Career
He has spoken in 53 countries for many organisations including Columbia University Business School, New York, Antai School of Management, Shanghai, The Financial Services Authority, European Institute of Business Administration (Institut Européen d'Administration des Affaires), The London Business School, ESIC (Madrid), IPADE (Mexico City), IPM (Lima), Mahan Business School, Tehran, Cap Gemini, and A. T. Kearney. David Ogilvy said of him “Drayton Bird knows more about direct marketing than anyone in the world."
Much of what he discusses derive from his work with many of the world’s greatest brands. These include American Express, for whom he created a special course for senior executives, Audi, Bentley, British Airways, Cisco, Deutsche Post, Ford, International Business Machines Corporation, McKinsey, Mercedes, Microsoft, Nestle, Philips, Procter & Gamble, Toyota, Unilever, Visa and Volkswagen.
In various capacities – mostly as a writer - he has helped sell everything from Airbus planes to Peppa Pig.
Starting as a journalist he became a copywriter, and after becoming creative director of a leading London ad agency quit to go into business on his own. In fact for most of his life he has run his own businesses, risking his own money – and sometimes losing lieutenant
Over the years he has worked in Puerto Rico, research, telemarketing and franchising and run events and exhibitions. With two partners he set up what became Britain’s largest direct marketing agency which he sold to Ogilvy and Mather, where he became Vice Chairman and worldwide creative director of what is now OgilvyOne and was elected to the Ogilvy Group Board.
His book, Commonsense Direct and Digital Marketing, out in 17 languages, has been the United Kingdom’s best seller on the subject every year since 1982.
He has written 4 other marketing books, including How to write a sales letter that sells, now in its 3rd edition, and well over 1,000 columns for publications around the world. In 2007 he founded the European Academy of Direct and Interactive Marketing. Drayton’s standing has long been widely recognised.
He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, was one of the first eight Honorary Fellows of the Institute of Direct Marketing and one of the first three people named to the Hall of Fame of the Direct Marketing Association of India.
