In fact, online readership of The Times had been predicted to drop by as much as 90 per cent and The Guardian is claiming that this figure is nearer the mark when the massive decline in web traffic is over the last three weeks is taken into account.  Readership is expected to fall further once the Murdoch-owned paper removes its introductory offer of £1 for a month’s access.  From August, readers will be charged £1 a day to view content or £2 per week.

It is not yet clear whether the new revenue generated will be sufficient to shore up the struggling print title – if the estimated 15,000 daily online subscribers agree to pay for the £2 a week offer, the pay wall will generate £1.4m a year.  However, it costs £100m a year to run editorial operations at The Times and Sunday Times;  News International’s accounts to June 2009 show a loss of about £240,000 a day for both titles; and last month’s ABCs show a fall in monthly circulation of 14 per cent to 503,642.  With the Guardian having just announced £26m-worth of cost-cutting to reduce the £100,000-a-day loss it was making last year, there is a big question over how long the presses can keep running.

The advent of the worldwide web has meant that we are now all used to enjoying instant FREE access to almost any information we want, not to mention music and videos.  It is difficult to see how the paid-for content model can work given this mindset and the fact that similar information is available from other websites free.  The only way subscribers will be persuaded to pay for access is if the content has more perceived value as it offers deeper analysis and commentary than is available elsewhere – both the FT and the Wall Street Journal have proved that this is a viable option.  Some titles such as The Times and Guardian are also looking at developing readers’ clubs that build on customer loyalty by giving added benefits and content in return for a fee. 

There is a place for newspapers in the digital 21^st century, but as with any business, an ability to evolve and innovate is vital.

With many clients within the professional services sector, we were pleased to be invited to join the committee of the Yorkshire group of the PM Forum, the association for marketers in professional services.  The seminar I attended this week raised some familiar themes and I was interested to hear how some of the region’s leading legal and accountancy firms were handling them.

It’s not very often that you are able to question the managing partner of a leading regional professional services practice about his marketing strategy, let alone quiz four at the same time!  But this was the opportunity presented by the PM Forum event which took a Question Time style format.  The panel consisted of partners from four well-known organisations in Yorkshire with law firms represented by Paul Ayre of Gordons and Jonathan Oxley of Lee & Priestley; plus Kevin O’Connor of Baker Tilly and Richard Williams of Deloitte providing an accountancy perspective.

Ably chaired by James Buckley of Deloitte in the role of Dimbleby, it was a refreshingly honest session with the partners sharing some of the common challenges and frustrations of marketing within the professional services arena.  They gave an interesting insight into traits they look for when recruiting their marketing team.  Desirable characteristics include resilience; a ‘can-do’ attitude; creativity and enthusiasm.  They agreed that they need people who will champion marketing initiatives and are genuine team players, able to work across specialisms in the firm.  Whilst some of the partners stated that a background in the firm’s profession was very useful, others felt that a fresh approach with a marketer from a different sector could also give significant benefits.

There were a number of recurring themes, perhaps the most significant was the need for the entire organisation to ‘buy in’ to the importance of marketing and business development.  Whilst it might not always be a practical solution to make this element part of an employees’ performance review, one of the partners stressed the importance of a top-down approach saying that because he as managing partner had a weekly meeting with the marketing team, everyone in the firm was aware that business development activities were a priority. 

Making Marketing a Priority

There were comments from the audience that marketing was often seen as a secondary function to client work and also that it was sometimes difficult for marketers to challenge the opinion of partners who were senior to them, but perhaps had a limited understanding of marketing.  There was a consensus that it was the responsibility of the marketer to champion the best strategy for the firm and to find a way around any resistance.  It was also agreed that although every partner had to be a fee-earner, he also had a responsibility to market and promote the firm. 

The importance of cross-selling services within a firm and the role a marketer could play in this process was also stressed.  With the market still tough for winning new business, the opportunity to sell additional services to existing clients presented a much more attractive proposition.  However, with professionals sometimes ‘blinkered’ within their own department, a marketer with a broader perspective could prove invaluable.  It was also felt that those involved in business development must engage with clients.

Interestingly, all of the partners said that their marketing activities had not retracted during the recession with business development acknowledged as a crucial part of the management process.  In some cases, marketing activities had grown although resource had been re-focussed on sales generation.  As with marketing in any sector, the key is to ensure that every initiative has clear and measurable objectives.

