Had to go into the City late Thursday afternoon. It was raining, cold and dreary.
So I was somewhat surprised to see a line of people outside a telco store that extended around the corner and halfway down the block.
Then I remembered…
Archives for July 2010
Aldi’s Reclusive Billionaire Founder Dies
Theo Albrecht, co-founder of the Aldi discount supermarket chain passed away last Saturday…
“Aldi’s reclusive founder dies, age 88”.
I’ve mentioned before my admiration for the Aldi business model and their marketing, if not always for their products.
What I find particularly interesting about the Aldi story is…
1) How Theo and his brother Karl managed to be so successful at the discount end of the market in what is a fairly basic business (groceries)
2) How they innovated with what was a radically new business model at the time
3) How the brothers became amongst the richest people in the world, starting with pretty much nothing
To elaborate on that last point, Theo and Karl were ranked ninth and sixth respectively on the Forbes 2009 list, with fortunes of around US$25 billion each. They started in 1946 in the ruins of post war Germany with one small grocery store they took over from their mother.
Amazing and inspiring story.
Why You Might Want To Think About Your Brand Archetype
A Direct Response Copywriter talking about “Brand Archetypes”? Surely not!
Bear with me for a moment as you cast your eye over this great cartoon from Tom Fishburne…
One of the principles of classic direct response marketing and copywriting is to inject some personality into marketing messages. Classic copy is written as a personal message and in a conversational style, rather than in bland, anonymous “corporate speak”.
Looking Ahead – Marketing Calendar August 2010
As winter draws to a close here in Australia, not too much on the calendar.
There’s a bank holiday in NSW and Show Day up in Queensland.
September 1 is the “official” start to spring, so you could do some of the preparation work and “pre-launch” ahead of a seasonal promotion.
It’s summer in the northern hemisphere, of course, and a distinct lack of “official” holidays.
So, we fall back on some of the more offbeat occasions such as…
“Strange But True” – 11 July 2010
I’ve mentioned before how top copywriters like John Carlton and David Garfinkel recommend regularly studying popular publications like “National Enquirer” and “Cosmopolitan” to glean ideas for headlines, stories, trivia and tidbits of potentially useful information to weave into copy.
And I’ve occasionally posted examples of “Strange But True” stories that have caught my eye and that provide some creative inspiration.
Well, not sure if it’s simply because of the slow summer season in the northern hemisphere, but I noticed a number of intriguing stories over the last week and I’ve decided to run an occasional column with a selection of these gems.
So I offer these items for your amusement and inspiration…
First up the amazing “Monkeys use trees to catapault themselves out of Japanese laboratory”.
Next…