Home

[Click on image to enlarge/download/print etc. Licensing terms here etc.]
I’ve just got the Love Thing going on today. Long story.

I said earlier that if the Microsoft “Blue Monster” cartoon got enough traction inside Microsoft and its extended family, Stormhoek would consider doing a signed, limited edition lithograph.
Well, according to Microsoft’s Streve Clayton, this appears to be exactly what’s happening.
Very cool.
Therefore I am happy to announce that the lithographs are now at the printer’s, they’ll be here on Monday, and hopefully I’ll be signing them next week, once I get back from Le Web 3 in Paris.
Rock on.
[PS: Note to all Microsoft employees: Yes, you can use the image as part of your e-mail signature, just like Steve does. Go right ahead. Also, feel free to put it up on your blog sidebar, if you have one, again, just like Steve does. That would be terrific. Thanks.]

drawbridge

[Click on image to enlarge/download/print etc. Licensing terms here etc.]

December 7, 2006

the time management manifesto

4 Comments

[gapingvoid manifesto submission guidelines are here.][Manifesto archive is here.]

Rajesh Setty, author of “Beyond Code”, has written a very lucid Time Management Manifesto. Great stuff:

Making the most of your time

You can’t manage time. You can only manage yourself. Successful people manage to get a lot more out of their time. Here are nine things that you can focus on next year to make the most out of your time.

1. Executing on your current projects flawlessly
No excuses there. None of the other items in the list matter if you keep breaking promises and go south on your commitments.
2. Strengthening your personal brand
Whether you like it or not, you have a personal brand. It is “who you are” to the world. A personal brand, like any other brand is a promise to the world.
Your personal brand or identity in the marketplace is important as it has direct correlation with the value that the marketplace places on you. Here is how it always works – first you invest in your personal brand meaning first you work on your personal brand and then your personal brand works for you.
3. Building long-term relationships
Long-term relationships with powerful people will provide you the ultimate competitive advantage. Invest in building them. Here are three things to remember on relationships:
• It is not what you know but who you know.
• It is not who you but how you know who you know
• It is just not who you know; it is who knows you.
4. Increasing your capacity to deliver
Who you are currently may not be ready to face the challenges or take advantage of the opportunities of tomorrow. You have to continuously invest in your capacity to deliver in the future.
5. Making a difference to the world
This world is what we make of it. Everyone has an unspoken responsibility to make a positive difference in this world. Without worrying about what your neighbor is doing, do something good.
6. Increasing others’ capacity to make a difference
You also have a responsibility to increase the capacity of people around you to make a difference. Lift them to a higher level in any which way you can.
7. Spending time with friends and family
They say that we are blind to things that are very close to us. Family and friends typically come into this category. You can take them for granted and if you are bit late, you don’t have to worry as you won’t have them for you to take care.
8. Become a valued member in multiple networks
You can’t do everything alone. You have to not only belong to multiple networks but also be a contributing member there.
9. Learning and learning to unlearn
The information overload is only going to get worse. Explore Mindmapping. Explore Accelerated Learning. Explore Audio books. Explore Book Summaries. Do something but don’t stop learning with quoting lack of time.
It is also important to ensure that you leave behind those skills that may no longer be relevant. In other words, learn to unlearn.

From Rick Segal:

I’m back from the Antarctica. Words can’t describe the majestic beauty of our seventh continent. I’ve tried to capture some of it in 5000 photos. I wouldn’t subject anyone to that pain but for those of you that are interested in some samples, I’ve created a small (145) set that captures some of Santiago, the Ice and wildlife.

The flickr link is here.

Well done, Rick. Congrats on such an interesting trip etc.

December 6, 2006

the “i’m my only boss, and my boss is not an idiot” manifesto

[gapingvoid manifesto submission guidelines are here.][Manifesto archive is here.]

