From the category archives:

Business communication

Dixons goes nuclear in ad war

October 7, 2009

Plenty has been said about Dixons’ comparison ads lately. They’re a blatant come-on aimed squarely at John Lewis, Harrods and Selfridges. They invite consumers to research with their competitors and then convert to Dixons for stronger pricing. This is primarily a drive for Dixons’ website, with their retail sites only operating at airports. The strapline [...]

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Social media is the new radio

September 25, 2009

I recently heard comedian Frank Skinner being interviewed by Dermot O’Leary on his Radio Two show. Skinner, former host of his own guest TV show which ran for six years, said that TV is rather unreal. With his makeup applied, his shirt choice amended to avoid a camera clash, specific timing, outtakes, warm ups, breaks, [...]

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The holy trinity of business

September 19, 2009

John Battelle recently said, ‘Marketing is now like moving quicksilver. The marketer is the publisher and visa versa; the consumer is now both… that we should rethink, ‘our brand in the market’ as, ‘our conversation with the market.’ I’d like to chirp a complimentary point about synergy with product (otherwise it’s all about the sell [...]

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Audi applies Technik

September 11, 2009

Audi is on the change. Silas Amos over at JKR Design blog praises their logo touch up and I agree. They’ve applied some Photoshop botox to rejuvenate their concentric circles and the font choice has been modernised. Not particularly noticable now but, when viewed on a timeline, the amendments/path of change becomes significant. Check out [...]

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Tweeting frustration

August 16, 2009

Just read Tom Asacker’s post on frustration and I needed to rebroadcast: Marketers, we need you now, more than ever, to be the voice of value creation for the benefit of your organizations and other brand constituents (customers, suppliers, communities, et al). So please don’t let the frustration, and persistence, of the Social Web ecosystem [...]

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4 principles of site design

August 12, 2009

A while ago, I had the pleasure of listening to Google’s Robert Swerling talk saliently about site design. The brief version of his presentation: Velocity – give it fast and let them get on with other things Visibility – don’t surprise consumers Value – provide real value Variation – never come out of beta (love [...]

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Facebook faux pas

July 8, 2009

The Times is reporting on a modern classic. The Facebook faux pas is a recent phenomenon witnessed too closely by the head of MI6 as he was outed by his wife on her Facebook wall. From the piece: …entries by his [Sir John Sawers'] wife Shelley on the social networking site have exposed potentially compromising [...]

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Open letters and airplanes

June 26, 2009

Dustin Curtis was so appalled by his experience at American Airlines’ website that he drew up a redesign and sent them an open letter. I did exactly the same thing recently. My aunt’s ouiji board is more in touch with web design and best practice than what a company had created for a young, energetic [...]

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The ascending of Adam & Eve

June 19, 2009

Adam & Eve are on the up. Not only did they win the John Lewis account earlier this year, but the ‘young communications company’ has also secured the enviable task of creatives at Williams F1. What an exciting and innovative client Williams F1 will be. Still, you can’t help but wonder what their view of [...]

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Little Chef does less talking

May 27, 2009

I’ve just caught up with my Sky+ recordings of Channel 4’s Big Chef Takes on Little Chef, where Heston Blumenthal worked on a revamp of the Little Chef restaurants (I know it finished weeks ago, but I’ve been busy, OK). The project finished successfully with the flagship Popham restaurant being rolled out nationwide, but the [...]

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Mind Map software review

May 20, 2009

I love making lists. Of course it’s nothing compared to the palpable pleasure of completion by crossing tasks off. But if you want to get multiple and complex lists out of their silos, you’re looking at making a mind map. You can botch these together in Word, Powerpoint or even Excel if you’re determined enough, [...]

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Is feedback for fools?

May 6, 2009

At first, ‘How did we do?’ sounds like a question designed around self-improvement, right? Wrong. It’s usually a worthless platitude on par with a client/supplier asking, ‘How are you?’ They don’t care that you had toothache or a head cold last month and that your fridge packed up last night. The overriding majority of people [...]

