reason-why copy. He believed that a good product was often its own best salesperson and as such he was a great believer in sampling.
To track the results of his advertising he used key coded coupons and then tested headlines, offers and propositions against one another. He used the analysis of these measurements to continually improve his ad results, driving responses and the cost effectiveness of his clients advertising spend.
His classic book, "Scientific Advertising," was published in 1923, following his retirement from Lord & Thomas, where he finished his career as president and chairman. He died in 1932.
Fuente: wikipedia.org
