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	<title>New Business Agency Blog from Alchemis&#187; Market Trends Archives</title>
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		<title>Raising the bar of interactive viral marketing</title>
		<link>http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/raising-bar-interactive-viral-marketing/</link>
		<comments>http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/raising-bar-interactive-viral-marketing/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 10 Sep 2010 11:23:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Rob</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Market Trends]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Media Commentary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[digital marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[social media marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[viral marketing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/?p=469</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Anyone remember those geeky sci-fi role-playing books of the eighties?
You know the ones where the story follows a single direction for the first few pages and then the reader is faced with two or three options of how to progress the plot – turn to page 82 to fight the dragon; turn to page 54 [...]<p><br /><br /><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/raising-bar-interactive-viral-marketing/">Raising the bar of interactive viral marketing</a> is a post from the <a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/">Alchemis New Business Blog</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Anyone remember those geeky sci-fi role-playing books of the eighties?</p>
<p>You know the ones where the story follows a single direction for the first few pages and then the reader is faced with two or three options of how to progress the plot – turn to page 82 to fight the dragon; turn to page 54 to run away; turn to page 41 to use your magic invisibility potion and sneak past undetected?</p>
<p>Well the latest <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ba1BqJ4S2M" rel="nofollow" title="Tippex campaign on You Tube" >Tippex campaign </a>should have fans of those books frothing at the mouth as they raise the bar with their offering. Why limit yourself to two or three choices? Type ANYTHING you like to progress the plot and watch in astonishment as it unfolds on screen before your very eyes.</p>
<p>OK, admittedly the “story” of the advert and any outcome is less than a minute long and it took me about six attempts before I found some verbs that the ad couldn’t deliver, but even then it gave a humorous take on the standard “Error #404” bad request message.</p>
<p>The way this has been made, the relevance to the product and the subsequent coverage it has achieved has made it an instant hit &#8211; and surely it will pave the way for hundreds of other brands to launch similar campaigns.</p>
<p>Unfortunately though, I still can’t think that I’d actually have much use for Tippex these days.</p>
<p><br /><br /><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/raising-bar-interactive-viral-marketing/">Raising the bar of interactive viral marketing</a> is a post from the <a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/">Alchemis New Business Blog</a></p>

	<h3>Related posts</h3>
	<ul class="st-related-posts">
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/perils-of-social-media-marketing/" title="Walking the fine line of social media marketing (4 August 2010)">Walking the fine line of social media marketing</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/social-marketing-generate-voters/" title="Using social marketing to generate new voters (9 April 2010)">Using social marketing to generate new voters</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/importance-social-media-mobile-marketing/" title="The importance of social media and mobile marketing (23 February 2010)">The importance of social media and mobile marketing</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/evolution-of-viral-marketing/" title="The evolution of viral marketing (19 March 2010)">The evolution of viral marketing</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/rollercoaster-marketing-budgets/" title="The coalition, the goal that never was, rollercoaster marketing budgets &#8211; Nostradamus would struggle with 2010! (20 July 2010)">The coalition, the goal that never was, rollercoaster marketing budgets &#8211; Nostradamus would struggle with 2010!</a></li>
</ul>

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		<title>Can researchers read minds?</title>
		<link>http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/can-researchers-read-minds/</link>
		<comments>http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/can-researchers-read-minds/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 Sep 2010 10:03:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Market Trends]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Media Commentary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[direct mail]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[direct marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[e-marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[market research]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/?p=465</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Do the lengths companies go to research consumer habits today have any limits? It would seem not! Working with a research client for over 3 years I’m fully aware of companies employing neuroscience as a method finding out what makes consumers tick, but this takes the biscuit.
Earlier this year Royal Mail commissioned Millward Brown and [...]<p><br /><br /><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/can-researchers-read-minds/">Can researchers read minds?</a> is a post from the <a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/">Alchemis New Business Blog</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Do the lengths companies go to research consumer habits today have any limits? It would seem not! Working with a research client for over 3 years I’m fully aware of companies employing neuroscience as a method finding out what makes consumers tick, but this takes the biscuit.</p>
<p>Earlier this year Royal Mail commissioned Millward Brown and Academics at Bangor University to undertake a study to determine if the brain reacts differently to marketing messages delivered through direct mail in comparison to email campaigns. This was based on the assumption that consumers tend to engage more to physical objects that they would to an electronic format.</p>
<p>Participants were shown the same creative format in both digital and print. Following this a measurement of brain activity was taken in the MRI scanner to identify parts of the brain that show increased activity by imaging changes in the blood supply.</p>
<p>The research showed that certain parts of the brain were more active when given a piece of physical direct mail (you don’t say). So in short the research found that actually holding something in your hand is “a significantly more multi-sensory than marketing that appears online”.</p>
<p>The study concluded that “when a piece of DM was held and read by a participant, their reactions suggested that they were experiencing thought patterns similar to those the brain exhibits when processing memories and emotions. Other studies have shown that emotional processing can generate a positive response to brands and their messages, and enhanced levels of engagement. When someone engages with an emotional response through tangible material, it produces an enhanced recognition that can result in increased attention given to the brand in the future.”</p>
<p>This is all very interesting stuff and I agree that holding something in your hand will of course create a stronger response within the brain than looking at the same creative on your computer, but perhaps the next study should look at how we can promote the brain to pick it up and read it instead of chucking it in the bin in the first place?</p>
<p>Now there’s a thought.</p>
<p><br /><br /><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/can-researchers-read-minds/">Can researchers read minds?</a> is a post from the <a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/">Alchemis New Business Blog</a></p>

	<h3>Related posts</h3>
	<ul class="st-related-posts">
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/labour-dm-campaign-targets-cancer-sufferers/" title="Labour’s direct marketing campaign targets cancer sufferers (20 April 2010)">Labour’s direct marketing campaign targets cancer sufferers</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/death-of-direct-marketing/" title="Is this the death of traditional direct marketing in Britain? (29 January 2010)">Is this the death of traditional direct marketing in Britain?</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/generating-new-business-email-vs-snailmail/" title="Generating new business – the email vs snailmail debate (25 March 2010)">Generating new business – the email vs snailmail debate</a></li>
</ul>