As the tide of crude leaking from a damaged well in the Gulf of Mexico threatens local wildlife and the livelihoods of fishing communities along the southern US littoral, the oil giant is fully engaged in a major damage limitation PR exercise to keep an increasingly angry US Government on side and to rescue its corporate positioning as a global enterprise that is, despite what it does, sensitive to the environment.

The crisis management strategy kicked in with the group chief executive, no less, fronting interviews across the US news networks as well as UK news outlets. Tony Hayward was at pains to point out that the rig, the people, the processes and the equipment were not BP’s but merely leased.

In the same breath – and wisely so given that the “it wasn’t me guv’nor” line of defence could backfire at some stage no matter how true – the oil company sought to go on the front foot by swiftly unveiling plans to tackle the leak and the resultant slick with an innovative metal funnel, the drilling of a new well and the deployment of thousands of feet of floating orange booms. At the same time, BP provided a commendable wealth of information, images and interviews.   

In the days ahead, one outcome of the disaster will be to throw the spotlight on the PR value of owning the green credentials that so many companies seek, the credentials which say “we are responsible, we care about our world”.   

It is a decade since BP unveiled its environmentally-friendly face with the logo that symbolised everything natural from a flower to the sun. The move was highly significant for an industry that had long been seen as the villain of the green peace.

And in those 10 years, unceasing public awareness and lobbying on the issues of climate change, global warming and just the impact of man on the earth, has meant government and businesses continue to position themselves as environmentally aware to show voters, shareholders, staff and customers that they are doing their bit for the planet.

Some, such as the Co-operative Group  have environmental awareness in their genes. The mutual retailer surveys the opinions of its 5.5 million members and has an environmental and social ethos that permeates throughout the business and is reflected in the output of its PR department.

But you don’t have to have green in your DNA. Green credentials can be acquired by anyone. It might be via a company’s waste recycling policy, an office’s movement-sensitive lighting system, a new building’s rain capture to provide water for the loos, a new home’s insulation features.

In PR terms, we’ve all recognised the benefit, rather than the burden, of having green credentials, be it financial, through tax relief on reduced carbon emissions, be it the opportunity to launch a new product for green conscious consumers, or be it the creation of a satisfied workforce that is engaged with its employer because the bosses care.

All this is a good thing and is great for providing PR opportunities. But when it goes wrong, when waste gets dumped not recycled, when rivers and seas get polluted, when wind farms get pilloried for spoiling the view, then the PR damage is acute.

We can look at BP’s current slick PR strategy – pun intended! – and maybe learn a few lessons. Be open and honest, be swift and proactive, provide a steady stream of information and updates on the action being taken and above all and, as obvious as it may sound, get the boss into a hi-vis jacket and hard hat with company logo and in front of the mike asap.      

BP has been here before. The full extent of the damage in PR terms will be felt for a long time to come and in many different ways. One thing we do know is that the oil giant faces at least three months of negative PR. How do we know that? Easy, it’s the time it says it will take to drill the new well.

The power of social media has made the crisis management minefield even trickier to navigate, opening businesses up to attacks where there was previously no platform. Rallying public support using a channel that has the capability to reach thousands in a very short space of time, these campaigns can have a very rapid detrimental effect on a company, no matter how solid their CSR policy.

While elaborate, visual stunts are normally the name of the game for Greenpeace, the fact that this latest attention grabber, arguably one of its most successful, built up a storm from behind a computer screen, illustrates exactly how a well-targeted social media campaign can harness the power of online gossipers and bloggers, pick on the flaws of a multi-national’s crisis management plan and muster enough momentum to leave a large corporation’s reputation in meltdown.

Greenpeace’s strategy was simple – no scaling London landmarks, no storming North Sea oil rigs, no hoisting banners on the tailfin of a BA jet at Heathrow. OK, they did dress up as orang-utans at various Nestle offices. But aside from that, its best tactic was to throw a line to the masses, posting a hard-hitting video on YouTube which replaced chocolate fingers with some of the ape variety, whilst brewing up damaging chatter on Nestle’s Facebook page.

