My goal for 2017 is to read 48 books so I kicked the year off with one of the bibles of advertising, Ogilvy on Advertising. In 1962, Time called Ogilvy "the most sought-after wizard in today's advertising industry." If you are not in advertising you probably have never heard his name but I guarantee you would recognize both his ads and the work of every advertising agency that has followed.

Here are three insights from the Godfather of Advertising that are timeless and apply perfectly to today.

"Advertising people who ignore research are as dangerous as generals who ignore decodes of enemy signals. "

I don't believe Ogilvy would have predicted the internet as the dominant medium for advertising, he passed away in 1999, but he would have loved it. Throughout his work, Ogilvy would repeatedly harp on the value of research and metrics including: "[research] can measure the reputation of your company among consumers" and "research can get consumer reactions to a new product when it is still in the conceptual state."

How many companies today continue to jump into business without stopping to do research first?

2. Don't launch brands "aimed at a dominant share-of-market."

In business, it's easy to want to go for the grand slam and every other startup pitch states they will dominate the world *cough* market within the next four years! Ogilvy new that it was smarter to focus your attention on a narrowly targeted niche market. "It has become prohibitively expensive to launch brands aimed at a dominant share-of-market. Even the manufacturers with the biggest war-chests are finding it more profitable to aim their new brands at narrowly defined segments of the market."

Again, how many startups today do we see ignoring this sage advice?

3. "Don't waste time on problem babies"

Ogilvy believed that too often entrepreneurs, in the face of overwhelming data, get stuck on trying to fix a doomed product. "Most marketers spend too much time worrying about how to revive products which are in trouble, and too little time worrying about how to make successful products more successful. It is the mark of a brave man to admit defeat, cut his loss, and move on. Concentrate your time, your brains, and your advertising money on your successes. Back your winners, and abandon your losers.

That's all for now folks. Next on my reading list is Hey Whipple, Squeeze This by Luke Sullivan and Edward Boches.

About the Author:

Chris Cummings is an entrepreneur and attorney who is the founder of Pass It Down, an award-winning digital storytelling platform.

email:chris@passitdown.com

Twitter: @passitdown