Thank you, Rod Call, for this one:

I’m my only boss, and my boss is not an idiot Manifesto
1. If I want to listen to Johnny Cash during the “work day”, then I listen to Johnny Cash during the workday.
2. If I want to declare flip-flops and a t-shirt as “acceptable dress code”, then I declare flip-flops and t-shirts as acceptable dress code.
3. Since I lost patience for “micro-managing supervisors”, I am sure to not micro-manage nor become a “supervisor”.
4. I might miss a “steady paycheck”, but I don’t miss burnt coffee, fluorescent lighting, and zombie-like co-workers.
5. 8 – 5 with weekends and holidays off! Means nothing if at 5:01 and on weekends and holidays you feel like a prisoner who has been freed, only to know that you must return soon.

more thresher madness

There was some speculation in the national media that The Thresher virus might end up losing Thresher’s money.
Guess not:

“The effect has been fantastic,” Roger Whiteside, CEO at The Thresher Group told the drinks business. “Sales are up over 60% in the days the offer has been operative.“
The suggestion by certain national newspapers that The Thresher Group might suffer as a result of the unexpected rush of shoppers has not proved true. “It is a heavy discount but there is still a positive margin and we have made more money out of it in the end,” explained Whiteside.
However, the drinks retailer was surprised at the response. “We didn’t plan anything like this,” he admitted. “We have sent our corporate partners coupons the last two years and on this occasion they sent it onto friends and family.“
Whiteside, who was previously joint MD of on-line supermarket Ocado, added, “I have been in internet marketing for years and viral campaigns happen by luck, not by design.”

Basically, their margins were hit somewhat, but the increase in store traffic more than made up for it.
What’s more interesting to me is what Thresher’s can learn from this little episode, to improve their business long-term.

December 5, 2006

congrats, jason!

Heartiest congratulations to Jason Calacanis for his new gig at Sequoia Capital.

hitwise stats

2 Comments

Heather Hopkins over at Hitwise has some great stats on the Thresher virus:

The weblog for South African wine-producer, Stormhoek, which posted the voucher on 24th November, saw its website visits surge ahead of those to Threshers, capturing a 110 times larger share of visits than Threshers. On 28th November, the voucher was also posted in the forum of MoneySavingExpert.com and 45% of visits to Threshers.co.uk came from forums.moneysavingexpert.com last week.
Wine retailers are trying to benefit from the frenzy. A search for “threshers” on Google yesterday returned a sponsored result for Sainsbury’s promoting 25% off wine and today, Virgin Wines was the top sponsored result, offering 50% off wine.

“pissed as newts” video

Heh. Ivan over at Snipperoo made a wee YouTube video of last Friday’s “Pissed As Newts Tour” with Scoble, Sam Sethi, myself & Co.
Good job, Ivan!

the don’t look back manifesto

This is terrific. From Doug Emerson over at Profitable Horseman.

Don’t Look Back Manifesto
Horses have been training me for a long time. Directly and indirectly, my experiences with them have shaped my life. Thoughts on dwelling on the past follow.
Riding horses over jumps is life: fast, slow, up, down, control, recklessness. Thinking about jumping on horseback, I recall the words of a riding instructor about show jumping. He said, “When you hear the jump rail get clunked by your horse’s hoof, DON’T LOOK BACK! Keep both eyes forward and focus on the next jump; you can’t fix anything back there!
That definitive “clunk” of hoof on wood is paralyzing to the rider. It means one of two possible things have happened. The rail has only been ticked and the rider will escape faults on the round or the rail will fall from the standards penalizing the rider on his imperfect ride.
When clunks occur, the temptation to turn to see if the rail came down is addictive. Looking back blurs the rider’s focus on the next fence. An expert rider already has his eyes and attention on the next jump as he clears the rail directly under him. Timing is critical and focus is imperative.
Good timing and powerful concentration are universal success ingredients.
Competing on a horse in a jumping class is much like the way we all do our jobs or run our businesses. The jump class is a series of obstacles of different types over a mapped course. The horse and rider are a team that meets each challenge head on.
Your job is to be prepared to do the best you can on each jump in your day. Sometimes we tick, knock down or crash on the jumps in our way. The riding coach speaks the ultimate horse sense when he says, don’t look back.
Metaphorically, the next jump is coming quickly from the future to the present and the past jump is unchangeable history.
Focus on the next hurdle with all of your power of concentration. The time for analysis of what happened is later, when the round is over. Too often, we get hung up on what has happened instead of what is happening right now. We know that we can’t change history but that doesn’t stop us from dwelling on it.
I don’t suspect my horse has spent much of his day worrying about which jump rail he knocked down. He is only concerned with the matters at hand, that being the next jump or his next flake of hay. Horse sense comes easy only to horses.
Understand the importance of today, here and now. Focus and ready for progress. When thoughts meander back to “knocked rails” from previous experiences, the chance of losing focus heightens and history repeats.
Don’t Look Back.

