Out of the imagination of a single mother came one of the greatest modern stories of all time. How can a bespectacled, very ordinary orphan with quaint magical powers, spawn such enormous success for one J. K. Rowlings? Now the richest women in the U.K. her make believe prodigy, Harry Potter is the most famous story of the century. So much fame and so simple a formula – that of the great art of story telling.
Explore our historical blog articles for nuggets of wisdom (and random musings) from our crew.
Recently, I noted a comment from someone responding to one of our many blogs. Although not the essence of their comment, they suggested, that most technical intellect resided with the masters who live in the city and that regional based organisations like ours, possesses less knowledge or talent than metro agencies.
While I accept that this is a popular misconception, I think we should perhaps enter the debate, not so much in defence of where we live but more generally to ask the question, exactly where does commercial intellect reside?
One of the most dangerous practices in marketing is product diversification. Encouraged by CEO’s, accountants and shareholders, such strategies are implemented in the name of value adding, maximisation, potentialisation, use of by-product etc. It is revered as a panacea for easy growth and profitability.
Each year I write a Christmas blog. Each year I’m full of hope. Each year I’m glad to be alive and each year I pray the world will get a little better.
One of the most told stories at Christmas, second only to the Gospel’s nativity, is ‘A Christmas Carol’. This Dickensian classic, tells the story of individual reformation by a certain Ebaneza Scrooge whose life is transformed by the visitation of three ghosts. The story has always intrigued me because it has so many timeless messages and because of a personal reformation of my own.
Dickens wrote the book at a time when England had forgotten the spirit of Christmas and the treatment of the poor by the upper classes was at its most heartless. I suspect it was a ‘pricking of the Country’s conscious’ and its ability to awaken our deepest awareness is still impacting and effective today. I wonder what Dickens might have made of today? What, in the year 2010, might he have written that could have begun the process of transformation for us twenty first century occupants of planet earth?
There’s an elephant in every board room – and it’s us the marketers. Let’s not kid ourselves, left brain managers don’t think much of right brain marketers’ opinions. Why should they?
I’ve yet to meet a ‘Do It Yourself Brain Surgeon’ but I’m sure if it were physically possible there would be a website to promote it along with the usual instructions for pituitary tumours, brain aneurism etc. A vital advancement in the field of medicine, brain surgery is a mystery to most of us but one we all agree is best left to someone else, preferably someone with great skill.
My journey to the CBD recently wasn’t that unusual, although I have to admit I stay away from the maddening crowd these days. It was a pleasant enough day but I couldn’t help notice the predominance of red and white signs signifying the retail heartbreak of the ‘SALE’. I admit that I don’t respond like other people when it comes to shopping, but on this occasion I couldn’t help thinking that the only businesses that are making money out of the proverbial SALE are the chaps who make the signs and posters.