Posts

Charities can help build your business 19th October 2014 11:59 PM

I'm a big fan of the AirAmbulance ad we have done things like donating a laptop for fund raising, included their logo on our own offline marketing, and outside of the business I donate to them.

It's obvious PR capital and I like the idea of a charity that really does cover all boundaries, races, backgrounds, beliefs etc. No one ever knows if they will ever need an Air Ambulance, but you can be pretty sure you won't find many people that would refuse help from one if needed.

I do think you have to be careful and consider your own business and brand when looking at charities, as do charities when looking at businesses. Some charities can rightly or wrongly cause emotive reactions, and if some of those are from your customer base, it could impact sales/revenue.

Thanks for this post:

Thanks from: abfabcards

UKIP - Political Party or a marketing master-class? 19th October 2014 11:25 PM

Originally Posted by abfabcards

“I think the rise of UKIP is down to Conservative and Labour Governments that has kept the UK on the outskirts of Europe rather than be a major player and working more closer with Germany and France. ”

That's a pretty fair argument. Like it or not, geographically we are in Europe. We might try and align ourselves to America for exports, or maybe Asia, but I suspect we conduct more trade on our European doorstep.

Personally I'm not a fan of European meddling in local affairs, but why not have a strong voice inside Europe fighting and protecting UK trade, rather than a whinger in the wings

Thanks for this post:

Thanks from: abfabcards

Vehicle Sign Writing - choose your colours wisely 17th October 2014 1:23 PM

Following in a similar vain to our Taxi promotion, I was following a builders van the other day on the way to the office.

A lovely brand new silver van with white lettering

It was obviously professionally done and was a lovely job, apart from the fact you couldn't see the white logo or read any of the text. Even stationary behind him it was a struggle to read his name. Surprised the vehicle sign writer didn't suggest a different colour like black or blue?

Maybe it was one of the those "what the customer wants the customer gets"

Oil price at a new low 17th October 2014 9:06 AM

Managed to fill up at £1.20 at Tescos the other day, a combination of 8p off using Tesco points and a fuel price of of £1.28. Finally feels like fuel prices are going the right direction from the highs of £1.50+.

Sub £1 by xmas? Or am I seeing flying pigs with everyone else

What 16th October 2014 3:42 PM

So Barney, how about keeping this cat in your house?

I think this is one for Darwins theory of Natural Selection and removing some people from the gene pool

There really are some stupid people in the world. Hopefully the Lion ended up at a safari park or back in the wild!

Tesco shares price drops 16th October 2014 3:11 PM

I thought this would brighten up your busy day Clive.

Just playing with the new Google panels and saw this one for Tescos Share price:

So anyone fancy investing? Even Warren Buffet is bailing out according to the Beeb.

Could be a good long term punt, or how low will it go before it recovers? Reminds me of the good old RBS/Lloyds share crash

Own up, who talks to their phone? Apparently teenagers do 16th October 2014 3:01 PM

Google has done a survey to see who uses it's voice search technology, in other words who talks into their phone to do a google search.

I'll admit I'm all for a StarTrek computer I can talk to and will happily throw my keyboard in the bin, but I'm not convinced we're quite there yet

But it seems Teenagers are quite happy to according to Google who are unsurprisingly more relaxed with new technology, while us old gits seem to think it's all a bit geeky.

Here is the link to Googles Mobile Voice Survey

For those adults that do use voice search, here's a good breakdown of what teenagers versus grownups use it for

So what do you think, anyone use voice search on their phones?

Google Boss says they are under threat from Amazon and Facebook 15th October 2014 10:47 AM

Very interesting article from Search Engine Land which you can read in full here:

Google faces threats from all sides, says Executive Chairman - Search Engine Land

Eric Schmidt the Google CEO has made a speech in Berlin to try and win over some of Googles biggest critics, answering some of the most common arguments.

I've got to be honest, he made some interesting points and argues his case well. I'm not sure how much sympathy "we are under threat from all corners" argument will get.

Not going to paraphrase the whole article, but there were notable takeaways:

"Searching on a mobile device is very different from a desktop computer. Speed and simplicity really matter. It’s why the best answer is quite literally … the answer"
"last year almost a third of people looking to buy something started on Amazon — that’s more than twice the number who went straight to Google."
"the most popular app in the world — including in Europe — is … Facebook"
"Don’t regulate us like a utility: No one is stuck using Google."
"A Google killer is almost inevitable: someone, somewhere in a garage is gunning for us. I know, because not long ago we were in that garage. Change comes from where you least expect it . . . The next Google won’t do what Google does, just as Google didn’t do what AOL did."

The full article is worth a read, but what do people think? Does the Google boss make a fair point or is it a well orchestrated PR campaign from a heavy weight giant?

Marketing Fail - confessions of a business owner 14th October 2014 5:28 PM

Whoops just accidentally deleted Clives post, sorry Clive

He put up a pic of the Taxi next to the helicopter

Never was very photogenic... The ambulance bod looks bored as well!

Marketing Fail - confessions of a business owner 14th October 2014 2:20 PM

Originally Posted by Barney

“So Steve how did the helicopter advertising work out? Taking into account no ones going to see it once it's airborne...

”

Aha cynic Although we support the Air Ambulance, we never made it to the actual helicopter for advertising, but the theory is certainly sound for the big boys that do. Whenever an Air Ambulance lands in a public area, it makes the papers. There normally always a big pic of the helicopter in the press and sometimes local TV.

Recent examples I can think of are when it landed nearby in a school play ground where it had to wait a while while paramedics went off to collect the casualty, plenty of people snapping pics which ended up in the press. When it has to land on roads or the motorway its big news, then there are ongoing PR shoots as the Air Ambulance Service brand expands, plus they have a huge social media following.

So not going to class that as a marketing fail, more like marketing inspiration