Thanks, Doug! Great stuff.
[gapingvoid manifesto submission guidelines are here.][Manifesto archive is here.]

an excellent post for those of us who don’t much like “small talk”

I really like this thought from Fredd Kambo:

I don’t bother “networking” anymore, instead, I try to build relationships with people I find interesting, and who I think are doing interesting things. And I make it my mission to help them in any way I can to achieve their mission. I find this much more satisfying, much more honorable, and much more fun. And this is the cool thing about people.…When you help them out in this way, they help you out. Not because it’s a tit for tat deal, but because both parties are engaged in a mutually beneficial relationship that extends beyond the next favor.

why the thresher’s meme went viral

7 Comments

Dennis Howlett, in the gapingvoid comments section gives a good synopsis of why the Thresher meme went viral:

Whether deliberate or otherwise is irrelevant. It seems to me there were several triggers:
Price was clearly something that people latched onto. 40% sounds great until you realise price competition still puts them ahead of Tesco on certain lines. But then who associates Threshers with this kind of thing?
Nevertheless, Threshers offers convenience because it’s in the community in the first place. Something the giants forget. And which has various cost and price effects.
The air of mystique — is this real, is it a scam, jeez — it is for real all play a part in making the reader think they’re in on something others are not.
Getting the word out was great and amplified these effects for a product that everyone wants — right now and which is sufficiently expensive for people to want a big discount. That’s the real secret. Timing.
Low prices, every day just didn’t cut it this week.

[UPDATE:] My old friend James Thomson [who’s been in the Scots whisky business for well over a decade] also makes some good points in the comments below:

The 40% improvement on the usual 33% had five clear advantages in my book — although there are many others.
1. Simple. I have done the buy 3 for the price of 2 a few times (did it with 3 x stormhoek) but its a pain as you only get the least expensive bottle free. This is simpler.
2 & 3. It was web exclusive and so was a ‘discovery’ offer i.e. not pimped rather loudly all about the stores. This is a wonderful combination that appeals to people who like to do clever things (i.e. save in an intelligent way) while at the same time combining cheapness with exclusivity. That’s quite rare.
4. Timing; holiday booze needs are well understood. Everyone needs to stock up so this was enough incentive to get this both talked about and used and, in the spirit of the holidays, you also don’t have to give a bottle you just tell your mates how to save by passing this news around — a kind of self help voucher for others to be told about. A virus that runs on the shoulders of giving advice — perfect.
5. Sounds better than it is. Many don’t know about the ‘up to 33%’ that runs all year. 40% off sounds amazing at first inspection while 10% — which is what it is roughly — is much less interesting. People read the first thing they see “hey 40% off!” and act on that before they look any further. Time and eye ball pressure has made online reading almost devoid of attention to detail at times.
James

NB: The Thresher’s coupon is still valid until this Sunday, the 10th December, People [UK only]. You can download yours here.

December 4, 2006

“indirectly”

Cory Doctorow in Forbes: “I’ve been giving away my books ever since my first novel came out, and boy has it ever made me a bunch of money.“
[NB. Besides being a very prolific and accomplished writer, Cory is also one of the four main contributors of BoingBoing, quite rightly one of the largest and most respected blogs on the planet.]
I cannot urge you enough to go read this article. “Blogs are a great way of making things happen indirectly” is something I’ve been saying for years. Cory is living proof of this, just about more than anyone I can think of.
“Indirectly”. Look at this brave new world of ours in terms of “indirectly”, and you’ll be fine.
[Thanks to Doc for the link.]

nice tie

[Click on image to enlarge/download/print etc. Licensing terms here etc.]

untitled 127

1 Comment

[Click on image to enlarge/download/print etc. Licensing terms here etc.]

recent e-mail exchange:

4 Comments

[gapingvoid manifesto submission guidelines are here.][Manifesto archive is here.]

