The 10 Greatest Marketers of all Times

It started as a curiosity of mine. As a young discipline, comparatively-speaking, marketing continues to be in a constant state of flux. It is so especially as social media is considered a good way to engage customers and reach new prospects by more and more organizations.

When we think of great ad people, we rapidly know many names -- people like David Ogilvy, Leo Burnett, Bill Bernbach, Raymond Rubicam, and Stanley Resor (JWT)

When we think about marketing, who do we vote in? 

I could have taken the question to Twitter -- it's filled with marketers! To make things more interesting I asked it on LinkedIn instead, inviting many of my peers in marketing to give their take. This time I invited 50 of them from my network, and two responded in addition to many from groups.

Who are the marketers that withstand the test of time in your view? Why?

I was intrigued by the responses.

Names like P. T. Barnum, Steve Jobs, Claude C. Hopkins, the Michelin brothers, Walt Disney, Ernest Gallo and Albion Fenderson, Sergio Zyman, Dale Carnegie, Napolean Hill, Andre' Citroën, Phil Knight, Ron Popeil, Frank Purdue, and Richard Branson were suggested along with Micheal Porter, Robert Bartels, Philip Kotler, David Ogilvy, Seth Godin, Al Ries, and more.

Products were named as well -- Absolut Vodka, Kleenex, Coca-Cola, P&G, Nike, Johnson & Johnson, and Xerox. Entertainers made the list -- Madonna, Lady GaGa, Micheal Jackson -- a US President, Obama, and, believe it or not, even Jesus Christ. 

What do all of these names have in common?

Products and people alike, they provide(d) an experience -- real or imagined. Some of them through teaching and sharing knowledge either about an innovative thought process and a go to market strategy, or a simpler way of thinking about marketing.

Are great marketers therefore great doers?

More than one of the responses outlined how the person or brand proposed understood their audiences and brought compelling communications to the fore. Communication and experience are considered art by many, marketing is also science. The challenge with science is that we may have too many data points and fewer decisions today.

Add to that the intensity, complexity, and volatility of the marketplace and your challenge increases. So rather than talking about the 10 greatest marketers of all times, perhaps we should focus on what makes a great marketer today.

If you had to describe what makes a great marketer in a 300-word post, what would you include? Would it reveal more about the profession, a specific role, a remarkable achievement, an industry vertical, the challenge marketers face, or you?

© 2010 Valeria Maltoni. All rights reserved.

Comments

[Lisa Stockwell]

What fascinates me is that all the great admen you mention were inspirational almost 50 years ago. And of course they were all men (although I'd point out that Resor's wife Helen was considered the creative genius of JWT ad campaigns).

I draw a blank at anyone other than graphic designers who made a mark in the '80s and '90s, when it became critical to have an MBA to rise in ad agency management.

As to great marketers, it may be no coincidence that the two more recent great ones I can think of are Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, who both quit school their freshman years of college. Listening to their intuition seems to be key to great marketing. Given how few women make the grade, I suspect mixing intuition with the confidence to put yourself out there in spite of the competition or challenges and not be afraid to make mistakes (i.e. ego) is critical. Women tend to promote their clients or brands and not themselves.

[Peter]

I like questions like these it shows how our brains work.

My first impression is why do we associate great marketers with business people and companies.

The most influential marketers are those who ideas/actions are now built into you in the way you think and behave. It's one thing to sell you a pair of runners that you put on your feet its another when a person uploads an "operating system" that informs your every decision in the background.

Think individuals in religions, art, literature, philosophy, science. Each was a marketer by nature if not name.

I'd argue these men and woman understood their audience ( to an unimaginable depth) and knew they would be judged by those who care not to think or consider their actions. Despite this, and with disregard for their audiences limitations, many suffered and even died to build "market share" or their share of mind in all those that followed even you and I.

Great marketers are great men and woman. The question may not be how to market but how to be "great".

[Shocked]

How are you gonna not mention P. Diddy? In the youth world, he is one of the greatest marketers we've seen in our lifetime.

[Valeria Maltoni]

@Lisa - I've been in meetings with a woman or two who did like to promote herself and did it like an ad you'd want to TiVO before contributing to the meeting. Those have been unfortunate situations. There's a balance, I think, between empty self-promotion (the stuff that makes you cringe) and communicating something of value with marketing tools.

@Peter - more than one person actually said Jesus Christ was a perfect example. "The most influential marketers are those who ideas/actions are now built into you in the way you think and behave." I like this one a lot, there's hope for me, after all.

@Shocked - how are you not even going to mention your name in a post about marketing and with such a good suggestion? I'm shocked!

[Stephen Denny]

Valeria: I apologize for not weighing in - I saw your note on LinkedIn in the midst of some heavy lifting and didn't get back to it.

Whenever we say "of all time" it connotes (on purpose) a sense of timelessness. It's hard to put someone forward from recent times if they haven't stood the test of time.

Of the list above, names like Branson, Jobs, Barnum, Phil Knight and a few others made my mental list. All took "flavorless" categories and made them ownable. The authors listed? Not so much.

The Jobs and Gates issue confused me momentarily. I wouldn't hesitate to put Jobs on the list, but I do with Gates. Perhaps it's because Jobs is so completely the alpha to omega of Apple's look/feel/functionality and Gates is known as the technical guy. Almost like Grove of Intel, I hesitate to say yes to these engineers who have produced world-changing products by calling them "marketers."

Thought-provoking stuff!

Regards -