I thought I’d heard it all when it comes to companies trying new channels to publicise their brands, but it seems I was wrong.

British advertisers are clearly missing a trick, as last week I read that in Germany you can sponsor weather fronts in a scheme that the meteorological institute has been running since 2002 called “Adopt a Vortex”.

Unfortunately, the problem with weather systems is that they can sometimes be slightly more temperamental than you initially anticipated – as BMW recently found out.  “Cold Front Cooper”, which advertising agency Sassenbach named after the open-air Mini Cooper (citing it as a “wind- and weather-proof idea”), has been blamed for hundreds of deaths throughout Europe – and shows no sign of letting up.

Perhaps if the Mini Cooper’s target market was geared slightly more towards gun-totting, bad-ass gangsters it would seem more appropriate – but I think it’s unlikely that they are going to be winning too much new business from people who are aspiring to be “The New Ronnie Kray” – or maybe even just Derek Branning from Eastenders.

However, it gave me a brainwave for other new untapped marketing opportunities:  why not sponsor disasters – both natural and manmade? The amount of media coverage generated by these can be phenomenal. Here are a few ideas for brands wanting to win new business in the face of human misery:

• Hurricane Topseal Roof Replacement
• Flood Wetline Eco Dinghy
• Drought Evian
• BAE Systems Gulf War

I’m off to the patents office to register my idea now. Next stop Dragon’s Den.

Having worked as a New Business Manager at Alchemis for several years but also having an extensive background in the world of mobile marketing, I’ve heard the sweeping statement “xxxx is the year of mobile” bandied around more times than I care to remember. However, 2012 might just be the year that it actually turns out to be true.

The following statistics and many more like them are readily available on the web and point to the fact that we as consumers are using handheld devices more and more in order to do what we used to do on a PC or laptop; shop, compare prices, access social networks, view product reviews, book tickets, give opinions, the list goes on and on.

• The number of mobile subscribers is going to double in the next year
• Predictions suggest that mobile internet usage will outpace desktop by 2015 – Google believe that this could happen by the end of 2012
• 85% of the world’s population has wireless access
• There are currently 23 million UK mobile internet users
• 15% of the UK population only have a mobile phone at home
• 68% of mobile phone users use their mobile in retail stores
• 24% of mobile users intentionally carry their mobile phone for in-store price comparison
• 79% of online advertisers don’t have a mobile optimised site
• 28% of people who see a mobile ad take action
• Amazon has already recorded four billion mobile sales
• A third of flowers sold on Mother’s Day were through mobile devices
• Around 12% of traffic within the online travel and finance industries is through mobile devices
• Facebook pages drive 80% of newsletter sign-up’s through mobiles

 The key for brands and retailers who want to tap in to this huge opportunity is to realise that mobile shouldn’t be viewed as separate from other parts of their overall marketing plans. Instead, it should be integrated into a broader digital strategy that marries great user experience with fantastic visual design. An app that looks pretty but doesn’t allow you buy what you want to buy is as bad as walking into a bricks and mortar shop and finding out there’s no staff to serve you at the till.

As an agency, whether a mobile specialist or one that operates in the broader digital space, the key to winning new business is getting in front of the right people in the right companies and demonstrating that you understand how to make mobile part of the bigger picture.

We’ve been doing this successfully on behalf of agencies for several years now, so if you want the benefit of our experience in this ever-changing marketplace give us a call….

As a Business Development Manager, my role is to get marketing agencies in front of the people who will potentially do business with them.　

There are lots of reasons why a Marketing Director will dedicate an hour of his time to finding out what an agency that he’s never heard of before can do for him.

One of the key differentiating factors between the many “sales calls” that will be rejected as a “waste of time”, and the rare “interesting call with an agency worth meeting with”, is the ability of the person who is calling to have an intelligent conversation – i.e. a conversation that focuses on something that is relevant, that makes good business sense, and that is with someone you enjoy talking to.

There’s no big secret:　

• be clear about why you are calling and what you want to get out of the conversation
• be curious
• ask relevant questions (get the prospect to open-up and focus on relevant issues)
• have a genuine interest in the person you are talking to
• listen
• listen
• listen
• resist the urge to tell the prospect everything about what you do and why you are the best thing since sliced bread
• listen
• listen
• listen
• make sure you understand what the prospect is telling you
• let him know you can help
• ask for the meeting!

Although you don’t need to be an “expert” in everything you are talking about (other people are there to sort out any technical details after all), it’s important to know what’s happening in the market/sector that you are targeting, understand the issues that prospects are faced with and be able to demonstrate how your client can help with their priorities.

Which is why it takes a special breed of people to make the kind of calls that will stand out.

Nobody wants to receive a call which is scripted and goes over a list of services offered; that’s just “another bloody cold call”!

Any agency that wants to seriously stand out and win new business needs sales people who can think on their feet and can engage prospects in an intelligent fashion and on a personal level.

Winning new business is not rocket science; it’s hard work, but it can often be fun and interesting if you have the right attitude!