Being Direct: Making Advertising Pay

by Lester Wunderman

In Being Direct , Lester Wunderman, the brilliant pioneer of direct marketing, shows how companies as diverse as American Express, the Columbia Record Club, Ford Motor Company, and L.L. Bean have used his revolutionary strategies to build profitable relationships with their customers. Filled with entertaining and enlightening stories from his personal experience in every aspect of the direct marketing business, it offers invaluable advice on how to attract, interact with, and retain customers.

Genres: Business, Biography

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Kristian]

Read this for a project at work. It is an interesting read if you have an inclining towards marketing and advertising. Also, it is a look inside the mind of someone who created a global advertising agency. From my perspective after reading the book, Mr Wunderman was a bit of a genius and an incredibly hard worker but he also seemed to think very highly of himself and comes across as bit of an arrogant prick. I wouldn't recommend this book anytime soon unless you want to know more about direct marketing techniques and how to credit yourself with all the successes and shift blame of a failure onto others.

[Tim Matthews]

What a great book. Age old lessons from direct mail that can be applied in today's digital world.

[mdy]

Read this when I knew nothing about Direct Marketing and Email Marketing was becoming a lot more targeted. It was great as an eye-opener even though it was written more in a story-telling style rather than as a straight-to-the-point reference or how-to.

The opening pages have a section called "Nineteen Things All Successful Direct Marketing Companies Know" and that's probably the closest you'll get to a list of principles.

[Mike Bell]

I enjoy learning the history, the why, the backstory; and this book doesn't disappoint. Wunderman gives his perspective on advertising and "Being Direct" is his style as well as the title. His 19 principles are still incredibly relevant. It all builds toward creating a relationship with the consumer; and that is what advertising today is all about.

[Jason]

This really is an auto-biography and not a book on direct marketing tips. Still, it is a good read and a lot could be learned through the examples provided by Wunderman.

[Nate Desmond]

You know those books you come back to repeatedly? This is one of those.

[Gianni]

Half biography half history of advertising, interesting read. I couldn't help but feel a melancholy thread in those pages. Lester Wunderman is the most recognizable advertising guru on earth.

[Pkingy]

The absolute read for all things direct marketing