Direct mail is copy is what Andy Owen does – he was a client of mine a while ago and I am very grateful still to be on his newsletter list.  This month he publishes a rogues gallery of bad copy and bad on-page selling. I cringe most when creative agencies themselves do bad creative [...]








I rarely use support tickets with online service providers, preferring to research their knowledge base of articles instead. But when I get an answer like this with the log “Deemed Solved” it just makes me mad.   The details of my issue were not resolved by the first ticket I submitted.  Then, in order to [...]








How can you make the most from an error?  Get your customers back on track with 3 simple steps.  And some humor We all get loose ends and links that break on websites. It’s a fact of online marketing life.  So don’t stress – take our 3 steps and make the most of a bad [...]








Is it possible that a creative agency can build a pipeline of new business without having to respond to RFPs as a means of finding new leads? Two articles in my RSS feed today struck me today as being relevant to this topic The first is a slide deck from the excellent Courtney Pemberton and [...]








Reading the rules the IOC is imposing on athletes competing at London 2012, makes me cry out loud. IOC, STOP and THINK. You are potentially challenging the largest consumer-powered communication engine to a fight to the death and I think I know who’ll win. What is social media best known for – quick updates and [...]








There are times when apologies are needed in business.  Sometimes we can say it with good grace – other times a forced reply through gritted teeth is needed. Take a read of Benjamin Ellis on fine form writing about “Making an Apology”. He writes “as a bare minimum I expect A genuine acceptance that what [...]








What is ‘fair’ on the internet?  Should your brand engage in unscrupulous marketing techniques in order to gain ‘followers’ and raise brand awareness online?   Search engine optimisation is a bag of tools that can be used to drive brand popularity – but how far should you go? David Cushman writes a helpful explanation of the [...]








I am a great fan of the UK B2B Marketing magazine.  They have created a strong presence and a great monthly magazine within a couple of years of launch. I am subscribed to a few of their emails (although unsubscribing is an issue) and today received a message asking me “How are you using telemarketing [...]








Image by couchlearner via Flickr Reading Jay Baer’s recent post about truth and candour, I think he has got a great point. The RSS-reading public loves a screw-up – an opportunity to poke fun at hubris and pride brought low.  Domino’s is the most recent example of a long list of internet marketing screw-ups. He [...]








Image by tonylanciabeta via Flickr BBC's car programme, Top Gear, had a brilliant sequence in which Jeremy Clarkson and James May are sent to a 'London Advertising Agency' to make an advert about the new VW Scirocco Diesel. They arrive at "Goodyear, Stickleback and Bundsen Burner" and meet two execs….. who are they?  A bit [...]