Customer Comms Round Up

Pret a Portabello: Name your price.

What’s the best thing about going to a market? Haggling for a bargain. In this email from Pret a Portabello, customers are given the opportunity to haggle down prices with a market trader. I had a go, going in for a pair of £65 trousers at £40, then pushing my luck until ‘we’ settled on £54. It felt pretty good. I doubt anyone believes there really is a little trader person sat haggling with you, but who cares?
Regardless of whether or not you’re up against a person or a piece of code, the fact that you’ve bargained down the price of something makes it that little bit sweeter. You’ve worked to get to that price, and now you’ve got there, you’re jolly well going to buy the goods, thank you very much. I think this is a really clever, confident move for this brand, and I hope to see it elsewhere. Click here

Subject Lines that make us :)

Now for another trend I’ve noticed recently - pictures in subject lines. It started out with an ‘ickle aeroplane from STA, then daily deals site Wahanda started sneaking the odd loveheart into their headline. Then there were stars from Tastecard. And you know what? They stick out like a sore thumb.  Like many people, my email inbox has fast becoming a filing system for daily deal sites and various random brands. It’s nice to see something different, and this really cuts through. Here are a few screen grabs to illustrate..

I wonder how long it'll take before these icons become commonplace, and stop having so much stand out? How creative will headline art go? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Think of the possibilities!  

easyJet: As one Summer ends, another begins.

The heating’s on, X-Factor is in full swing, and the air-con's finally started working in the office. It can all only mean one thing – Summer is officially over. But according to easyJet, Summer 2013 starts today!  The reason ‘Summer Starts Now’ works so well is that initially, for a split second, the reader feels uncomfortable. ‘What? Summer doesn’t start now. It’s October. Summer is, like, SO over.’ This initial discomfort makes the realisation of the benefit even more appealing. ‘Oh! It might feel like Summer’s over, but I can get next Summer started today by booking a holiday!’. 
Following this with the ‘release’ of their Summer schedule makes it all feel very exciting, as though the easyJet summer schedule is on par with an eagerly anticipated festival line-up, or a batch of exclusive tickets. ‘We just wanted to let you know..’ isn’t pushy, it feels polite. It’s as though they’re saying, ‘We’ve come up with a bloody good idea for a way for you to save money on your holiday. Take it or leave it.’ This makes the customer feel as though they’re making the decision off their own back. They’re not being given the ‘hard sell’-  just being made aware. Click here

Lauren Took

Our Creative Briefing Seminar.

Our planning department recently took over a small conference room, deep in the cellars of a fine London establishment, for an entire morning of workshop fun. The aim of the session was to teach the audience not only how to write, but also procure, assess and deliver the perfect creative brief.

This session was created specifically for the not-for-profit sector, and thanks to our preliminary survey, we knew each of the 19 attendees were looking to get something slightly different from the session. This allowed (and obliged) us to cover an awful lot over a relatively short period. Cue four hours of exercises, discussions, best practice pointers, coffees, teas and texts - we even had a few healthy disagreements to go with the rather unhealthy pastries.

Over the morning, we tackled important questions such as why a creative brief is so important, what different types there are and when each should be used. We also looked at the different sections of a brief and which tend to be unanimous across different templates - even if the way they're expressed isn't.

With this in mind, we tried to shed some light on what we should include about our target audience in order to deliver a perfect brief, and also tackle that tricky question; what really is an insight? We ventured into the turbulent waters of the 'single minded proposition', but hopefully, came out with a good understanding of both its purpose and challenges.

Had we had more time we would've spent longer discussing why the briefing is just as important as the actual brief. We don't just slip it under the creative's door and leg it, rather we should take the opportunity to involve them in the story. We should inspire them to create, not tell them to perform.

Somehow we managed to cover everything else and even had time for a couple of questions. The lovely group of attendees made the workshop a real pleasure to run and their generous input and interaction was insightful, interesting and invaluable to the success of the morning. Initial feedback after the event showed it was well worth the effort (with lots of happy customers).

We can't wait for the next one.

Dom Roe

Smarter Creative

All agencies try it. A positioning. A tag line. A mission statement. Or even a 'product'. We've all heard them. Sniffed at them. Laughed at them. Done them. Stuff about engineers. Change. Ideas. Delivering results in a digital world; for tomorrow.

While some of them are conceived for noble and important reasons: differentiation, edge, unification, purpose; most appear to be little more than guff. Guff that's only worthy for the sides of logistics lorries on the M6.

So when our biggest brains sat round a white board a couple of years back, expectations weren't sky high. The time had come to wrestle with the universally hoary problem - who are we? And what do we stand for?

After kicking word farts around for a while, a timid hand was raised and suggested Smarter Creative. 

The angels passed over. Silence descended. No one could find fault. The beauty and simplicity was totally understood by the gathered noggins. We all got it. Instantly. 

