My friend James Hammond, the Brand Doctor, sent me this (he studies everything and often mortifies me by producing stuff I never heard of). It is written by Neil French. I don’t know how you make it big enough to …
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Some thoughts about banks – and how come people fall for all this second rate guff?
Over the years I have seen both sides of most of the big banks in this country. I’ve done work and had business or personal accounts with them and they are bloody useless in both areas. Lloyds Bank is deep …
Read MorePolitics and marketing: why I won’t shut up no matter how much it bores you
Two weeks ago one of the speakers at EADIM took me aside and made some helpful suggestions. One was that I should stop writing about politics – “I find it infuriating” he said. He said I should stick to marketing, …
Read MoreDoes this piss you off as much as it does me? Plus a great joke
I’ll explain what the picture’s about in a minute. First though, a moan and a warning. Dodgy sales people for years used a technique called bait and switch. They would offer you something free or very cheap to lure you …
Read MoreOne simple thing you can do now that will transform your business – I guarantee it
I’ll tell you what the simple thing is in a minute, but first some relevant thoughts. 25 years ago David Ogilvy sent me the notes for a speech he was to make at a direct marketers’ convention, asking for my …
Read MoreThoughts on India, the decline of the west and all that happy stuff
There’s a very interesting piece in today’s New York Times about the sudden interest in politics among the Indian middle class. They’ve finally got fed up with the astounding level of corruption in Indian politics – the problem being that …
Read MoreFishminster? Pissminster! How to lose a customer forever – even if you sell something superb. Plus the problem with big organisations – and a songbird
Yesterday, my stomach rumbling happily, I strolled into an excellent (if expensive) fish and chip joint near me called Fishminster. (Why the odd name? They belong to Pieminster, a highly successful pie makers that started up in Bedminster in Bristol). …
Read MoreDid you get my insane EADIM half price, easy terms offer? Here’s what one delegate wrote, verbatim
O.K., enough wit and wisdom. This is naked commerce – about EADIM. It ended three days ago, and I’ve started promoting next year already with a ludicrous deal. Why so soon? If you don’t know, then you don’t know enough …
Read MoreHow one firm thrives in a recession – in a medium some people think is dead or dying
In 2002, Gartner the brilliant research experts said that by 2010 direct mail would “almost be a half-remembered relic”. Well, stone me! How strange that Mailbird, a relatively small firm that does nothing but send out direct mail fore clients, …
Read MoreTesco stinks, Sainsbury and Waitrose deliver; with a salute to Rory Sutherland
Unless you’re in the business or slightly mad I don’t suppose you spend much time following the battle between the supermarkets – but I am slightly mad, and occasionally hopping mad, too. Last year I bought some foul smelling cod …
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