Dirk Stoop:

I take the challenge!
Here’s my personal two-word manifesto:

Do more.

Cheers, Dirk

Hugh MacLeod:

Aha!
Here’s my one-word manifesto:

1. Love

Or my no-word Zen manifesto:

.….….….…..

Cheers, Hugh

just so you kow.…

I fucking hate the way success makes my writing much more circumspect.
Failure is underrated.

the four-word manifesto

Being the total brevity fanboy, I went ahead and wrote a four-word manifesto.

The Four Word Manifesto.

1. Love.
2. Loss.
3. Religion.
4. Ambition.

Meanwhile, La Internista [who writes anonomously, to keep herself from getting fired] sent me this manifesto, which I declined to post in full. In my e-mail to her, I wrote:

Interns do not need a manifesto about how much their jobs suck. They already know their jobs suck. What interns need are manifestos that show them a path out of their suckass job situation. Much more interesting.

I kinda like the effort she put into it, though. Rock on.
[UPDATE:] La Internista has since deleted the post. Domage.
[gapingvoid manifesto submission guidelines are here.][Manifesto archive is here.]

second life economy

[Click on image to enlarge/download/print etc. Licensing terms here etc.]
The Economics of Second Life. The latter publishes the stats [Thanks to Tom Coates for the link.].
I find the most interesting thing about Second Life is the media attention it generates.
After that, it all goes downhill. As I heard Sarah Blow saying once, the trouble with avatar-based worlds is that appearances are created around how people see themselves, not around how other people see them. Therein lies the disconnect. You end up with a virtual world of Michael Jacksons.
Neville Hobson and some colleagues recently opened up the first marketing company in Second Life called Crayon, in order to help corporate clients interact with Second Life space as seamlessly as possible.
Conceptually I think it’s a neat idea, even if I can’t personally get into the whole Second Life thing. Hey, not everyone can get into blogs, either. It might work, maybe it won’t, I’m hoping it does. Good luck to them.

pub crawl pics

Darren Streight publishes his Flickr photoset of last Friday’s London “Pissed As Newts” pub crawl with Robert Scoble, and the Firefox party that followed afterwards.
Here’s a pic of me. Damn, my beard needs a trim!

December 3, 2006

the made by sofa manifesto

2 Comments

Thanks to Made By Sofa for their 100-word manifesto on Software Design:

1. Over 50% of any piece of software is communication with its end-user. To build good software a developing team should spend at least 50% of their time thinking about what and how they want to communicate. Preferably even more.
2. We want to create good software. And we want to collaborate with others to help them make end-user experience a central focus in all of their development efforts.
3. Shaping interaction is a privilege and we consider it an art.
4. With privilege comes responsibility. Our prime responsibility as software developers is to make sure people have a good time using our software.

Nice and short. Good job!
[gapingvoid manifesto submission guidelines are here.][Manifesto archive is here.]

“accountability breeds passion and desire.”

11 Comments

blue pen.jpg
Thank you, Pamela, for this wee gem:

The Work Manifesto
by Pamela Slim, Escape from Cubicle Nation
1. Work is your real life. It is the way you translate your feelings, your thoughts, your hopes and your desires into something valuable, tangible and useful every day. You can choose to make work into a dreaded, necessary evil that you can’t wait to finish so that you can get busy with your “real life.” Why not just do work you love?
2. Good work will improve your sex life. Frustrated employees desperately long for excitement and release in the form of fantasy football, internet surfing, porn, and the affections of their stressed and overworked spouses. No superhero could fill the gigantic void of a passionless man or woman in a 15-minute tryst in bed. Express your passion through your work every day, all day, and find that you will be less needy, more attentive, open, giving and loving to your partner. Which makes for better sex.
3. Your secret desire holds the clue to your best work. You say that you would love to do meaningful work, but don’t know how to find it. What is your secret desire? What idea are you a little embarrassed to share with someone because it is so delicate or bold or crazy or exciting? You often claim to not know what you want to do, but in fact censor yourself from what you know you want for fear of appearing ridiculous.
4. You can’t fool your kids. Many of you claim passionless, dull and frustrating careers with the excuse that you must provide for your family. Providing for your family is noble; using it as an excuse to hide from your own greatness is a bad example for your kids. If you want them to grow up motivated, creative, free and enterprising, be that yourself. They are watching and emulating your every move.
5. Fear is the great inhibitor. All of the excuses that you find for not doing work you love have solutions. You do not enact them because you are afraid: of showing up too big in the world; of failing; of appearing as an imposter; of living in poverty. There is nothing wrong with fear. Feel it, talk to it, examine it and walk with it. Then step out and let yourself show up, warts and all. It will liberate you.
6. Owning is better than renting. While you may feel “safer” renting out your skills for a paycheck and benefits, you often sell all your energy this way and have nothing left at the end of the day. If you don’t get what you need in this employment arrangement in terms of money, recognition, power or responsibility, you feel angry and frustrated. Own the means of production and the factory, and at least your glorious disasters will be your disasters. Accountability breeds passion and desire.

