Why food banks should BOGOF
Food banks have been in the news a lot. As has the bad guy of supermarket marketing tactics, the Buy One Get One Free deal. It’s time the two walked down the aisle together.
Don’t let data lead you astray
A decision this week by Parkrun, the folk behind the free 5km runs that take place up and down the UK each Saturday, reminded me of Donald Rumsfeld’s famous 2002 statement about “known knowns, known unknowns, and unknown unknowns.” Having clarity about what you do and don’t know is a priceless thing when it comes to assessing data and making decisions based upon it.
Trick or tree?
It’s said that the Inuit people have 50 different words for snow, and the Sami have 1,000 words for reindeer. This abundance allows subtlety and precision – something lacking in our culture where trees are concerned…
How to win a war of words
A war of words has been taking place on the sides of a bridge over the A46 near Bath. The white team and the grey team have been slugging it out for months. So far, the white team are way ahead. If the grey team want to strike a winning blow, they need to change tack... and colour.
Numbers count
We rely on and trust calculations done by computers, such as adding up the cost of the items in an online shopping cart. But it's important to know when the numbers in front of us don't feel right, figure out why they might be wrong, and what the brand in question is trying to do (or get away with).
Confounded and cursed!
5km into a 15km bike ride in an unfamiliar forest in the North Pennines, the waymarkers that had been regular and reliable suddenly deserted me. The outcome was two important factors to consider when planning communication.
Where’s your courtesy car?
Some car dealers and workshops see courtesy cars a necessary but unwelcome cost. But enlightened garages see them as a potentially wonderful marketing opportunity. And therein lies a lesson for us all.
Sherlock Homes
We invited some local estate agents around to value our house. Contrary to the popular stereotype, all were nice folk. The extremes of their approaches highlighted the some of the elementary traps many businesses fall into.
Don’t butter me up!
I was 18 and studying for my A-levels. One Saturday, I turned up for my part-time job at the local superstore and got called into my boss’s office. I came close to being fired as the previous week I’d made a mistake. A very, very big butter-based mistake...