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		<title>Sales Team round up for July &amp; August and August bird catches the worm</title>
		<link>http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/sales-team-round-up-july-august-and-benefits-of-august-new-business-callinbird-gets-the-worm/</link>
		<comments>http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/sales-team-round-up-july-august-and-benefits-of-august-new-business-callinbird-gets-the-worm/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 31 Aug 2010 15:18:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David Newman</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Life at Alchemis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Market Trends]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[better sales results]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economic recovery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[football]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new business agency]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new business calling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new business generation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new business managers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new business opportunities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recession]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sales summary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sales team]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/?p=460</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Today is officially the last day of summer, though one could be forgiven for thinking it ended 4 weeks ago based on the weather we’ve been having. Next year, even if UK PLC is in the grip of a double-dip recession, British Airways cabin crew have elected Bob Crow as union Chief and Iceland looks [...]<p><br /><br /><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/sales-team-round-up-july-august-and-benefits-of-august-new-business-callinbird-gets-the-worm/">Sales Team round up for July &#038; August and August bird catches the worm</a> is a post from the <a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/">Alchemis New Business Blog</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Today is officially the last day of summer, though one could be forgiven for thinking it ended 4 weeks ago based on the weather we’ve been having. Next year, even if UK PLC is in the grip of a double-dip recession, British Airways cabin crew have elected Bob Crow as union Chief and Iceland looks like it’s about to explode I suspect this August&#8217;s record of abysmal weather should hopefully mean the phrase “staycation” has had it’s day. I’m undecided as to whether this has been a price worth paying.</p>
<p>The Sales Team had much to live up to in July following a record June for quality new business meetings set. In the end we fell just short of June’s peak with a highly creditable performance that delivered the 2nd best set of results for the year so far. August has been storming though; we’ve bettered June to establish the best set of results for over 4 years.</p>
<p>I know that clients often ask whether August is a good month for new business prospecting and we’ve occasionally had a job convincing them that it is. Most people acknowledge that September-November is a great time for seeing prospects and picking up briefs and will see the benefit of laying the groundwork in August but I often hear “surely so many key decision makers are on holiday, getting through to people must be impossible?”.</p>
<p>This sounds logical but actually we enjoy a higher than average access rate (ratio of attempted calls to actual decision maker conversations) in August. For every Marketing Manager regretting their staycation (hoping this will be the last ever recorded usage of the term) on the soggy south coast there are half a dozen sat in an office but unable to progress full pelt because at least one cog in their wheel is being washed out on an English beach somewhere. Consequently they have the time to reflect on the year to date and what’s required as they approach the final quarter. Crucially, they also have time to take calls and talk to new agencies.</p>
<p>We find Marketing Decision Makers to be particularly frank around this time of year. Regardless of when their company’s financial year runs August seems to be a natural time to take stock of things, which is why so many agency reviews take place in the Autumn.</p>
<p>Prospects rarely criticise their incumbent overtly when they’re on the phone to us but we’re more likely to hear rumblings this time of year, which makes our job MUCH easier.</p>
<p>The irony is that many marketing agencies consider August to be a lost month and chose to take their holidays. The guys in the office holding the fort will be servicing clients and won’t have time to prospect for new business, which means many marketing agencies are missing out on a very fertile period for making new connections. This is where a New Business Agency that is working day-in, day-out on your behalf can be such an asset.</p>
<p>While many agencies have put their new business efforts on ice over the summer we have been very busy indeed. A quick analysis of meetings we have set show that 12% of the FTSE100 and 21 from Top 100 UK advertising spenders will be meeting clients of ours as a result of work over July &amp; August. Not bad considering most of the companies we target would fall just outside of these league tables.</p>
<p>July was also the month for momentous sporting events of course. The Alchemis Rounders Match on 9 July saw the company split into two teams, each under the captaincy of a Director. Three innings and much arguing later and my team emerged victorious. Some special mentions for:</p>
<p>John for volunteering to referee. To describe this role as a poisoned chalice would be a gross understatement. He was still taking stick for decisions made in the 2009 match so that took some courage.</p>
<p>Pete, Dan and Algie for the most outrageous act of cheating; over the course of one innings the distance between bases grew from 20 metres to 40 as they shuffled them further and further apart.</p>
<p>George for almost decapitating two of his colleagues with a wildly struck ball and Amanda and Claudia for bravely taking said baseball in the face in relatively good spirit.</p>
<p>The other sports event of note in July was the world cup. Much has been written about the mockery that unravelled in South Africa so I won’t comment further here but two guys who took more from the tournament than most are George and Richard who each earned a big night out with optional hotel for winning World Cup based team incentives.</p>
<p>So a great few months for Alchemis and our clients. Brilliant though August has been for the sales team I don’t expect the record to last until the end of the year. September to November is usually our strongest period so the challenge is to meet or beat August’ performance every month until December.</p>
<p>By the way, December can be a good month for similar reasons to August but there just aren’t enough working days to be breaking records for absolute performance numbers. Needless to say we we’ll be looking at setting a new high for productivity instead.</p>
<p><br /><br /><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/sales-team-round-up-july-august-and-benefits-of-august-new-business-callinbird-gets-the-worm/">Sales Team round up for July &#038; August and August bird catches the worm</a> is a post from the <a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/">Alchemis New Business Blog</a></p>

	<h3>Related posts</h3>
	<ul class="st-related-posts">
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/new-business-executive-confessions-2/" title="True Confessions of a New Business Executive &#8211; Part 2 (24 November 2009)">True Confessions of a New Business Executive &#8211; Part 2</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/new-business-executive-confessions-1/" title="True Confessions of a New Business Executive &#8211; Part 1 (5 November 2009)">True Confessions of a New Business Executive &#8211; Part 1</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/training-for-the-mile/" title="Training for “The Mile” (to save face) (9 March 2010)">Training for “The Mile” (to save face)</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/top-5-tips-managing-first-new-business-meetings/" title="Top 5 tips on managing first meetings (18 June 2010)">Top 5 tips on managing first meetings</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/top-5-tips-business-development-strategy/" title="Top 5 tips for developing a new business strategy (8 June 2010)">Top 5 tips for developing a new business strategy</a></li>
</ul>

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		<title>Could Tottenham’s tactics open the new business floodgates for sponsorship deals?</title>
		<link>http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/opening-new-business-floodgates-for-sponsorship-deals/</link>
		<comments>http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/opening-new-business-floodgates-for-sponsorship-deals/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 24 Aug 2010 11:17:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Rob</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Market Trends]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Media Commentary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[affiliate marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dearmrlevy.com]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[football]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing week]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new business agency]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new business generation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new business opportunities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sponsorship]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/?p=456</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Being a life-long West Ham fan, I read with a huge amount of resentment and bitterness about Tottenham’s latest cunning plan to make more money last week. Not content with having one sponsor, they’ve only gone and got themselves a second one – just for cup and European games.
Why didn’t West Ham think of that? [...]<p><br /><br /><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/opening-new-business-floodgates-for-sponsorship-deals/">Could Tottenham’s tactics open the new business floodgates for sponsorship deals?</a> is a post from the <a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/">Alchemis New Business Blog</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Being a life-long West Ham fan, I read with a huge amount of resentment and bitterness about <a href="http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/3017111.article?cmpid=MWE01&amp;cmptype=newsletter" rel="nofollow" title="Marketing Week article on Spurs second sponsor" >Tottenham’s latest cunning plan </a>to make more money last week. Not content with having one sponsor, they’ve only gone and got themselves a second one – just for cup and European games.</p>
<p>Why didn’t West Ham think of that? Aside from the fact that we’re not in Europe, will no doubt get knocked out of the Carling Cup by Oxford United tonight and possibly of the FA Cup by, hmmm… let’s say Bolton in the fourth round, it seems to be a pretty good idea to generate more revenue for clubs in these tough times for the beautiful game.</p>
<p>Realistically, this brainwave will mainly suit the bigger, more successful clubs as the additional sponsors would have to feel they were getting enough exposure for their money and therefore a decent run in these competitions. But why not extend the idea even further to have a separate sponsor for home and away kits?</p>
<p>Logic would dictate that this will result in one of the following outcomes:</p>
<p>either the floodgates will open for the marketing departments of companies not currently represented to get their brand names splashed across the kits of other top-flight clubs in some way, shape or form;</p>
<p>or existing sponsors will up their money to retain exclusivity across all competitions.</p>
<p>The other scenario is that brands won’t play ball at all – but I suspect the lure of all that publicity will be too great and there will always be someone who will jump in to fill their shoes.</p>
<p>And let’s not forget the replica kit sales – 4p to make, £40 to buy and now you not only need home and away, but also the limited edition Champions League, FA Cup and Carling Cup version. All revenue for these cash-strapped clubs!</p>
<p>Come to think of it, why stop at football – there are plenty of other televised sports to target too.</p>
<p>I suspect there will be a window of opportunity opening for affiliate marketers and sponsors following Tottenham’s tactics and my advice to agencies is to hit those phones now &#8211; or better still get the longest established (and best) new business agency to do it on your behalf!</p>
<p>PS – for any Spurs fans reading this, check out <a href="http://www.dearmrlevy.com" rel="nofollow" >http://www.dearmrlevy.com</a> &#8211; it’s a cracking site.</p>
<p><br /><br /><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/opening-new-business-floodgates-for-sponsorship-deals/">Could Tottenham’s tactics open the new business floodgates for sponsorship deals?</a> is a post from the <a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/">Alchemis New Business Blog</a></p>

