These days it can be hard to pass a poster or pick up a jar without finding a QR code promising exciting extras and exclusives staring you in the face. But are those ubiquitous monochrome squares more loved by marketers than anyone else? Recently, bieMEDIA, an online marketing and media company, predicted the end of the QR [...]
On Friday night I went, for the first time, to a particular Soho bar. The cocktails were good (even if I’m a bitter kind of guy – the drink that is) and the company was great, but I’m not going to talk about either. Today I want to muse on the two experiences that bookended [...]
The anecdote. We all love them, we all have them. There was the time ‘my friend Dave’ got locked in a freezer, and slept surrounded by waffles. The time ‘my friend Graeme’ convinced the doorman of a club he was the Pope’s son and they let him in wearing trainers. And, of course, the time [...]
When it comes to generating word of mouth, we don’t like to limit ourselves. Why would we? There is a virtually unlimited list of things that can create conversations. Take these for example; they’re barcodes. Functional, boring, scan-em-and-forget-em barcodes. Yet if these were on the back of your own brand digestives, or generic cotton sock [...]
Conversation happens in a whole host of places. On the bus, in the pub, at the water cooler and – of course – online. One thing to always be aware of therefore, is that where you hear a conversation can impact hugely on what you will learn from it. Let’s take Nick Griffin’s appearance on [...]
I’m a word geek. An etymology nerd. So this morning I went back to basics and sought out the roots of ‘conversation’ in the dictionary. In amongst the obvious definitions – informal interchange of thoughts and ideas, intimate acquaintance etc. – was an interesting, now obsolete use of the term: behaviour or manner of being. [...]
Today, 15th October, is Blog Action Day. A day when bloggers around the world combine to inspire discussion and debate about a worthwhile topic. For 2009, it’s climate change. Now, I’m no expert on climate change, so I won’t get stuck into that (you can get started here however), but I do realise it’s an [...]
So, I was watching Mock The Week the other day, when I had a rare moment of clarity. Comedians come in flavours not dissimilar to the varying factions of conversation. There’s the one-line merchant, rattling off his witty constructs; each gains a laugh, but is soon forgotten. So there’s reaction, but little engagement. Like putting [...]
Here’s a game, what were the last three things that you had an emotionally charged conversation about… and why? I’ll kick off (it would be dull post otherwise, it still might be… we’ll find out soon!) 1. Brahma beer. Why? Because the product itself is great and I’ll bang on it about it in any [...]
One good thing about the media’s Twitter mania is that some provocative people are starting to comment on the behaviour behind social media tools. Cue psychologist Oliver James in the Times: “Twittering stems from a lack of identity. It’s a constant update of who you are, what you are, where you are. Nobody would Twitter [...]