The result? A campaign that highlighted Nestle’s inability to handle its social media channels effectively – its ham-fisted response saw representatives trying to delete wall posts from the Facebook fanpage as soon as they appeared, responding to wall posts in what was taken as an aggressive, holier-than-thou tone, whilst attempting to block YouTube views.

It wasn’t necessarily Greenpeace’s actions that caused such damage, but the way Nestle reacted to them – rather than stem the flow, they angered consumers who then fuelled the fire, and the story blew into an international news item as a result.

They finally got a grip on the situation with a calm, detailed and transparent response to the offending issues which would have gone some way to help. But it was posted on Nestle’s corporate website, not at the battlefield itself and was therefore completely missed by the Facebook feeding frenzy.

Nestle’s reputation has taken a serious battering and it will take a huge amount of time and effort to restore this. For businesses and PR agencies, it is a valuable lesson and one that highlights how important it is to advocate the development of robust crisis management strategies, with clear plans directed at social media.

The key is to engage people from the start – find a balance between openness and brand control and try to keep the platforms from which people can grumble or insult in a place that you manage and facilitate. People need to be in a place where they’re talking to you, so that you can deal with the problem, provide answers or explanations and keep them aware of what’s happening.

They also need to be talking to someone who understands the situation and is clear about the company’s brand objectives; a) so that they don’t cause further fury by responding in an inappropriate, stuffy and condescending way and b) so that they can toe the corporate line.

Like it or not, people will always discuss, debate, complain and spread their opinion of brands online. And with a plethora of new websites, forums and apps launching every week, managing online reputation is a challenging task that needs serious consideration.

Engage the public, respond to complaints, be transparent, don’t try to stifle cyber-chat and most importantly, work with your PR team to develop a comprehensive crisis plan that covers all eventualities. Leave the gaffs to Nestle.

Granted, they do have the freedom to approach an issue however they see fit and it’s impossible for anyone, PR consultant or otherwise, to have editorial control over a story, no matter how good their relationship is with the person writing it. So for those unfamiliar with the territory, dealing with the press can be a daunting prospect and indeed, it is a critical area which should always be handled with caution. Always avoid saying anything to a journalist which you don’t want to see in print, unless they have agreed that it is ‘off the record’.

In general, media folk are not there to find the most damaging angle in a story. Treat them with respect; be as honest and transparent as possible in your dealings with them and they are likely to return the favour. Remember, the media is funded by advertising from businesses like yours and its customers are readers like you, so it isn’t actually in their interests to haphazardly alienate the business community.

The media should in fact be considered an important ally – well-placed articles and comment pieces in target publications can do wonders for a business’ profile, raising awareness of, and lending credibility to, its offering. Those who handle their journalist relationships well can certainly expect to reap the benefits.

Here are our top ten tips on how to cultivate winning relationships with your target titles.

1. Build a personal rapport with key journalists – invite them to lunch, introduce them to interesting people, give them good stories, become a useful source of information for important issues so that they know to come to you first. And remember it’s a two way road so be available and helpful when they need you, not just when you need them. Investing your time and personality will do wonders for your column inches.

2. Work out what kind of stories publications want to fill their pages with – give them stories they will actually want to publish, or offer a new approach to an issue which will be interesting to their readers. With deadlines to meet and pages to fill, journalists are busy creatures and will appreciate the effort.

3. Be aware of deadlines – journalists can ask for information with a very short lead time and it’s often necessary to act immediately if the PR opportunity is to be maximised. Don’t leave them waiting, they’ll close the story without you. If you’ve promised them some information, then make sure they get it, and within their timescale. If for some reason you can’t deliver, let them know there’s a problem as early as possible.

4. Make their lives easier – don’t send huge attachments which clog their inbox, do copy a press release into the body of an email and put the title in the subject line. Try to accommodate the style of the publication you’re targeting.

5. Don’t be put off – if a press release doesn’t make the news pages, don’t be tempted to simply not bother with your next story. There is no guarantee that a press release will be featured but this is not necessarily a bad reflection on your submission. There are lots of external pressures which can explain why something is left off the page.

6. Choose your timing – if you issue a press release quoting someone within the business, then make sure that person is available on the day it is sent to the newspapers – there’s nothing more annoying than not being able to contact quoted personnel if journalists need more information.