	<h3>Related posts</h3>
	<ul class="st-related-posts">
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/top-5-tips-managing-first-new-business-meetings/" title="Top 5 tips on managing first meetings (18 June 2010)">Top 5 tips on managing first meetings</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/top-5-tips-business-development-strategy/" title="Top 5 tips for developing a new business strategy (8 June 2010)">Top 5 tips for developing a new business strategy</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/top-5-reasons-prospects-choose-new-agency/" title="Top 5 reasons why prospects choose to work with a new agency (13 August 2010)">Top 5 reasons why prospects choose to work with a new agency</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/new-business-presentation-tips/" title="Top 10 Tips for New Business Presentations (18 November 2009)">Top 10 Tips for New Business Presentations</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/business-generation-tips/" title="Top 10 Tips for Generating New Business (21 October 2009)">Top 10 Tips for Generating New Business</a></li>
</ul>

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		<title>Just as we get our heads around the idea of eCommerce…</title>
		<link>http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/social-ecommerce/</link>
		<comments>http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/social-ecommerce/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 10 Aug 2010 12:04:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Claudia</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Market Trends]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Media Commentary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[digital marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[e-commerce]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[facebook]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing week]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[social e-commerce]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[social media marketing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/?p=448</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I read an article in Marketing Week recently which explored the new buzzword of digital marketing, ‘Social eCommerce’.
Social eCommerce is the integration of eCommerce and social media and it’s a movement that has really taken off in the past few months. However, I do wonder whether this concept has been introduced to the digital mix too [...]<p><br /><br /><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/social-ecommerce/">Just as we get our heads around the idea of eCommerce…</a> is a post from the <a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/">Alchemis New Business Blog</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I read an <a href="http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/disciplines/digital/forget-e-commerce-social-commerce-is-where-its-at/3016388.article" rel="nofollow" title="social commerce is where it's at" >article in Marketing Week</a> recently which explored the new buzzword of digital marketing, ‘Social eCommerce’.</p>
<p>Social eCommerce is the integration of eCommerce and social media and it’s a movement that has really taken off in the past few months. However, I do wonder whether this concept has been introduced to the digital mix too soon, especially at a time when some retailers have not even mastered the art of providing good transactional sites and many websites still remain difficult to navigate and fail to entice customers to buy their products.</p>
<p>Amazon is one of the first companies to embrace social eCommerce and they have definitely earned that right, as advocators of the eCommerce explosion.</p>
<p>So what have Amazon actually done?</p>
<p>Amazon has launched a new program that lets shoppers access their Facebook pages directly through Amazon.com. The program allows them to receive personalised movies, music and book recommendations based on the preferences listed within their profiles on the social networking site. The application also keeps track of friend’s birthdays and can automatically provide you with gift suggestions based on their listed preferences.</p>
<p>Amazon, sensing the backlash about privacy, has already promised not to share information with Facebook or any outside sources. However, despite this promise, there still seems to be scepticism about other companies going down this route and it remains to be seen how popular this new feature will be.</p>
<p>Whatever the cost, brands in this day and age need to be continuously demonstrating that they are moving with the times and this is probably why Amazon have been prepared to take the risk.</p>
<p>Please let us know if any of you have had any experiences with social eCommerce and whether you feel it will take off.</p>
<p><br /><br /><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/social-ecommerce/">Just as we get our heads around the idea of eCommerce…</a> is a post from the <a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/">Alchemis New Business Blog</a></p>

	<h3>Related posts</h3>
	<ul class="st-related-posts">
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/perils-of-social-media-marketing/" title="Walking the fine line of social media marketing (4 August 2010)">Walking the fine line of social media marketing</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/social-marketing-generate-voters/" title="Using social marketing to generate new voters (9 April 2010)">Using social marketing to generate new voters</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/importance-social-media-mobile-marketing/" title="The importance of social media and mobile marketing (23 February 2010)">The importance of social media and mobile marketing</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/data-accuracy-wins-new-business/" title="The Importance of Data Accuracy in Winning New Business (17 December 2009)">The Importance of Data Accuracy in Winning New Business</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/rollercoaster-marketing-budgets/" title="The coalition, the goal that never was, rollercoaster marketing budgets &#8211; Nostradamus would struggle with 2010! (20 July 2010)">The coalition, the goal that never was, rollercoaster marketing budgets &#8211; Nostradamus would struggle with 2010!</a></li>
</ul>

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		<title>The coalition, the goal that never was, rollercoaster marketing budgets &#8211; Nostradamus would struggle with 2010!</title>
		<link>http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/rollercoaster-marketing-budgets/</link>
		<comments>http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/rollercoaster-marketing-budgets/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 20 Jul 2010 09:25:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jim Piper</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Market Trends]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Media Commentary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bellwether report]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[digital marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economic recovery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[election]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ipa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new business agency]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recession]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sales promotion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[social media marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[the guardian]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/?p=433</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[2010 has been interesting for a number of political, sporting and other factors. However, Alchemis is focused on advertising and marketing and the Guardian article (July 12th) was a great sanity check as it mirrors our experiences over the first half of 2010.
The article focuses on the recent Bellwether report, published by the Institute of [...]<p><br /><br /><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/rollercoaster-marketing-budgets/">The coalition, the goal that never was, rollercoaster marketing budgets &#8211; Nostradamus would struggle with 2010!</a> is a post from the <a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/">Alchemis New Business Blog</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>2010 has been interesting for a number of political, sporting and other factors. However, Alchemis is focused on advertising and marketing and the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/jul/12/bellwether-report-advertising-budgets" rel="nofollow" title="bellwether report on advertising budgets article" >Guardian article (July 12th)</a> was a great sanity check as it mirrors our experiences over the first half of 2010.</p>
<p>The article focuses on the recent Bellwether report, published by the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising. It has found that one in five companies cut annual advertising spend between April and June. This compares with 15% that said spend was increased.</p>
<p>It was as recent as Quarter One when the report announced that more UK companies raised their marketing budgets than cut them for the first time in two-and-a-half years.</p>
<p>Advertising took a knock, although big events such as the World Cup meant the dip in this area was not as significant as it could have been. Sales promotion was hit very hard, with the report recording “the third fastest downgrade to spending on the sales promotion sector in the Bellwether survey&#8217;s history”</p>
<p>It is not all doom and gloom. For those in the digital sector spend went up, although at a very slow rate. Internet advertising continued to grow, with social media remaining a major focus. With ROI crucial, digital media’s measurability is very appealing to company bean counters.</p>
<p>Despite all of this, as a new business agency, we (and our clients) should latch onto Rory Sutherland’s (IPA President) comments &#8211; &#8220;Although this indicates a less optimistic picture than previously thought for this year, marketing spend is still set to increase.&#8221;</p>
<p>In fact, we are optimistic at Alchemis. As I mention above, our experiences have mirrored the positive first quarter followed by a slower second quarter with the digital sector remaining the growth area. We, and our clients, entered 2010 with a bang. New briefs were plentiful and outstanding proposals suddenly got the green light. We had a record quarter for clients converting business in all disciplines. The feeling from the market and our clients felt positive. Companies and marketing departments had stuck two fingers up to the recession and the combined efforts of Alchemis and our clients over the last hard 12 months were paying dividends.</p>
<p>Quarter Two did see a dip, although in fact, there were and are still lots of opportunities out there for small to medium sized agencies and results from the second quarter still smashed the figures from 2009. I am not an economist, but there is no doubt in my mind that the uncertainty both before and following the election was a factor. Those are out of the way now and the one thing that has not waned is the number of marketing professionals who have wanted to meet new agencies. We have set record numbers of meetings in May and June. If times are tough, you need to look at quality, cost-effective solutions. I’ve waxed lyrical about it before, but our client base of small to medium sized agencies offer exactly that and the market is really open to approaches from them.</p>
<p>There is still much uncertainty out there and whilst commentators will have their opinion, what happens next is anyone’s guess. However, we know that you will need to be prepared for both a down or upturn. If your current clients cut their budgets, you need to have irons in the fire with new business. If, as we all hope, the second quarter dip is short lived, you want to make sure that you have got the introductions out of the way before those budgets are released and allocated.</p>
<p>The Lib-Cons will be there for a while yet, Germany has beaten us again, but who knows what the rest of 2010 will bring? All I know is that everyone in agency land needs to be prepared for any eventuality.</p>
<p><br /><br /><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/rollercoaster-marketing-budgets/">The coalition, the goal that never was, rollercoaster marketing budgets &#8211; Nostradamus would struggle with 2010!</a> is a post from the <a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/">Alchemis New Business Blog</a></p>

