Keats from blackandwhite.co.uk and I went on a press pass to sign-off an 800,000 run door drop leaflet, Not pictured here is Keats' baby who slept throughout despite the noisy environment.

www.flickr.com

This piece from Copyblogger on David Ogilvy reminds us that his advertising principles are equally applicable to the current shift from traditional advertising towards social media marketing (particularly blogging and on-line communities):

“The headline is the ‘ticket on the meat.’ Use it to flag down readers who are prospects for the kind of product you are advertising.”

“On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar.”

“I don’t know the rules of grammar… If you’re trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something, it seems to me you should use their language, the language they use every day, the language in which they think. We try to write in the vernacular.”

“I have a theory that the best ads come from personal experience. Some of the good ones I have done have really come out of the real experience of my life, and somehow this has come over as true and valid and persuasive.”

“Good copy can’t be written with tongue in cheek, written just for a living. You’ve got to believe in the product.”

“The more informative your advertising, the more persuasive it will be.”

“What really decides consumers to buy or not to buy is the content of your advertising, not its form.”

“A good advertisement is one which sells the product without drawing attention to itself.”
“Nobody has ever built a brand by imitating somebody else’s advertising.”

That's still bang on the money...

Love this Old Spice Viral from Wieden & Kennedy
featuring Bruce Campbell (yes him from the Evil Dead)

I've added a widget to this blog to help with my fundraising for the London Marathon. All money raised goes towards the NSPCC's Full Stop campaign to end child abuse.

The approach I'm trying to take this time is to view the big day on April 22nd as a reward for all my training. The hard work really goes on during days like today. It's dark, cold, very wet, it's far too early in the morning and I'm facing a 4 mile fast tempo run. Help!

This is the killer image for a new door drop campaign for blackandwhite.co.uk which we're really excited about. The piece goes on to explain why money doesn't have to be complicated and that blackandwhite.co.uk can help simplify your finances. The campaign goes live in March.

Over a good lunch at Le Mont at Urbis in Manchester I was discussing with someone who has been there, done it and presumably made a few quid, how best to plan for growth. So what magic ingredients are there for growing an agency. He said there were 3 key factors:

We are a team of 9 and now looking to recruit a couple of people to help manage several new business wins and to facilitate growth over the next 12 months. We need a senior A/D to work on developing the agency. It needs to be someone who can think strategically, has plenty of agency experience and is willing to help progress projects (ie get their hands dirty!). To assist them we are also looking at recruiting an Account Exec/Manager. No vast agency experience needed just a willingness to learn.

Freelance creatives

We are currently looking for additional support from a freelance copywriter and art director.



Please contact David Patrick on 01889 564931
or email ask@yesagency.co.uk