New work: a microsite for The Commonwealth

As I write, an important gathering is taking place in London. Heads of government and other leaders from the Commonwealth’s 53 member states are meeting here, all week. “Big deal,” many Londoners might say. And I, too, might have said it, in my ignorance of what the Commonwealth does. Like a lot of people, I […]

The way we work now

This coming week, I’ll be doing something unusual: working in an agency. I’ve not done that since last August. In the not-too distant past, I nearly always went into agencies. Increasingly though, I and other freelancers are working either remotely – usually from home – or directly to clients on their premises. Even when we’re […]

How well do you know your audience?

As good marketers and their agencies know, there are two essential bits of information copywriters need before starting work: 1.        A description of the people we’re selling to (your audience or market) 2.        What needs to be said to those people (your proposition) Pretty basic, you say? Well you’d be surprised by a lot of […]

Could a copywriter have saved HMV, Blockbuster and other high street chains from bankruptcy?

Creatives don’t think like chartered accountants. Most of us don’t know how to run a big organisation. We don’t know what management consultants know. Even so, we can and do see things that so-called business experts don’t. Coming from outside a client’s business, we have a fresh perspective. We get to know their business and […]

Mouthwatering marketing in Shoreditch

The past few weeks, I’ve been working in The Tea Building, the former Lipton Tea warehouse, in Shoreditch, E1, an interesting, edgy area: a mixture of dilapidation and gentrification. There are quite a few new businesses here, but no central gathering place where everyone goes to shop and eat. So the retailers in the Box […]

The new business opportunities right in front of you

Do you spend too much time trying to get new customers, when you could use it more effectively winning it from existing ones? Some years ago I was freelancing at a big, famous agency. I noticed they never seemed to pitch and I thought perhaps they’d lost their edge and were failing to get on […]

Four tips to help you avoid producing junk mail

No one should write, produce or have to receive junk mail. It wastes marketing budgets, not to mention precious natural resources. And it annoys vast numbers of recipients who aren’t interested in what’s on offer. The following is an account of an experience I had. I hope it will help you prevent your direct mail […]

A new life for old media: 10 examples of online brands using TV, print and DM

Some say traditional advertising is dead. Or dying pretty quickly. They say we’re living in a post-advertising age, where the “interruptive” ad no longer works. I say nonsense. Below are examples of companies using old media to grow their digital-age brands. Before jumping ahead though, allow me to indulge in a little rant. Not so […]