	<h3>Related posts</h3>
	<ul class="st-related-posts">
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/perils-of-social-media-marketing/" title="Walking the fine line of social media marketing (4 August 2010)">Walking the fine line of social media marketing</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/social-marketing-generate-voters/" title="Using social marketing to generate new voters (9 April 2010)">Using social marketing to generate new voters</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/price-pay/" title="There’s always a price to pay! (13 April 2010)">There’s always a price to pay!</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/importance-social-media-mobile-marketing/" title="The importance of social media and mobile marketing (23 February 2010)">The importance of social media and mobile marketing</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/sales-team-round-up-july-august-and-benefits-of-august-new-business-callinbird-gets-the-worm/" title="Sales Team round up for July &#038; August and August bird catches the worm (31 August 2010)">Sales Team round up for July &#038; August and August bird catches the worm</a></li>
</ul>

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		<title>New business &#8211; who pays wins?</title>
		<link>http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/new-business-who-pays-wins/</link>
		<comments>http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/new-business-who-pays-wins/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 08 Jul 2010 15:28:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Amanda Francis</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Market Trends]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Media Commentary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New Business Advice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[business pitching]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ipa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new business opportunities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new business strategy]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/?p=420</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I echo the views of Martin Hamish of the IPA following the news that Thomas Cook are to demand a &#8217;signing on fee&#8217; to the lucky agency who wins their business. The word Martin chose was &#8216;outrageous&#8217; which pretty much reflects the views of most of our clients, who are typically creative, marketing and communications [...]<p><br /><br /><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/new-business-who-pays-wins/">New business &#8211; who pays wins?</a> is a post from the <a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/">Alchemis New Business Blog</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I echo the views of Martin Hamish of the IPA following the news that Thomas Cook are to demand <a href="http://www.mediaweek.co.uk/news/bulletin/mediaam/article/1014883/?DCMP=EMC-MediaAMBulletin" rel="nofollow" title="Media Week article re Thomas Cook signing on fee" >a &#8217;signing on fee&#8217;</a> to the lucky agency who wins their business. The word Martin chose was &#8216;outrageous&#8217; which pretty much reflects the views of most of our clients, who are typically creative, marketing and communications agencies.</p>
<p>This attitude of large brands and advertisers is having a major impact on the agency world and is one of the main reasons why we recommend getting our agencies <a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/back-door-new-business/"title="how to win new business through the back door" >&#8216;under the radar&#8217;</a>.</p>
<p>This approach avoids the pain, expense and stretched resources of procurement and pitching which frankly most agencies can do without, particularly in this climate.</p>
<p><br /><br /><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/new-business-who-pays-wins/">New business &#8211; who pays wins?</a> is a post from the <a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/">Alchemis New Business Blog</a></p>

	<h3>Related posts</h3>
	<ul class="st-related-posts">
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/top-5-tips-managing-first-new-business-meetings/" title="Top 5 tips on managing first meetings (18 June 2010)">Top 5 tips on managing first meetings</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/top-5-tips-business-development-strategy/" title="Top 5 tips for developing a new business strategy (8 June 2010)">Top 5 tips for developing a new business strategy</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/top-5-reasons-prospects-choose-new-agency/" title="Top 5 reasons why prospects choose to work with a new agency (13 August 2010)">Top 5 reasons why prospects choose to work with a new agency</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/new-business-presentation-tips/" title="Top 10 Tips for New Business Presentations (18 November 2009)">Top 10 Tips for New Business Presentations</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/business-generation-tips/" title="Top 10 Tips for Generating New Business (21 October 2009)">Top 10 Tips for Generating New Business</a></li>
</ul>

