Monthly Archives: July 2009

Great (and bad) straplines

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I found the following on Dangerous Thinking, a blog that unfortunately seems to have fizzled out. They are all examples of straplines seen on lorries in the UK.

Nando’s – poultry in motion.

Bargain Booze, making life richer for the pourer.

and another that the blog owner David Rosam liked a whole lot less, in fact he said, ”It’s just so oxymoronic!”

Specialists in all types of glass.

If you want to see how many “specialists in all types of glass” there are in the UK, try this Google search.

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How to increase your profits

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Ignore sales promotions, put your prices up and most customers probably don’t care…assuming they notice.

The “big four” of supermarkets, Asda, Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s, have increased the number of £1 promotional price tags 150% over the past year. This compared with a 6% increase in their general promotions, according to a report compiled on behalf of industry magazine the Grocer.

Source: BBC Magazine

The above article is an extract from an article about the rounding up of prices from 99p to £1. Do the maths: what might that equate to in increased annual profits? Simple and effective; this is a great example of pricing being used correctly in the marketing mix.

God, guns, guts and American pick-up trucks

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A sign of the times, and more than a little scary: Max Muller, an American motor dealer is giving away (voucher redemption) a Kalashnikov AK-47 to incentivise people to buy vehicle from his business Max Motors near Kansas City. Read the full story at Brand Republic.

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What are average earnings in the UK?

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According to the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), the “median” gross annual earnings in the UK are £20,801. If you are earning that sum a year it means that half the surveyed working population earns less than you and half more.

The BBC analysis of the ASHE survey shows that the top 25% of people have a gross annual salary of £31,759. The top 10% is from £44,881 and a gross annual salary of £58,917 gets you into the top 5%.

What are average earnings in the UK?

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Desperate telephone marketing

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Is this a sign of the times; desperate telephone marketing? I’m receiving more rude sales calls now than six months ago.

The latest was to my mobile from 01792 862544, a company called Mobiles 4 You. Apparently they are based at Mobiles 4 You UK Ltd, 24 College Street, Ammanford, Swansea, SA18 3AF with Company No.06619827.

Mobiles 4 You make out they are working on behalf of Vodafone. To my knowledge they are not. I wonder if Vodafone realise this and appreciate the brand damage being done?

They start babbling in some unintelligible version of English and never listen to the reply. On their second call I asked the caller to remove my details from their database; he just hung up. Why would anyone buy from such a company?

Times may be difficult for some, or in fact many, vendors but surely now is the time to listen to customers and not talk at them and annoy them.

Desperate telephone marketing

Clarity in laser eye surgery promotions

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If you saw a prize draw competition for laser eye care you may consider entering it. If it’s with Optical Express let me tell you what happens: they don’t enter you into the draw unless you are suitable as determined at a free consultation at an Optical Express laser eye surgery clinic. So actually this is a sales promotion not a prize draw I guess.

I entered my details on their site and got a phone call inside five minutes to book my appointment. I explained that an appointment was not needed if I had not won the prize draw. The Optical Express caller disagreed. So I ended the call there and then.

Personally I felt conned.

So you can make your own mind up, here is the competition. And here are the terms:

Terms & Conditions

This offer is open to UK and Republic of Ireland residents who visit our websites at http://uk.opticalexpress.com or http://ie.opticalexpress.com and complete a laser eye surgery enquiry form by entering their contact information and ticking the checkbox labelled “Win free treatment!”.

  1. The Optical Express prize draw takes place on the last day of each calendar month.
  2. One winner each month is entitled to free laser eye surgery.
  3. Treatment is subject to patient suitability as determined at a free consultation at an Optical Express laser eye surgery clinic.
  4. This prize is not transferable under any circumstances, even if the prize winner is deemed unsuitable for laser eye surgery following their consultation.
  5. The surgeon’s decision whether to proceed with treatment is final.
  6. There is no cash alternative available.
  7. Open only to UK and Republic of Ireland residents.
  8. One entry per person.
  9. Entrants must be over 18 years of age.
  10. Winners will be contacted each month by Optical Express after the competition has been drawn.
  11. Acceptance of the prize constitutes consent to use the winner’s name, written testimonial and photography for editorial and publicity purposes.
Clarity in laser eye surgery promotions

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