Posts

Could your direct marketing be more personal?

A famous DM copywriter – I think it might have been Steve Harrison – once said that direct marketing isn’t sending customers a folded press advertisement. Nor, I would add, is it a press ad with an email address attached. When you communicate directly with an individual, it’s an opportunity to build a one-to-one relationship. […]

Do brand guidelines kill creativity?

If you’re ever really bored, bind your legs together with tape and try running around. You’ll feel like a copywriter trying to work with a typical set of brand guidelines – if the ones I’ve come across are anything to go by. It’s not easy trying to perform when you’re restrained by loads of rules. […]

Good old-fashioned DM: hand-written

Do you know the Canadian store department chain called The Bay? It’s part of The Hudson Bay Company, one of the oldest commercial corporations in the world, with a pretty impressive history – they used to be the de facto government in large parts of North America in fur-trading times. The last time I was […]