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		<title>Renaissance, Rebirth, Revival &#8211; The Public Relations Revolution</title>
		<link>http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/public-relations-revolution/</link>
		<comments>http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/public-relations-revolution/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 01 Apr 2010 14:23:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jim Piper</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Market Trends]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Media Commentary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[building relationships]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economic recovery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[evening standard]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new business agency]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[public relations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recession]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/?p=374</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[“Who does a CEO call first in crisis? Now it’s the PR” (Evening Standard 15th March 2010)
This article highlights the renaissance of the PR industry as it has bucked the trend of depleted budgets and spending during the recession. Chime Communications has recently unveiled a 15% increase in profits and Martin Sorrell concurs with the [...]<p><br /><br /><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/public-relations-revolution/">Renaissance, Rebirth, Revival &#8211; The Public Relations Revolution</a> is a post from the <a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/">Alchemis New Business Blog</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>“Who does a CEO call first in crisis? Now it’s the PR” (<a href="http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/markets/article-23815203-who-does-a-ceo-call-first-in-crisis-the-pr-men.do" rel="nofollow" >Evening Standard 15th March 2010</a>)</p>
<p>This article highlights the renaissance of the PR industry as it has bucked the trend of depleted budgets and spending during the recession. Chime Communications has recently unveiled a 15% increase in profits and Martin Sorrell concurs with the uplift, emphasising the rise in financial importance of his portfolio of PR agencies.</p>
<p>Undoubtedly, there has been, as the article explains, an increase in the importance of PR for corporations and high-profile individuals. Danny Rogers of PR Week (as he should) believes the discipline has “moved up the food chain” over the past 5 years. We would agree. Ten years ago, a high proportion of the Alchemis client base consisted of PR agencies of varying size, stature and sector experience. Since then we have seen a marked dip in the number of clients in this industry, and it has been a much smaller proportion of our turnover for some time. Whereas we used to work in financial, corporate, technology, manufacturing and pharmaceutical markets, more recent PR clients have been consumer focused and even here, it has been a tough environment to be working and driving business development. However, I believe the recession has helped the PR industry. Agencies are often viewed as a cost effective alternative to advertising and we have seen this, with several PR clients in varying markets enjoying successful new business campaigns over the past 12 months.</p>
<p>This perceived cost benefit is just one side of the coin. More importantly, corporate reputations are far more fragile with the rise of the internet, digital media and almost instant worldwide coverage. PR agencies have adapted in recent years to embrace a digital offer. Whilst a reputation can be damaged at the click of a mouse button, they can also be protected and enhanced. PR agencies that will survive and thrive will understand the importance of the digital space and be equipped to use it to good effect for their clients.</p>
<p>What is very interesting from a new business agency perspective is the identification that, despite prominent PR agencies being full of talent, the power and hence profits remain with the founders. This, Rogers believes, will result in the emergence of many breakaway agencies. I believe that this has always been the case to a degree as we have worked with many PR agency start-ups utilising that “big agency” experience as a key selling point. Additional agencies entering the market should only be positive news for a specialist business development agency such as Alchemis. We have always built strong relationships with PR people who tend to be extremely loyal taking us from agency to agency throughout their careers. The offers are diverse and the very nature of the discipline lends itself to more in-depth, engaging and interesting conversations for our New Business Managers. Not every sales person “gets” how to sell PR as it is not as tangible or quantifiable as other disciplines, but we have a real heritage in the area and a bank of highly capable people ready to fill a PR gap in their client portfolios.</p>
<p><br /><br /><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/public-relations-revolution/">Renaissance, Rebirth, Revival &#8211; The Public Relations Revolution</a> is a post from the <a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/">Alchemis New Business Blog</a></p>

	<h3>Related posts</h3>
	<ul class="st-related-posts">
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/agency-collaboration-in-todays-markets/" title="What does agency collaboration mean in today’s markets? (4 March 2010)">What does agency collaboration mean in today’s markets?</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/top-5-tips-managing-first-new-business-meetings/" title="Top 5 tips on managing first meetings (18 June 2010)">Top 5 tips on managing first meetings</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/top-5-reasons-prospects-choose-new-agency/" title="Top 5 reasons why prospects choose to work with a new agency (13 August 2010)">Top 5 reasons why prospects choose to work with a new agency</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/data-accuracy-wins-new-business/" title="The Importance of Data Accuracy in Winning New Business (17 December 2009)">The Importance of Data Accuracy in Winning New Business</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/rollercoaster-marketing-budgets/" title="The coalition, the goal that never was, rollercoaster marketing budgets &#8211; Nostradamus would struggle with 2010! (20 July 2010)">The coalition, the goal that never was, rollercoaster marketing budgets &#8211; Nostradamus would struggle with 2010!</a></li>
</ul>

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		<title>Generating new business – the email vs snailmail debate</title>
		<link>http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/generating-new-business-email-vs-snailmail/</link>
		<comments>http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/generating-new-business-email-vs-snailmail/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 25 Mar 2010 14:44:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Rob</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Market Trends]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Media Commentary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New Business Advice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[art of selling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brand republic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[direct mail]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[e-marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new business generation]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/?p=368</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Anthony Miller wrote a great article on the Brand Republic website on the 18th March which addressed the research done by academics at Bangor University to determine if the brain acts differently to marketing messages delivered through direct mail in comparison to those shown on screen.
From what he’s written it appears that direct mail enhances [...]<p><br /><br /><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/generating-new-business-email-vs-snailmail/">Generating new business – the email vs snailmail debate</a> is a post from the <a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/">Alchemis New Business Blog</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Anthony Miller wrote a great <a href="http://community.brandrepublic.com/blogs/commentcentral/archive/2010/03/18/why-mail-doesn-t-get-on-people-s-nerves.aspx" rel="nofollow" title="why mail doesn't get on people's nerves" >article</a> on the Brand Republic website on the 18th March which addressed the research done by academics at Bangor University to determine if the brain acts differently to marketing messages delivered through direct mail in comparison to those shown on screen.</p>
<p>From what he’s written it appears that direct mail enhances a brand’s value for a number of reasons including:</p>
<ul>
<li>When a piece of DM was held and read by a participant, their reactions suggested that they were experiencing thought patterns similar to those the brain exhibits when processing memories and emotions.</li>
<li>It appears easier for the brain to process messages from tangible direct mail compared to digital marketing material, and subsequently easier to remember.</li>
<li>When asked to keep or discard items, the physical direct mail provoked activity in the right-middle cingulate, a region of the brain that is associated with decision-making connected to emotions and social issues. Therefore the research suggests that direct mail has links to emotion-based decision-making.</li>
</ul>
<p>Did I mention that the research was funded by Royal Mail by the way? No? Well it is.</p>
<p>However, cynicism aside, I thought about our own experiences between the incoming new business enquiries we generate through a result of our direct mail and email campaigns.</p>
<p>For the most part, our direct mail follows a very simple formula. It tends to be very short (usually no more than a few sentences) with a prompt for action at the end. And, like Marmite, people tend to either love it or hate it. But either way, most of the people who we speak to when we follow up the campaigns by phone (that is our rasion d’etre after all) have one thing in common – and that is they remember it.</p>
<p>I weighed up the pros and cons of the campaigns we sent by post and email and this is how they stacked up:</p>
<p>Email costs next to nothing to send and you can be reasonably sure that, providing you have the correct address in the first place, it is going directly to the in-box of your intended recipient. On top of this, the functionality that exists with our email marketing system allow us to see specifically who has opened it, who has clicked on a link, who has forwarded it, who has deleted without opening, etc. This gives us extremely valuable insight and allows follow-up calls to be targeted to recipients that are most likely to have an interest, even if they didn’t respond directly to the email.</p>
<p>Direct mail by comparison is much more expensive. Paper costs, printing costs, postage costs, the time involved in folding and stuffing, environmentally less friendly and after all that you can never be 100% sure that your intended target received it. Maybe after all the thought, time and effort that went into sending it, some vindictive PA intercepted it and binned it (no doubt a Marmite-hater) before the MD of The Jolly Nice Potential Client To Have Agency got to see it. Or maybe the postman delivered it to the wrong building, which &#8211; given the amount of post we get delivered here which is clearly marked for various other addresses – is a very real possibility. Or perhaps Royal Mail were just on strike again.</p>
<p>However, despite the pitfalls in the postal system, a very significant proportion of new business that we win has started with a response to a mailer. And this trend hasn’t shown any real sign of decline, despite our increasing use of email marketing in tandem with direct mail.</p>
<p>Now, I’m no scientist so I don’t know what part of my brain is being activated between the time it takes me to open any direct mail addressed to me and the time it takes me to throw it in the recycle bin 15 feet away from my desk. What I do know that in that time I will have glanced at it for a few seconds and those few seconds need to get the sender’s message across effectively, thus saving it from the bin. So if this applies to me, I’m sure the same rules apply to the very busy people we send Alchemis mailers to. Once you’ve opened the letter, you can’t help seeing the whole page. And if there’s not much on that page aside from one reason why it may be of benefit to you to respond, you could easily end up “accidentally” reading it even if you don’t want to.</p>
<p>The sheer volume of e-marketing shots I receive on the other hand may not even get a few seconds of my time. If the subject line doesn’t instantly grab my interest it’s likely to be deleted unread. If the sender is a company rather than a person, chances are I’ll assume it’s spam of some sort.</p>
<p>So what does the future hold for both mediums?</p>
<p>As far as we’re concerned we’ll continue using both direct mail and e-marketing campaigns whilst they are producing a decent return on investment, but the primary focus will always be on picking up the phone to demonstrate first hand to prospects our amazing telephone marketing skills. After all, you’ve got to practice what you preach.</p>
<p><br /><br /><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/generating-new-business-email-vs-snailmail/">Generating new business – the email vs snailmail debate</a> is a post from the <a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/">Alchemis New Business Blog</a></p>

