Managing expectation: the key to coming out of lockdown successfully
In his book Alchemy, Vice Chairman at the advertising giant Ogilvy, Rory Sutherland argues powerfully that doing the obvious is not always the right thing to do. It is certainly not the way to make breakthroughs, change paradigms or differentiate yourself from the competition. To do that you need to be creative. As anyone who has had the benefit of listening to him knows, Rory is a master of creative thinking. Customer insight As marketing agencies and practitioners begin to help their clients emerge from lockdown, I’ve had my own simple lesson in how doing the obvious thing is not necessarily the right thing. Europe’s largest golf driving range, World of Golf London, was among the first consumer leisure venues to get business moving again, when they opened their doors on May 18
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Copywriting – stick to the rules
There's at least a couple of our team members who would claim to be decent copywriters. People who understand some key rules, such as: Write for your audience Avoid overlong sentences Have structure Be human - show some personality Edit and Edit again Thoroughly proof… Clients even pay us to do this. So, its with some risk that I make the following confession, albeit in my volunteer capacity as Chairman of Tring Park Cricket Club. Like all cricket clubs we rely heavily on the goodwill of sponsors and at the end of the season, it is only right and proper that I should convey a sincere thank you for their generous support. However, when doing so, it's probably not a great idea to start the correspondence: Dear Fiends….. Yes, it's a true story and fortunately one that our sp
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Marketing tips from the Edinburgh Fringe
Hello My heart goes out to fledgling Edinburgh Fringe performers. With artists attracted by ‘the dream’ from all over the world, competition for the bums is intense and every marketing decision is a big one. Reflecting on my visit this year, it’s becoming ever clearer to me, what good Fringe marketing looks like. A great flyer/poster design Whilst it’s hard not to worry about the amount of paper on display (some serious recycling required), there’s no doubt that a cracking poster design can help grab attention. The design needs to smack the reader in the face with the core proposition – for a stand up comic this can be as simple as a top notch, creative mug shot – suitably compelling proof points such as review stars and quotes, and the essential details of whe
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