…in the UK, anyway.

Yes folks, on 1 September 1910, Heinz tomato soup went on sale in the UK for the first time at the very upmarket Fortnum & Mason.

(As an aside, interesting how many items that are today staples, started out as “luxury” goods…the power of the free enterprise system at work!)

“Heinz tomato soup: 100 years old”

(Not sure if that is really the best headline, even for a tinned soup!)

Have to say, tomato soup was never my favourite (although my father loved the stuff)…

…much preferred vegetable and “Scotch Broth” was a particular childhood delight.

The Heinz company was established long before 1910, of course.  According to the company website, it was established in 1869, although according to my copy of “This Day In Business History” the modern company (The H.J. Heinz Co.) was incorporated on July 27, 1900.

It was the third food-processing and marketing firm that Henry John Heinz had organised.  The first went bust and it was the second (set up with brother John and cousin Frederick) that became hugely successful.

One of the great business icons of our time and a noteworthy anniversary.

…plus some inspiring life lessons as well.

Now, I confess, I had never heard of Tyler Perry until I came across this article…

“Interview: Tyler Perry, movie mogul”

The guy has a multi-million dollar media empire but is little known outside America.

Now, couple of things of note here.

Firstly, the guy’s story is amazing and inspirational.

Secondly, when you read between the lines you can see how he has used direct response marketing principles to build his fantastically successful business.

Couple of examples…

Read More→

Ace copywriter John Carlton has a new post on his blog titled…

“Full Tilt Boogie”

What the heck is that about, you might wonder?

All about marketing and business lessons from high stakes poker players.

It’s something I’ve discussed before…

…that in business it’s all about stacking the deck in your favour.

Direct response marketing (and copywriting) is the best way to do that…

…but even that’s not infallible.

Read the whole thing…

…and try and avoid that “Full Tilt Boogie”.

It’s not cool…

…in fact, as my good mate Pete Godfrey would say, “It’s evil!”

…or more specifically, beware of “Jumping The Shark” in your marketing.

For those of you not familiar with the expression, “Jumping the shark” means…

Read More→

Here’s our regular look ahead at upcoming events you might be able to build a marketing promotion around.

In Australia, spring is here and quite a few things are happening this month…

1 September – The “official” first day of spring and also “National Wattle Day”

3 September – Australian National Flag Day

5 September – Fathers Day

17 September – Citizenship Day

23 September – Spring Equinox

25 September – AFL Grand Final

27 September – Queens Birthday (WA)

…plus there’s the Floriade (Austalia’s largest flower festival) from September 11 and the 160th Royal Melbourne Show (September 18-28).

Meanwhile, in the northern hemisphere…

Read More→