The agency: I’m sure they hid the brief somewhere in this 82 page document Did you know that pizza is a major food group? Find what we did last time and change the client logo There is a Hell and it’s name is Powerpoint Yes, they do run trains at 5am Time waits for no … Continue reading A very cynical view of both sides of the pitch process (written by someone who probably needs a holiday)
Category: clients
The New Normal #2 – if it moves, research it
So, after looking at the New Normal of measuring client’s bravery and budget we move on to part two – attitudes towards market research. Desk research tools like TGI and Mintel are becoming increasingly unhelpful as we slide deeper into this recession. Data that was collected twelve or eighteen months ago in happier economic times … Continue reading The New Normal #2 – if it moves, research it
the New Normal – measuring how far client’s bravery (and budget) will stretch
Firstly, apologies for the lack of activity here in the last week or two, the result of being manically busy at work combined with a horse-so-lame-it-has-to-go-to-the-horse-hospital crisis. Anyway. I’ve been thinking a lot about what is the New Normal, by which I mean what has shifted as a resulted of the downturn economy, but isn’t … Continue reading the New Normal – measuring how far client’s bravery (and budget) will stretch
we didn’t budget for this…
Via Lenise comes this great look at the current state of the vendor/client relationship. I have so been there…
Is research helping us find the right answer – or just one that isn’t wrong?
With the economy making everyone increasingly risk averse, it seems to me that Jon Steel's adage about clients using research not as a navigational tool but to protect themselves and their career from a fiery end is becoming increasingly apt. With limited research budgets and risk averse clients it can be very tempting to use … Continue reading Is research helping us find the right answer – or just one that isn’t wrong?
public service by committee
This has been winding me up on my way in to work for weeks. First Bus in Leeds promises a regular service on their special UniLink service, every 10 mins. Well actually, that’s not true. It’s really up to every 10 mins most of the day I'm willing to bet this was a classic case of … Continue reading public service by committee
the letters we sometimes wish we could send
Re-reading Victoria Routledge's chick-lit debut Friends Like These, I found the most brilliant letter from the heroine PR exec to her client: Dear Miranda, I am delighted to enclose the proof of your Spring/Summer promo brochure. We are thrilled with the finished version and hope you will love it as much as we do. Everyone … Continue reading the letters we sometimes wish we could send
Clients behaving badly
New Business is turning into a bit of a farce at the moment. A client I pitched for in November (who announced within 24 hours that we were down to the final two agencies) let us know today that they’d finally made the decision to appoint the other lot. That’s three months it took them … Continue reading Clients behaving badly
Can anyone top this?
Client at inter-agency client meeting: “Thank you all for coming today, but there are quite a lot of you and its crowded, so can we just have one person per company and the rest of you can leave”. Yes, it really happened. Can anyone top this?