It seems like a new gadget comes up on the web every five minutes. The latest must-do thing to join up to. And as a complete gadgetphobe I initially sneer at them all. That, combined with the fact that I hate the phrase ‘web 2.0′ even more than ‘brand building’ or ‘multi-media’ or even the use of ‘old school’ to describe any hip hop more recent than 1990 and you can see I don’t make a natural Social Networker. However, this post is all about what can be done when you make use of the right tools at the right time to plug your business.
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andy marketing, strategy
Comedy series Flight of the Conchords pretty much passes me by to be honest. Could just be my dislike of comedy in songwriting. Sometimes though, it throws up a gem, and this is certainly one. It provides perhaps the definitive example of Qualifying Statements put to music.
“And when you’re on the street, depending on the street,
I bet you are definitely in the top three,
Good lookin’ girls on the street.
(Depending on the street).”
The joke throughout the whole thing is a play on the exagurated claims of R&B stars on the qualities of the lady they have just met. The girl that the Conchords meet is beautiful, sure, but they make sure that they keep the claims they make about her in perspective.
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andy strategy
The past 6 months I’ve been elevating the importance of landing pages in my projects. Typically it’d only be the homepage that I’d paid substantial efforts on. However, with my increased efforts on pay-per-click campaigns, and SEM, I wanted make sure the page that visitors first see continues the experience of where they’ve come from and removes barriers to them actioning either first contact or a sale.
So here, I’ve brought together some of the real world examples of psychological tricks people use in the real world attention locations that translate superduper well to landing pages, and are things that you should definitely consider on your landing page design.
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Paolo marketing, strategy
With all the fuss recently about MP’s expenses it’s easy to forget that there’s an angle here for us lot tightening our belts in the recession – don’t forget to claim for yourself!
For business owners that means getting proper invoices from all your suppliers and outsourced jobs. Detail all office expenditure and petty cash. Get yourself a good accountant. If he finds things to claim for that you haven’t thought of that’s probably a good start.
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andy planning, strategy
I have spent so much time deslugging the garden lately. Wondering round in the rain or in the half-light with a bucket, gloves and salt picking up slugs and snails in the bucket and then salting them before they can escape up the sides. Then the next day the whole salty, slimy mess gets poured down the drain in the street and I start again.
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andy whinging
I went to lunch at the new River Cottage cafe in town. I have to say that the food was faultless. That and the values he runs the place by make it a winner but there was a one, quite big problem: the cost.
The prices charged were presumably so high because no corners were cut in the ethical sourcing of ingredients (that and Bath’s sky-high business rates!) and, as I mentioned, the quality of what was on the plate was fantastic. But there was an issue with the overall experience. The setting was nice (in the foyer of an old cinema) and the decoration simple and taseful but really basic. On the downside, the chairs were uncomfy, the presentation sloppy, the portions small, the staff were forgetful and the service chaotic.
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andy Brands, marketing
Recently I’ve been looking for an idea for an iphone app to develop. Apple have announced they’ve had over 1 billion app downloads, which makes it a recession busting industry, and one that it’d be very nice to be a part of. Here are some of the ideas that didn’t make my final cut:
twitterpunch
Ever wondered why you tweet pictures of your cat, tweet about the cost of organic food, or tweet about your social incompetence? Help is at hand, this app will punch you every time you twitter; not just when you do lame, naval gazing tweets.
boat
Useful if you are stuck on an island based reality tv show with 12 muppets and a conflict-baiting camera crew.
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Paolo Brands, downturn, marketing, recession
My company is planning regular ‘work for free days’ throughout the spring and summer. Working for free is a sticky one. Why would you do anything that wasn’t going to make you money? For one thing, we’re in a recession. But just because money is tight doesn’t mean we shouldn’t explore the opportunities to get our name, and our work, out there that won’t come any other way.
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andy marketing, strategy
Anyone who knows me will know I’m a bit of a gadgetphobe. I dislike getting new bits of kit because it’s something new to learn how to use, it’s probably not as good as the thing it’s replacing (or worse, it’s not replacing anything in particular) and, let’s face it, it’s bound to go wrong and then there’s the hassle of taking it back to the shop or ringing up to arrange a return and then having to wait in all day for DHL to pick it up and then chasing it when it still hasn’t re-appeared in a month and then arranging another day to wait in while DHL deliver it to your neighbours…
So it’s no suprise for my friends to hear me being snooty about the iPhone and Similar Devices Too Small To Look At The Internet With. And how I sneered at the advert about Apps: The things that let you know where to go out to eat, or calculated how to divide the bill between friends just made me angry as they all seemed to be over-engineering solutions for problems that don’t really exist, or making stupid people think that they can work something out that would be easier if they just gave it a go themselves!
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andy marketing, strategy
Walkers crisp’s new ad campaign is very clever and works from most angles. It has involvement from the public at all stages and a great TV ad (unlike the horrendously misjudged ‘Mud, glorious mud’ from last year!). The supporting website is bloated and not very well thought out, but even there the content is good.
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andy Brands, marketing
Paolo - glorious leader of 
Andy - runs a 