	<h3>Related posts</h3>
	<ul class="st-related-posts">
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/top-5-tips-managing-first-new-business-meetings/" title="Top 5 tips on managing first meetings (18 June 2010)">Top 5 tips on managing first meetings</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/top-5-tips-business-development-strategy/" title="Top 5 tips for developing a new business strategy (8 June 2010)">Top 5 tips for developing a new business strategy</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/top-5-reasons-prospects-choose-new-agency/" title="Top 5 reasons why prospects choose to work with a new agency (13 August 2010)">Top 5 reasons why prospects choose to work with a new agency</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/new-business-presentation-tips/" title="Top 10 Tips for New Business Presentations (18 November 2009)">Top 10 Tips for New Business Presentations</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/business-generation-tips/" title="Top 10 Tips for Generating New Business (21 October 2009)">Top 10 Tips for Generating New Business</a></li>
</ul>

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		<title>The evolution of viral marketing</title>
		<link>http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/evolution-of-viral-marketing/</link>
		<comments>http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/evolution-of-viral-marketing/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 19 Mar 2010 12:44:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Market Trends]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Media Commentary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[branding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new business managers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[viral marketing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/?p=357</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Since watching my mum as a photographer when I was a nipper I have grown up filled to bursting with the desire to become a wildlife photographer, or even an amateur filmmaker (I’ll take either) but sadly, all the skipping around with my vintage cameras and super 8 cine cams has yet to earn me [...]<p><br /><br /><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/evolution-of-viral-marketing/">The evolution of viral marketing</a> is a post from the <a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/">Alchemis New Business Blog</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Since watching my mum as a photographer when I was a nipper I have grown up filled to bursting with the desire to become a wildlife photographer, or even an amateur filmmaker (I’ll take either) but sadly, all the skipping around with my vintage cameras and super 8 cine cams has yet to earn me world recognition.</p>
<p>While I wait for the call from National Geographic insisting I hop on the next plane to the Monteverde Cloud Forests of Costa Rica to document the life of the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7609780.stm" rel="nofollow" title="BBC article about the world's rarest tree frog" >Isthmohyla rivularis tree frog</a>, I work diligently as a business development manager, which has given me a direct connection to the marketing services sector and some of the most inspiring creativity in the UK.</p>
<p>Being a visual person I love viral marketing videos, and have a great appreciation for creativity that leaves you feeling inspired, moved, or simply giggling like a 10 year old girl.</p>
<p>As viral marketing has evolved over the years any video that keeps people engaged and evokes these feelings can be harnessed to market a product or brand, and will spread like wildfire. An effective and budget friendly alternative to TV advertising.</p>
<p>How viral marketing is changing becomes apparent when you look at Mashable&#8217;s <a href="http://mashable.com/2009/12/07/viral-video-ads/" rel="nofollow" title="The 10 most innovative viral video ads of 2009" >10 Most Innovative Viral Video Ads of 2009</a> from ‘piano stairs’, to ‘catching laptops with your butt’ they all keep you watching and deliver an end brand message.</p>
<p>If you only have the time to look at one of these videos, I suggest number 10. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-94JhLEiN0" rel="nofollow" title="JK wedding entrance dance" >JK Wedding Entrance</a>.</p>
<p>This brilliant video was never intended to be a marketing promotion of any kind, but as the couple’s wedding entourage dances down the aisle to Chris Brown’s song “Forever,” Sony Music decided to use the video’s popularity to sell more Chris Brown albums instead of stripping the video of its music — something copyright owners are permitted to do on YouTube. A classic example of the evolution of viral marketing.</p>
<p>Top 10 of 2009 aside, a favourite viral of mine so far for 2010 has to be the <a href="http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/news/bulletin/thefix/article/989943/?DCMP=EMC-15March2010" rel="nofollow" title="Specsavers parodies Lynx bikini commercial" >Specsavers parody of the iconic Lynx ads</a>. Thankfully, I did go to Specsavers!</p>
<p><br /><br /><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/evolution-of-viral-marketing/">The evolution of viral marketing</a> is a post from the <a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/">Alchemis New Business Blog</a></p>

	<h3>Related posts</h3>
	<ul class="st-related-posts">
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/new-business-executive-confessions-2/" title="True Confessions of a New Business Executive &#8211; Part 2 (24 November 2009)">True Confessions of a New Business Executive &#8211; Part 2</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/new-business-executive-confessions-1/" title="True Confessions of a New Business Executive &#8211; Part 1 (5 November 2009)">True Confessions of a New Business Executive &#8211; Part 1</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/training-for-the-mile/" title="Training for “The Mile” (to save face) (9 March 2010)">Training for “The Mile” (to save face)</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/importance-social-media-mobile-marketing/" title="The importance of social media and mobile marketing (23 February 2010)">The importance of social media and mobile marketing</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/staff-retention-business-development/" title="Staff retention in business development (2 June 2010)">Staff retention in business development</a></li>
</ul>

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		<title>A game of two halves</title>
		<link>http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/game-halves/</link>
		<comments>http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/game-halves/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:14:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Amanda Francis</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Market Trends]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Media Commentary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[better sales results]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economic recovery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new business strategy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recession]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/?p=353</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Interesting commentary from Sir Martin Sorrell on WPP’s 2009 performance, calling it a ‘game of 2 halves’ with a ‘much less worse’ performance from November 2009.
This almost mirrors our experiences at Alchemis, whilst calling marketing decision makers across a wide range of market sectors on behalf of our clients, who represent the full range of [...]<p><br /><br /><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/game-halves/">A game of two halves</a> is a post from the <a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/">Alchemis New Business Blog</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Interesting commentary from Sir Martin Sorrell on <a href="http://www.mediaweek.co.uk/news/bulletin/mediaam/article/988653/?DCMP=EMC-MediaAMBulletin" rel="nofollow" title="Martin Sorrell talks about WPP's 2009 results" >WPP’s 2009 performance</a>, calling it a ‘game of 2 halves’ with a ‘much less worse’ performance from November 2009.</p>
<p>This almost mirrors our experiences at Alchemis, whilst calling marketing decision makers across a wide range of market sectors on behalf of our clients, who represent the full range of creative marketing agencies &#8211; except our second half recovery (a bit like Aston Villa at the weekend) began in August 2009.</p>
<p>When I say our recovery, I really mean our clients’ recovery, which actually manifested itself in a 70% increase in the amount of new business we helped our clients win between August – December 2009 compared to the first half of the year.</p>
<p>2010 has seen an even more significant increase with Alchemis helping to generate almost £2.5m worth of new business for our clients already.</p>
<p>These wins can only come from us ensuring that we manage to get our clients in front of the right marketing decision makers at the right time – we do this by combining fresh calls into new prospects and managing the ongoing development of those new relationships on behalf of our clients.</p>
<p>What are your experiences of 2009? Do they reflect WPP’s?</p>
<p><br /><br /><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/game-halves/">A game of two halves</a> is a post from the <a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/">Alchemis New Business Blog</a></p>