“Accountability breeds passion and desire.” Wow. What a great line.
I always like reading Pamela’s blog, I have to say. Rather inspiring in a no-nonsense, friendly kind of way.
[gapingvoid manifesto submission guidelines are here.][Manifesto archive is here.]

some recommendations

1. FILM. This is simply the best movie I’ve seen in a long, long time. I’d been meaning to see it for years, and finally last night I got the chance. I am still utterly stunned by how good it is.
Citizen Kane? Blows it away. The Wild Bunch? Blows it away. When the movie ended I felt so sad, knowing that I would never get to see it for the first time ever again [Amazon DVD here].
2. HOTEL. I’ve spent a lot of time in London hotels over the last year. As a result I’ve become a bit of a connoisseur of cheap-and-cheerful hotels, having tried out so many. Of all the hotels I’ve tried, this is my favorite, in terms of comfy, clean rooms, nice people, free wireless in the lobby and bar. Stowe Boyd has stayed there too, and liked it. The rooms generally don’t have wireless, but a few of the rooms on the third floor pick it up from downstairs. I usually pay circa £60 per night [approx $100 USD], though you can sometimes find better deals on Expedia.
3. FOOD. My favorite restaurant in London is a wee Vietnamese diner called “Viet”. Cheap and unpretentious, it has no website of its own, but it’s in Soho at 34 Greek Street, between Old Compton Street and Shaftsbury Avenue. [Thanks to Graham for the link].
They also serve Thia cuisine, but that isn’t so good. Stick with the Vietnamese etc.

4. BREAKFAST. When I’m in London, I often spend my mornings having long breakfasts here. Lovely people, funky-different, and free wireless 9am-5pm on weekdays.

viruses are unpredictable. That’s why they’re called “viruses”

A Thresher’s shop manager left me the following comment earlier today:

I manage a Threshers in London.
Yesterday (Saturday), my store took more than in any single week so far this year. In one day!
The volume of sales was higher than any Christmas Eve I have traded.
We ran out of all Champagne and my wine range is now at about 30% availability. Four branches local to me ran out of carrier bags!
However, I was informed of the situation with the voucher only on Wednesday. My wine delivery was cancelled Friday, and my staffing bugdet allows only for single-manning, so i have been working twelve hour days in an effort to cope with the demand, which I cannot see letting up before next Saturday.…
I don’t imagine my business will be losing money at 40% discount, but neither will there be a profit worth shouting about…this voucher is the most effective publicity I think Thresher has ever had, but if it was an “intentional” leak, the lack of preparation and support for branch teams would make it a pretty cheap trick.
Still…its a bloody good deal for the consumer!

Three points:
1. The deal was only offering a savings of approximately 10% more than their everyday, normal Buy-Two-Get-One-Free deal, yet some sort of tipping point was reached which made sales go utterly, utterly crazy. Why do you think that was?
2. Viruses are unpredictable. That’s why they’re called “viruses”. That’s why it’s folly to think you can just craft one, like a TV commercial or magazine ad. Doesn’t work that way.
3. I’m hoping this little Threshers episode will better educate Stormhoek’s customers about The Cluetrain:

Networked markets are beginning to self-organize faster than the companies that have traditionally served them. Thanks to the web, markets are becoming better informed, smarter, and more demanding of qualities missing from most business organizations.

