First Mentions

Part two of my strategy presentation is coming soon. In the meantime, a few months ago I went down a rabbit hole of looking for the first mention of various marketing terms and ideas in the New York Times archives. I particularly liked this first mention of brand strategy from 1955:

To eliminate confusion, an agency should set up a four-point plan when handling a product ... The Plan would be outlined in a document known as a "brand strategy" containing a concept of operation; an analysis of the opportunities for the product or service; agreement on an immediate plan of action, and agreement on a long-term strategy.

Here's what it looked like in the newspaper:

Also amusing was that in 1967 we were having problems we're still seeing today. From coverage of a symposium of agencies and clients:

A couple of the ideas that seemed to get repeated were that both sides should cut through the red tape of advertising approval and that there should be more involvement of creative people in agency-client relations.