And two years on, we're still getting it. And thankfully, our clients are too.

In the oft and infuriatingly misappropriated words of Al Young and Trevor Robinson's brilliance for Ronseal; it did exactly what it said on the white board (add that one to the out-of-context-and-lame reference list. Sorry Al.)

So, when asked to add some wordage to our blog about Smarter Creative, I said what any self-respecting CD would say, "What is there not to get? It doesn't need explaining... surely?" (Add in lots of swears where appropriate.)

I lost. So here I am.

As a simple soul, I can only keep it simple. So here goes:

Smarter Creative means that the work we do gets to the right people at the right time with the right message.

Sounds a bit like direct marketing? Fair enough. But what makes the smart bit smarter is that we use the latest techniques, technology, insights, methods and science available. Oh, and forgotten sorcery like intuition, experience and sometimes - uh oh - pure guess work.

And you know what? It works. And makes my life a lot easier. Once all the really hard stuff is done, doing the creative bit is comparatively a doddle.

It's not alchemy. Earth shatteringly new. Original. Scientifically significant. Or even proprietary. Just common sense.

OK, our creative folk end up knowing just as much about collaborative filtering, link building, prospect pool building, insight engines and Net Promoter scores as they do about subordinate clauses, Berthold type libraries (ask your Dad kids), choosing the right director's reel or latest hot-stuff animator.

But it makes them smarter.

Which makes the work smarter.

And that's it. No weighty words fit for a TED talk or text book.

Just the simplicity of the thought that got us all to get behind it in the first place.

So now you know.

Chris Martin

Claydon's Heels Live to Run Another Day.

Has it really been a year already? 

It seems like only yesterday that Claydon's Heels last ran the LGN Inter Advertising 5km in Regent's Park.

But the team reformed (with members both old and new) and achieved a vastly improved result on last year's last place - they came 21st out of 27 teams.

Well done healthy colleagues!

Top: Jules, Amit, Ali, Steve, Richie, Muz
Bottom: Lauren, Alex, Tanya, Hannah, Eve

And an extra special well done goes to Jules who came third overall (out of the women, but she also out-ran a lot of blokes).  Here she is on the podium:

 Well done to everyone who took part.

You should probably all wash your trainers now though...

Running a Planning department is like herding cats.

I've decided that Account Planners are like cats. Speaking generally they are intelligent, independent and occasionally neurotic. Some would add that they are also rarely seen during the day. This is because they are at research groups, or briefing creatives in a stimulating, off-site location like London Zoo.

When it comes to running a planning department, I have become acutely aware just how like cats planners are.

Let's be more specific.

The pedigree breeds.

Sometimes you'll have the pure breed planners who come to you having done nothing except account planning. These come with the distinct advantage of being trained already. The disadvantage is that, like the Siamese cat, they can be very vocal. They will tell you (repeatedly) that they know the best way of approaching a brief/what makes a great creative idea/the ideal stimulus for your research group. If you hire a pure breed, check with their previous owner to make sure they will fit in with your agency's way of doing things. An unhappy pure breed planner that doesn't fit in often ends up causing havoc, upsetting fellow planning cats as well as its new owners.

Not all pure breeds are difficult. Burmese cats are often described as 'bricks wrapped in velvet'. These types make very dependable planners. With strong, well-grounded views and experience, they use their deceptively soft exterior to gently persuade clients to agree with them. Increasingly popular, you may find this breed difficult to acquire.

The alley cats.

It's definitely worth considering offering a home to one of these. They have the advantage of having lived in the real world (often in factories, shops or pubs) which makes them resourceful. They'll also bring a different perspective to your planning department and agency. Some owners make the mistake of thinking their alley cat will be grateful for a few scraps (the odd brief here and there). This is not the case. Alley cat planners don't necessarily expect to be cosseted, but they do want their fair share of the food. Take time to train them, ask a little more of them than they might expect, reward them accordingly and they'll give any pedigree planner a run for their money. If you don't, they'll quickly look for food elsewhere.

The kitten.

These are really tempting to own. Open eyed and full of wonder, they're just adorable. However, think long and hard before taking one on. They demand a lot of your time, care and attention. They are not always easy to train, and can be willful. You also have to accept that litter-training can take some time - the occasional accident will happen and you will have to be on hand to mop up after them. The big advantage of the kitten planner is that, with care and attention, you can train him or her to become a magnificent beast. The big disadvantage is that they will eventually, and inevitably, leave home. Try to keep in touch with their new owner. You never know when they may have a pedigree, alley cat or kitten up for sale.

Running your cat colony.

Cats operate in colonies. This means they will co-exist with other cats, but operate independently. Just like planners. Allow each of your planners enough space to develop their own style, get to know their differences but don't expect them to feel comfortable working together with one another. They like the security of their own department, but are often happiest working with other species.

Caroline Deput