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Let down gently

February 27, 2009

Your supplier is very busy. You know this because you chased your order and were told so with plenty of excuses and apologies. I’ve always subscribed to the theory that if a customer phones you for an update on completion, you’ve failed. Not in a ‘call the administrators sense,’ but in a service world, the [...]

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Ramsay screams success

February 20, 2009

A business is an organic entity. Most stakeholders would wish their company to ‘grow’ but it can be ‘starved’ of orders, ‘bleed’ cash and ‘haemorrhage’ profits. Yet the biggest indicator of its living matter is the fact that people make a company (well, certainly the vast majority). The attitude of staff is the telling piece [...]

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Viral marketing double act

February 14, 2009

Viral campaigns are an enigma. Word of mouth is, by definition, viral, but marketers want much more bang for their brand communicating buck. How can you spread your ‘message’ by engaging users (and potential clients) exponentially without devaluing your brand or using slapstick comedy? Few marketers can claim to have pulled this business magic trick [...]

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Is Twitter like snow to UK business?

February 5, 2009

Twitter, much revered as THE social media application by those heavily engrossed within, also finds itself slammed as a catastrophic misspend of one’s precious time by those on the sidelines (if they’ve heard of it at all). It’s all very Yin and Yang. I got to thinking there’s a simile to be drawn with the [...]

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Santa did good

January 6, 2009

The visiting is done, so is the postman and the elves have earned their holiday. Yesterday saw the last of the gifts depart/arrive and I realised you know when people have really thought about you when your book tally outnumbers the smellies you’ve received. With a couple of leftovers from last year, I’ve now got [...]

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Will you battle to read ‘em?

December 20, 2008

Newspapers are in their twilight years. With every print run, they step closer to oblivion. Of course, you’re smart and you know full well that they exist for advertisers, not news, and there lies the rub: ad revenues are dwindling at an alarming rate. Oh, but what to do with that high brand equity and [...]

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Write like Ayrton Senna

December 8, 2008

The best advice anyone’s giving me regarding clearer communication is to write as Aryton Senna drove: fast. Take the shortest route and get there as quickly as possible. Remove all excess baggage. When done, look back and see if you can go even quicker. That leads me to ask how did this badly written nonsense [...]

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Detroit scores another own goal

November 24, 2008

If you and your peers needed $25 billion from the government because your misguided business is going belly up, how would you travel from Detroit to Washington? By private jet of course. Separately. After all, you’re too powerful to share. One congressman asked if they couldn’t have downgraded to first class? Tom Peters rants about [...]

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The busiest chap in the BBC?

November 9, 2008

Messrs Ross and Brand have given BBC executives many a sleepless night of late (and too many P45s) but my vote for the beeb’s employee of the month goes to their business editor, Robert Preston. Mr Preston’s opinion has been called on more in recent weeks than George W. was asked about the two presidential [...]

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Stats, lies and the Telegraph

October 26, 2008

A good while ago I heard website editor of the Telegraph.co.uk, Marcus Warren, being interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s The Message. He was quoting figures that showed 5 million new users for his site month on month. I’m sure Mr Warren is no different from hundreds of other managers and directors responsible for websites in [...]

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Listen loudly and learn lots

October 22, 2008

Web 2.0 and the new media aren’t about spamming the system to promote your goods and services. Okay, it’s exactly that for too many shysters out there. But I’d argue that if your clients are online, surely it’s logical for you to consider engaging them there. This is where authentic use of Web 2.0 tools [...]

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Chartered Marketing’s oxymoron

October 18, 2008

I recently attended the Chartered Institute of Marketing event, ‘Communication for profitable customer relationships.’ I wasn’t going to post about it, but the best speaker of the day (Dr Neil Hair) blogged about it and I wanted to join him. The day’s speakers were good, although Prof. Ballantyne from New Zealand was probably too academic [...]

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