There’s a nice little diary piece in December’s issue of the MRS’s Research magazine. It reports that the takeaway website hungryhouse.co.uk recons you can predict which 2 acts each week on X Factor will end up singing for survival based on the volume of orders made during their performance. The media also love trying to predict … Continue reading on polling, power and TV pickups
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a few things they never tell you about freelance life
I took the plunge as a Freelancer nearly six months ago - and haven't looked back. But if you're thinking of doing the same, there are a few things you should know: You will be introduced to, on average, twenty new people every week. All of whom will assume you know their names, job title and … Continue reading a few things they never tell you about freelance life
An ode to list writing – and why FMCG ad men should take note
If I ever get asked to speak at anything like an Interesting un-conference again and have to talk about another of my secret obsessions, I think I’d choose Lists. I love lists and I love list making. The mere act of writing everything down on a piece of paper makes me feel calmer and more … Continue reading An ode to list writing – and why FMCG ad men should take note
People Power is going to change AdLand’s playing field
If there’s been a theme to the fluffier (non royal wedding related) UK news over the past couple of weeks, it’s been People Power. From X Factor Wagner protest votes and Gillian McKeith’s 6th I’m a Celebrity trial in a row to the John Lewis cold doggy, People Power has been setting the agenda. It … Continue reading People Power is going to change AdLand’s playing field
John Lewis Christmas ad – have I found another version or perhaps a work in progress?
I’ve been doing a little online detective work this evening. I regularly pop over to AdAge to check out their Best Ads and the John Lewis Christmas ad is currently one of their top picks. Except it wasn’t the ad above. ‘Your Song’ had been replaced by ‘How Deep Is Your Love’. I have to … Continue reading John Lewis Christmas ad – have I found another version or perhaps a work in progress?
Interesting North – the report
So I was at un-conference Interesting North in Sheffield yesterday. It was fab. The premise of the Interesting conferences (normally held in London and organised by Russell Davies, but transplanted to the North by Tim Duckett) is about ‘a day of brilliant people talking about their secret obsessions’. Basically, it’s about Brain Food that you … Continue reading Interesting North – the report
“I don’t know what the budget is, but even if I did I couldn’t tell you”
Via Research Queen Shehnaz (who I am currently badgering for a Guest Post), comes this gem:
Copy heavy is lovely – so long as the audience can read it
Via Wikipedia, I stumbled across the staggering estimation that 100,000 pupils each year in the UK leave school ‘functionally illiterate’ – i.e. they cannot read or write well enough to deal with the everyday requirements of life in our society. This prompted me to start thinking about all the adults I know who have literacy … Continue reading Copy heavy is lovely – so long as the audience can read it
One for all the Market Researchers out there
I was stuck in a traffic jam yesterday flicking through radio stations and this witty ditty came on (to the tune of Billionaire): Original is here on Galaxy 105's website.
extracts from real telephone depth interviews
“my short term memory has gone, I could have read your mailer this morning and wouldn’t remember” “when did I first come into contact with [the organisation]? I’ve no idea, I’ve got a poor sense of time” “hang on, I’ll just take my hearing aid out”