“The man who stops advertising to save money is like the man who stops the clock to save time."
This quote is not from an advertising executive or (my original guess) a Yellow Pages salesperson, but from our third President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson.
Jefferson was a creative, contemplative and restless man; an intellectual but utilitarian writer whom historians say preferred crafting letters in his office to intermingling with the public.
He would have made a good copywriter.
I can see it now: "The President wants YOU to advertise your business!"
Jefferson's words belie the fact that he lived through tough times, too; times when merchants and professionals decried advertising as just another expense eligible for ye olde chopping block.
But Jefferson know advertising is more than an expense - it's an investment, specifically in the future of your business. Bad economy or great, boom or bust, time continues its forward procession, leading us (sometimes unwillingly) into tomorrow.
What is advertising but a stake in influencing what tomorrow will bring?
Without it, you are giving up your voice; you are giving up your vote in what will happen to your business.
Advertising does not have to be expensive; advertising does not have to be complicated. It just has to be.
If you don't believe me, then believe Thomas Jefferson: chief author of the Declaration of Independence, Congressman, Vice President, President, founder of the University of Virginia, US Ambassador to France. And: amateur advertising executive.