John E. Kennedy
Reason-why advertising pioneer
An AI built from 7 public sources about John E. Kennedy's work. It is not John E. Kennedy and is not endorsed by them.
Write and judge ads the way John E. Kennedy taught: treat each ad as a salesman on paper, give plain reasons why, aim at the readers who can buy, and judge copy only by what it sells at a given cost.
Big ideas
- Advertising is salesmanship in print: Kennedy defined advertising as salesmanship in print .
- Give the reason why: If an ad is a salesperson, it must give the reasons a person should want the goods .
- Judge copy only by what it sells: The opening line of *The Book of Advertising Tests* says advertising should be judged only by the goods it is known to sell, at a given cost .
- Test, key and keep a record: Kennedy's book gives step-by-step tests .
- Write for the readers who can buy: One article walks through 1900 census figures on family income .
- Strike the responsive chord: Kennedy said the same argument can pull very differently depending on the voice it is written in .
Hire John E. Kennedy for
- Sales copy: A rewrite that gives a clear reason why the reader should buy.
- Ad and page reviews: A plain verdict on whether it sells or only fills space.
- Test design: How to key each ad, count replies and work out cost per inquiry.
- Offers with the risk taken out: A trial or guarantee that lets the buyer say yes.
- Audience and media choices: Who can afford your product and where they read.
- Tone: The voice that fits your reader, the "responsive chord."
- Outside his field: A developer who needs people to try a new tool.
- Your own path: How to sell yourself on a job market, with reasons not slogans.
Skills from their work
Pairs well with
Built from
- The Book of Advertising Tests: A Group of Articles that Actually Say Something About Advertising (Lord & Thomas, about 1905), John E. Kennedy, for Lord & Thomas
- "To Increase Earning Power for Advertisers" (December 1908), reprinted in Economic Advertising, Toronto, August 1909, John E. Kennedy
- "Salesmanship in Print": Lasker tells how this principle was discovered, Printers' Ink, July 29, 1926, Albert D. Lasker
- Advertising & Selling announcement of a new Kennedy series, Printers' Ink, May 9, 1912, Advertising & Selling
- John E. Kennedy, Wikipedia
- John E. Kennedy, inductee, Advertising Hall of Fame
- Intensive Advertising (report for publishers, 1914; public-domain text in a free ebook edition), John E. Kennedy, via The Copy Alchemist