The world has changed etc.

December 2, 2006

doom and gloom are your friends

11 Comments

Digital Agency made some good points about the Thresher virus.

Some of the UK newspapers are doom–mongering the promo, saying Thresher could end up with oeuf on their faces. Thresher are saying they’ve no idea where it will end. That it was just going to be a more modest promo for suppliers and the thing got out of hand, bigtime. Or is that just spin? Smart marketers working the room and ‘managing’ the buzz?

I find the doom-and-gloom of the newspapers rather amusing…
Assume the costs of the promo are covered [i.e. they’re not losing money on each purchase, or at least, they have enough cash in reserve to cover the promotion, however successful]…
Taking that into account, what’s it worth to them to have THOUSANDS of new customers walk into their stores, just before Christmas?
Tens of thousands of customers who would have most likely been shopping somewhere else for their wine [Oddbins, Majestic etc]… who are not just buying wine, but spirits, beer etc which are not covered by the promo? [I have photos of recently-emptied beer fridges from the stores, which I might post later. The people coming in ARE NOT ONLY buying the stuff in the offer].
Also, Doom & Gloom might be beneficial for Thresher’s. Compare these two hypothetical newspaper headlines:

“Big company scores massive marketing triumph”.
“Big company up shit creek without paddle.”

Which one sounds more authentic to the Average Joe? Which one is more likely to stir up a feeding frenzy? Capture the public imagination? Appeal to individual self-interest?
Do the math.
Now factor in how much was spent on the promo [i.e. Almost Zero]. Compare that to hiring a bog-standard celebrity endorsement or mainstream advertising campaign.
Again, do the math.

Thirdly, the journalists fail to realize that moving stuff through at a small profit is ALWAYS better than having stuff gathering dust at the warehouse. And WAREHOUSE DUST is a HUGE problem in the wine business.
The biggest problem for Thresher’s, which the journalist mostly FAILED to cover, is the logistics. Suddenly your shops are emptying at an unprecedented rate. I feel sorry for their truck drivers already. But do I think it’s a problem they can’t handle? I do not.
By concentrating on trying to uncover newpaper-selling controversy at all costs, instead of thinking about the actual business at hand [selling wine], the journalists made the virus EVEN MORE powerful. Though I am personally grateful to them for that, I’m not convinced that was their intention.
We live in interesting times.
[Bonus Link:] Neville Hobson makes some great points as well. Rock on.

[Note To Self: I’m wondering what Journalism 2.0 Maestro, Jeff Jarvis would think. Seriously.]

empty thresher’s

An empty wine rack at Thresher’s [in Ladbroke Grove, London, to be exact], taken only a few minutes ago. Apparently a couple of stores in the West side of town have pretty much run out of stock.
The virus has spread.

the new english cut logo

10 Comments

[Behold, the new English Cut logo. Very cool. Designed by Jeremy, if you’re in the market for a good designer.]
If you were contemplating buying your first bespoke suit from English Cut, I’m afraid there might be a bit of a wait. It’s official: Thomas is not taking on any new bespoke suit customers for the time being. We just got too busy, it’s that simple.
This is actually quite a common occurrence in the tailoring world. And like they say, these are the right kind of business problems to have…

my wife

broken people

1 Comment

a sports fan’s manifesto

[gapingvoid manifesto submission guidelines are here.][Manifesto archive is here.]

This one made me smile. Thanks to Chas Grundy.

A Sports Fan’s Manifesto
* Love sports for sports’ sake.
* Recognize greatness in even sports you don’t like.
* Recognize talent and dedication and skill and success for what it is — a positive thing.
* Respect players for their abilities and success, even if they are the “enemy.”
* It is wrong to hate a team or player for their success.
* Don’t let your own fandom blind you to reality.
* Failure helps you see where to improve.
* Being a fan is a fickle, arbitrary experience. You cheer for a team because of location, because it’s your school, or because you were born into a fan’s family.
* It’s OK to temporarily care about a game even when you don’t care about the teams, the game, or the outcome.
* Sports are entertainment, but can be addicting. Don’t let sports ruin your relationships, your job, or your health.

more thresher craziness

9 Comments

Oops. The Thresher virus hits The Daily Mirror, one of the large British tabloids.