	<h3>Related posts</h3>
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	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/top-5-tips-managing-first-new-business-meetings/" title="Top 5 tips on managing first meetings (18 June 2010)">Top 5 tips on managing first meetings</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/top-5-tips-business-development-strategy/" title="Top 5 tips for developing a new business strategy (8 June 2010)">Top 5 tips for developing a new business strategy</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/top-5-reasons-prospects-choose-new-agency/" title="Top 5 reasons why prospects choose to work with a new agency (13 August 2010)">Top 5 reasons why prospects choose to work with a new agency</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/data-accuracy-wins-new-business/" title="The Importance of Data Accuracy in Winning New Business (17 December 2009)">The Importance of Data Accuracy in Winning New Business</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/rollercoaster-marketing-budgets/" title="The coalition, the goal that never was, rollercoaster marketing budgets &#8211; Nostradamus would struggle with 2010! (20 July 2010)">The coalition, the goal that never was, rollercoaster marketing budgets &#8211; Nostradamus would struggle with 2010!</a></li>
</ul>

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		<title>What does agency collaboration mean in today’s markets?</title>
		<link>http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/agency-collaboration-in-todays-markets/</link>
		<comments>http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/agency-collaboration-in-todays-markets/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:18:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Claudia</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Market Trends]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[agency collaboration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[building relationships]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing industry network]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/?p=345</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Last month I attended a Marketing Industry Network event in Birmingham, which focussed on the topic of “Agency Collaboration”. The panel used the example of the Birmingham 2018 World Cup bid, which was a fantastic example of how a group of completely different disciplined agencies came together to produce an amazing argument for the City [...]<p><br /><br /><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/agency-collaboration-in-todays-markets/">What does agency collaboration mean in today’s markets?</a> is a post from the <a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/">Alchemis New Business Blog</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Last month I attended a <a href="http://www.marketingindustrynetwork.com/" rel="nofollow" title="Marketing Industry Network website" >Marketing Industry Network </a>event in Birmingham, which focussed on the topic of “Agency Collaboration”. The panel used the example of the <a href="http://www.backthebirminghambid.com" rel="nofollow" title="Birmingham's 2018 World Cup bid" >Birmingham 2018 World Cup bid</a>, which was a fantastic example of how a group of completely different disciplined agencies came together to produce an amazing argument for the City of Birmingham.</p>
<p>The essence of the discussion focused on how we could get marketing agencies to work together to better serve the needs of the consumer. Lets face it, the consumer calls the shots nowadays and they are totally aware of how demanding they can be. This puts greater pressure on marketing agencies to provide a 360-degree approach.</p>
<p>In the past, agencies have been suspicious about sharing their ideas with other agencies and they have felt exposed to the fact that their ideas could be stolen or worse still, misused.</p>
<p>Today, we see more of the “ Best Creatives” coming together and sharing their knowledge across all disciplines, which makes the need for getting it right first time key, especially as more emphasis is placed on delivery.</p>
<p>Direct clients will inevitably get the most for their money when they present a problem to a group of vendors and they are no longer concerned with how many people are involved in the campaign as long as they get the results they require.</p>
<p>The challenges tend to be experienced at agency level as colleagues try to build experience around skills, which may overlap. Therefore, the best agency collaboration can be seen between agencies that respect each other’s boundaries and learn to work together towards a common goal.</p>
<p>Are there any agencies out there that would like to comment on their personal experiences of collaboration?</p>
<p><br /><br /><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/agency-collaboration-in-todays-markets/">What does agency collaboration mean in today’s markets?</a> is a post from the <a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/">Alchemis New Business Blog</a></p>

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	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/top-5-tips-managing-first-new-business-meetings/" title="Top 5 tips on managing first meetings (18 June 2010)">Top 5 tips on managing first meetings</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/top-5-reasons-prospects-choose-new-agency/" title="Top 5 reasons why prospects choose to work with a new agency (13 August 2010)">Top 5 reasons why prospects choose to work with a new agency</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/data-accuracy-wins-new-business/" title="The Importance of Data Accuracy in Winning New Business (17 December 2009)">The Importance of Data Accuracy in Winning New Business</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/public-relations-revolution/" title="Renaissance, Rebirth, Revival &#8211; The Public Relations Revolution (1 April 2010)">Renaissance, Rebirth, Revival &#8211; The Public Relations Revolution</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/maximise-your-new-business-agency/" title="Maximise your New Business Agency (5 January 2010)">Maximise your New Business Agency</a></li>
</ul>

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		<title>The importance of social media and mobile marketing</title>
		<link>http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/importance-social-media-mobile-marketing/</link>
		<comments>http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/importance-social-media-mobile-marketing/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 23 Feb 2010 12:10:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Market Trends]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New Business Advice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[branding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[facebook]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mobile marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new business opportunities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[social media marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[soft sell]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[twitter]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/?p=328</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Now I have always been a great believer in harnessing new platforms like mobile marketing and social media sites to promote your brand or company. Hence setting Alchemis up on Twitter.
In my view it’s more than a wise step to get out there, even if a Twitter account doesn’t result in immediate new business, your [...]<p><br /><br /><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/importance-social-media-mobile-marketing/">The importance of social media and mobile marketing</a> is a post from the <a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/">Alchemis New Business Blog</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Now I have always been a great believer in harnessing new platforms like mobile marketing and social media sites to promote your brand or company. Hence setting Alchemis up on Twitter.</p>
<p>In my view it’s more than a wise step to get out there, even if a Twitter account doesn’t result in immediate new business, your brand and company name is out there in the “Twittersphere” for all to see, which can only be a good thing.</p>
<p>The common perception with social media sites is that people go there to socialise and not to buy. True, but brand visibility is the key, and with Twitter having over 18 million users, and Facebook a staggering 400 million <em>active</em> users, it’s hard to see why some companies still stick to their guns and use more traditional methods of marketing.</p>
<p>On the same note, with the introduction of more and more mobile devices, surely the place to be is in the mobile web? Well you would be shocked at the lack of brands I speak to on a daily basis that are yet to fully appreciate the benefit of mobile marketing.</p>
<p>That’s why when one of my clients that I call on invited me to a seminar based on their predictions for paid search in 2010, it was refreshing to listen to someone promoting the idea of harnessing the mammoth power of social media, and the importance of the growing number of consumers available to be targeted through mobile devices today.</p>
<p>Now I am not about to give away my client’s top tips for mobile or social media search (sorry), but what I will say is that the seminar really drove home the constant developments in social media and mobile technologies that companies just aren’t making full use of.</p>
<p>I read an obvious but probably not widely registered fact in an article some time ago that text messages are usually read by a user within 20 seconds, which means brands can start seeing results almost instantaneously, versus hours or days for a similar email marketing campaign. Now if brands can harness this to generate new business and get results that fast, then they should be getting onto it before these spaces are flooded, and their brand becomes a needle in a haystack.</p>
<p>The moral of the story is if you&#8217;re not using the power of social media, do it. And if you’re not mobile marketing, do it.</p>
<p>I can’t recall the last time I had a clever, well-targeted marketing text message sent to me, in fact I’m not even sure I’ve even had one! Aside from my mate John texting “Dan, get down to the Royal George, they are giving out free Tequilas!” Now that was well targeted.</p>
<p><br /><br /><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/importance-social-media-mobile-marketing/">The importance of social media and mobile marketing</a> is a post from the <a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/">Alchemis New Business Blog</a></p>

