Going the extra mile makes all the difference

I called The Eden Project today to speak to their web team. While is was put on hold the hold music made a real difference. It wasn't the usual musak or maybe even jungle music or they could have tried bird song. No they stayed totally on theme and gave me a quick fact.

Did you know that scientist in Japan found a 10,000 year old Magnolia seed. They planted it and to their amazement it grew

The only problem was that as I was on hold for a while the same fact was repeated again. It's the first time I've call them so maybe they change it each day. I'll call again tomorrow and let you know.

If they only have this one it's a shame and they should think about at least adding 10. They have so many stories they should ensure they tell them.

Disagreeing with Seth

It's a first. This morning I read Seth Godin's blog as I do every morning.

Today however I was surprised to see that for the first time I disagree with him.

In his post Letters, Brochures and Email he says that you should never write an email like a Direct Marketing letter. I think he should have added a caveat that you should never write like that if it's a one to one email with a colleague or customer you are interacting with. But when you are trying for a sale of any kind, long direct marketing writing is what wins.

The theory has been tested to death over the years before the Internet was even thought of. I'm sure it's horses for courses but sorry Seth don't agree.

The Demise of Sheffield United

For my sins I'm a Sheffield United fan. As you may know we were relegated from the Premier League last season under very strange circumstances.

Just found this amazing Hitler/Sheffield United Clip on YouTube.

Enjoy!

Marketing Art - David Hockney at Salts Mill

This weekend I visited Salts Mill in Bradford to visit the permanent David Hockney exhibition. For those who don't know, Hockney is one of the world's most celebrated "pop" artists. Andy Warhol is one of his contemporaries.

Hockney was born and bred in Bradford so it's a great testament to the city to combine a great old Mill complex at Saltaire with the city's most famous son.

Inside the Mill is where things are really cleverly marketed. The whole thing is run on the basis of a museum so it's free to enter and look around. Where the marketing comes in is with the congruency of the things available to buy. In the centre of the gallery are hundreds of high quality books on all subjects for all ages. On the second floor is a restaurant dedicated to Hockney. Not some fake themed thing. They just hang great original artwork and photographs around and combine it with great food. The queue to be seated is massive.

To tie in with this there's a great shop selling top line home ware. The shop has Le Corbusier and other great designers, at £3000 for a chair this is no ordinary home store.

Because Salts Mill has carefully chosen what they display and who they display it to, no one feels marketed to. And that's the really, really clever bit.

Raising cash for Barnardo's

At Applied Language we're raising cash for Barnardo's who have a fund running in Huddersfield for homeless children.

We're walking from Meltham near Huddersfield to Saddleworth near Manchester. It's about a 10 mile walk but it starts at a sandwich van and ends at a pub so it won't be too bad.

Here's a picture from last years walk. That's me in the hat at the back.

If you'd like to donate to this worthy cause then please visit the charity page I set up and give as much as you can.

Anthony Gormley - Another Place

Yesterday I went to Liverpool to see Anthony Gormley's Another Place. To describe it is quite difficult, essentially it's a beach full of statues of Anthony Gormley all looking out to sea.

As the tide comes and goes the water rises up and over some figures while others only get half submerged. As they stand there the sea takes it's toll and seaweed and barnacles grow on the statues. The beach is so large and there and so many figures it's actually quite spooky. It was raining when I visited which just added to it.

Interpreters needed

Sorry to keep posting about the day job but these things have to be done. Applied Language are expanding into interpreting and are looking for highly skilled interpreters to sign up at our online portal www.talkbase.net.

If you are an interpreter or a translator then visit the site now and add all your details. All the work is freelance so you can even fit it around your day job. We are looking for all languages but particularly Asian ones.

We offer face to face as well as telephone interpreting and you can choose which you'd prefer to do.

Looking for a link builder in India

As part of the website development for my daytime job at Applied Language I'm looking for a link builder to work from our Indian Office. The website ranks really well in Google and receives over 120,000 unique visitors each day. Here's the job description please email me if you are interested

• Contacting website owners via email and phone
• Ensuring that the links are “clean” and pass back Google Page Rank value to our site
• Ensuring that all links are relevant
• Managing the negotiation of link exchanges
• Hitting targets for numbers of links gained
• Regular progress reports
• Liaison with the Marketing team and webmaster

Essential Requirements

• Knowledge of Internet marketing techniques
• Knowledge of Google webmaster rules
• Strong English language skills
• Good IT Skills