Off licence chain Thresher is bracing itself for a financial disaster after its “limited” 40 per cent discount of fer went worldwide on the internet.

This is mainstream now. Heh.
[UPDATE:] The story gets the full page three of the Times [paper version]. Here’s the online version.

Staff at some stores are having to work up to four hours’ overtime to cope with demand. At the country’s smallest Threshers shop staff were struggling to cope with the demand yesterday. “It’s been a shock to the system, that’s for sure,” Oliver Fowler said at the off-licence in the City of London. “We’ve hardly had time to stock the shelves and the phones have hardly stopped ringing with people asking if the offer is for real.
“Champagne was particularly popular and the store has taken more than a hundred vouchers in the past two days.”

You can even download the coupon directly off The Times’ home page, at least you can today. Too funny.
[UPDATE:] Ah. It made The Daily Telegraph as well. Intense.
Yesterday I was walking down the street, and I ran into an acquaintance of mine, somebody who I don’t know particularly well. I told him about the coupon. He said he had already received about 10 coupons from different people e-mailing him. Too weird.
[NEWBIES:] Read the original story here.

a brand manager’s social media manifesto

[gapingvoid manifesto submission guidelines are here.][Manifesto archive is here.]

Thanks to Richard Stacy for sending this one in:

A brand manager’s social media manifesto
1. Recognise your antisocial nature … until you fully embrace the fact that your relationship and communication with your consumers has been fundamentally antisocial, you will never be able progress on the road towards becoming a brand that can embrace social media i.e. a socialised brand. Repeat after me, “My name is Brand X and I am antisocial”.
2. Don’t think digital … the answer to becoming a socialised brand does not lie in the digital world even if your relationship with your consumers ends up being based on digital channels. The answer lies in having a credible story, content that brings this alive and channels that help consumers “reach-in” and become engaged. P.S. a credible story is nothing like what you are accustomed to thinking of as a brand proposition. P.P.S. just having a corporate blog, a MySpace page, a podcast, posting stuff on YouTube does not, of itself, make you a socialised brand.
3. Remember – the tools of social media sit best in the hands of consumers (it’s who they were designed for) … use them at your peril, you may end up looking silly. At all costs avoid the My(insert your brand name here)Space syndrome – a lot of digital agencies are getting rich helping clients make this mistake.
4. Stop thinking about reaching out to consumers … that is old media, old media agency planners thinking. Don’t think of the tools of social media as a new channel that allows you to push messages to niche groups. Do the right thing (see point 2) and consumers will use the tools of social media to find you – your audience will select itself. Focus your energy on making your brand a beacon and your brand a host. (I am sure there is a Seth Godin book in there somewhere).

more thresher madness

7 Comments

[The BBC advertising Stormhoek on national TV. Seamless.]

[Click here to download coupon etc.]
The Thresher’s story continues…
From the BBC website:

Web discount frenzy at Threshers
Off-licence chain Threshers is braced for an onslaught of bargain-hunting drinkers as an online discount voucher is downloaded by millions of people.
The 40%-off wine and champagne voucher was intended for suppliers and their friends, but has been distributed widely via blogs, email and chatrooms.
Queues have formed at one store while the Threshers website has crashed under the strain of demand for the offer.
“It was never intended to get this big,” a company spokesperson said.

It made 1 o’clock BBC national news today. And the 10pm news on ITV as well. And Radio 2.
Thresher’s either love or hate gapingvoid by now. Not sure which one. Heh.
[UPDATE:] Jason from Stormhoek pipes in:

Meanwhile, in London we were trying to both help out a customer, The Thresher Group, and give our loyal readers a bit good cheer. For our non-UK readers, Threshers are the largest wine and spirits specialist chain in the UK.
Our ‘helping’ out I am afraid may fall into the basket of ‘careful what you wish for’ as we were hoping to help them sell a few more bottles of Stormhoek and the other great wines and champagnes they carry, but, it seems that maybe we were a bit over enthusiastic about how we promoted the ‘private sale’, or maybe the offer was just too good.

December 1, 2006

scoble pub crawl update