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	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/social-marketing-generate-voters/" title="Using social marketing to generate new voters (9 April 2010)">Using social marketing to generate new voters</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/top-5-tips-managing-first-new-business-meetings/" title="Top 5 tips on managing first meetings (18 June 2010)">Top 5 tips on managing first meetings</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/top-5-tips-business-development-strategy/" title="Top 5 tips for developing a new business strategy (8 June 2010)">Top 5 tips for developing a new business strategy</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/top-5-reasons-prospects-choose-new-agency/" title="Top 5 reasons why prospects choose to work with a new agency (13 August 2010)">Top 5 reasons why prospects choose to work with a new agency</a></li>
</ul>

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		<title>Growing optimism</title>
		<link>http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/growing-optimism/</link>
		<comments>http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/growing-optimism/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:08:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Amanda Francis</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Market Trends]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Media Commentary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bellwether report]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ipa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recession]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/?p=306</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I’ve just read the following headlines with interest: ‘The latest IPA/BDO Bellwether report announced growing optimism and confidence alongside increased marketing budgets for 2010 in comparison to last year. Effective marketing &#38; advertising spend will be essential in 2010.’
This is certainly borne out by our experiences at Alchemis during the latter part of 2009 and [...]<p><br /><br /><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/growing-optimism/">Growing optimism</a> is a post from the <a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/">Alchemis New Business Blog</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I’ve just read the following headlines with interest: ‘The latest <a href="http://www.ipa.co.uk/content/Q4-2009-Bellwether-Report-out-today-marketing-budgets-reduced-at-even-slower-rate-" rel="nofollow" title="Q4 2009 Bellwether Report" >IPA/BDO Bellwether report </a>announced growing optimism and confidence alongside increased marketing budgets for 2010 in comparison to last year. Effective marketing &amp; advertising spend will be essential in 2010.’</p>
<p>This is certainly borne out by our experiences at Alchemis during the latter part of 2009 and into 2010. We started seeing an increase in the number of marketing budgets being released around August last year and we experienced a 70% increase in the number of wins for our clients in the second half of the year compared to the first half.</p>
<p>The key phrase for me is ‘effective marketing &amp; advertising’ and those of our clients (typically small-medium sized agencies) who recognise this and who are prepared to develop their proposition to reflect this need are more likely to get in front of key decision makers with budgets.</p>
<p>The signs are that this upward trend will continue, although we remain cautious and work closely with our clients to develop propositions that are most effective in this climate and to focus our activity on those markets where we see the most opportunities.</p>
<p><br /><br /><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/growing-optimism/">Growing optimism</a> is a post from the <a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/">Alchemis New Business Blog</a></p>

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	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/sales-team-round-up-july-august-and-benefits-of-august-new-business-callinbird-gets-the-worm/" title="Sales Team round up for July &#038; August and August bird catches the worm (31 August 2010)">Sales Team round up for July &#038; August and August bird catches the worm</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/public-relations-revolution/" title="Renaissance, Rebirth, Revival &#8211; The Public Relations Revolution (1 April 2010)">Renaissance, Rebirth, Revival &#8211; The Public Relations Revolution</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/new-business-who-pays-wins/" title="New business &#8211; who pays wins? (8 July 2010)">New business &#8211; who pays wins?</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/maximising-procurement-channel-for-new-business/" title="Maximising the procurement channel for new business opportunities (14 January 2010)">Maximising the procurement channel for new business opportunities</a></li>
</ul>

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		<title>Is this the death of traditional direct marketing in Britain?</title>
		<link>http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/death-of-direct-marketing/</link>
		<comments>http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/death-of-direct-marketing/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:27:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Rob</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Market Trends]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Media Commentary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[direct marketing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/?p=292</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I’ve read numerous articles in both the marketing and national press this week about how social media marketing is powering its way up the slippery ladder of “brand medium of choice” at the cost of direct marketing. Some of the stats mentioned in the articles may give great cause for concern to people working in [...]<p><br /><br /><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/death-of-direct-marketing/">Is this the death of traditional direct marketing in Britain?</a> is a post from the <a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/">Alchemis New Business Blog</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I’ve read numerous articles in both the marketing and national press this week about how social media marketing is powering its way up the slippery ladder of “brand medium of choice” at the cost of direct marketing. Some of the stats mentioned in the articles may give great cause for concern to people working in “traditional” direct marketing – like 66% of marketers will be investing in social media marketing activity over the next year and as many as 40% said they would be using their DM budget to do so, cutting spending on DM by a fifth.</p>
<p>Now, if anybody read <a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/data-accuracy-wins-new-business"title="the importance of data accuracy in winning new business" >my previous blog</a> about CRM, you may have surmised that I can be a bit picky when it comes to data integrity. So, a few things I should point out about these stats, before any traditional DM agencies start to beat their chests in self-pity whilst wailing “we’re all doomed”.</p>
<p>Firstly, all these articles appear to have stemmed from the same source (the Alterian 7th annual survey).</p>
<p>Secondly, this survey questioned 1,068 professionals worldwide, but of these only 42% were actually marketers (the rest were agencies, service providers, systems integrators and “others”).</p>
<p>Thirdly, only 36% of respondents were from Europe as opposed to 62% from North America and 2% from Asia.</p>
<p>So, I would imagine from this that the real sample size of British marketing decision makers who are actually in a budget holding position is unlikely to be more than a few hundred.</p>
<p>That said, there’s no denying that social media is a very attractive option for marketers. It’s relatively cheap, leaves less of a carbon footprint in these environmentally-conscious times and campaigns can be created and turned around so quickly that marketers have the ability to act almost “up to the minute” with current trends and events.</p>
<p>However, it’s not necessarily going to reach all demographics across the board. The weighting is far heavier at the younger end of the scale so for the foreseeable future the “older” generations (and I’m not just talking about pensioners here) will still be a very safe bet for traditional direct marketers.</p>
<p>On top of this, an ever-growing number of DM agencies have integrated digital and social media marketing offers as well now which, when considering the vast amounts of personal data gleaned from online campaigns, raises opportunities to tailor highly personalised specific direct marketing campaigns to potential customers with a higher degree of accuracy than ever before. Don’t forget, traditional direct marketing doesn’t just have to be in the form of a letter – I’ve heard of all manner of objects being sent in order to elicit a response (including a crowbar on one B2B campaign).</p>
<p>This blog is obviously focused on the reports that DM could lose revenue, but most meetings we attend across all disciplines talk about social media. Is it also the death knell for traditional PR agencies or advertising agencies? Social media is no longer the jewel in the crown of just the digital agency fraternity. It has and will become a part of all marketing be it PR, DM or even research and as such agencies need to develop their offers in that area.</p>
<p>It’s true that some traditional direct marketers may have to raise their game and “work smarter” to keep it an effective medium. But those who do will reap the rewards.</p>
<p>What are your predictions for the future of direct or social media marketing?</p>
<p><br /><br /><a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/death-of-direct-marketing/">Is this the death of traditional direct marketing in Britain?</a> is a post from the <a href="http://www.alchemis.co.uk/blog/">Alchemis New Business Blog</a></p>

	<h3>Related posts</h3>
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