7. Know your subject – if you receive a follow-up call from the journalist, be confident about the topic you’re talking about and make sure your answers are clear and consistent. Decide beforehand exactly how much information you are able to give away.

8. Prepare for interviews – if a journalist wants to interview you for the radio or TV, give yourself plenty of time to get ready. Although you will find it’s very rare for journalists to disclose a list of questions in advance, ask for a briefing to get as good an idea as you can of the topics they want to discuss. Ideally, prepare a list of likely questions and consider your answers. Answer questions directly and accurately and try to speak in a natural, conversational tone.

9. Avoid ‘no comment’ – if you can. If you don’t know an answer, then say so. It sounds less suspicious and is also better than giving inaccurate information. If you have to refuse to answer a question, explain why wherever possible.

10. Be honest, open and helpful – once a journalist trusts you as a source and knows the information you provide will be useful, timely and accurate, you will become an invaluable resource to them and this in turn will do wonders for your profile.

When it comes to media handling, the more you put in, the more you will get back; any time and effort you use should be considered a worthwhile investment. It is, however, important to get it right – after all, you are representing your business and need to make sure you do so in a way that reflects how your firm wants to be perceived. You could always seek professional media advice to fine-tune your skills if you need it – as with any other marketing, when in doubt, ask the experts.

Bear in mind that a journalist’s inbox is probably amongst the busiest in the country.  Greg Wright, deputy business editor of the Yorkshire Post, said at a recent presentation that he had to contend with over 250 emails a day, 60% of which were useless to him! Faced with this daily onslaught, only the fittest releases will survive. 

Essentially, a press release is there to ‘sell’ a story to the press. If it’s poorly written, badly targeted or, well, dull and non-newsworthy, then don’t waste your keystrokes. It will almost certainly find itself banished to the cyberbin.  Greg also commented that he was often faced with copy full of waffle and technical jargon which he was simply too busy to trawl through to find the story.

A good PR consultancy will adopt a no-nonsense approach, delivering commercially astute media relations that achieve coverage week in and week out with the audiences that matter. As media experts, your PR team should be able to consistently hit press targets because they understand what journalists want. 

Here are a few of our tried and tested tips.

First, say these words to yourself: ‘Is it newsworthy?’ Okay, it is to you, but is it really something that people will want to read about and, equally as important, is it something that they don’t already know about? Does it have a useful message behind it? If you can’t look at the story objectively then ask somebody who can.  Second, is it timely? If it’s old news, it’s no news. The plethora of on-line news pages, social media and e-newsletters means that news is now simply too fast for anything that’s even slightly past its sell by date.

1. Answer the following questions in your opening paragraph: Who? What? When? Where? How? This is THE most important part of the press release and will determine whether a journalist hits delete or reads on. Keep the news release short and to the point. A side of A4 will suffice – if the journalist is caught by your exciting, newsworthy story and wants more, they will ask for it. Save the techie information for an appendix at the end – but don’t be tempted to add boiler plates giving the entire history of your company which are longer than your news release.
2. Think of a short but informative headline. Do use this to catch a journalist’s eye but don’t try to be too clever – they are rarely used.
3. Keep to the facts and don’t over-embellish or dress up stats to mean something they don’t. It will be seen through, it will be deleted and journalists will find it an irritating waste of their time. Remember, the purpose of a news release is to give the journalist the facts – don’t use subjective statements and avoid clichés such as ‘market leading’.
4. Don’t capitalise job titles. Whilst some people like the feeling of importance Managing Director bestows on them over the rather lowlier managing director, it annoys journalists. Very few job titles warrant such status, so until you’re promoted to Queen, Lord Chancellor or Prime Minister, resign yourself to a lower case description, it’s just one of those media conventions that you need to adhere to.
5. Use quotes. This is an opportunity to embed opinion into what should otherwise be a factual piece of writing. Say something interesting. Don’t use the word ‘solutions’. And don’t say ‘we are delighted…’
6. Keep it simple and don’t use jargon. You’ll confuse the message and switch the reader off. Communicating something clearly and concisely will be much more impressive to a journalist than your ability to build in lots of big words.
7. Know your target media and know what they are likely to want to talk about. Use a scattergun approach at your peril; you’ll be added to the spam bin if you persistently send irrelevant stories to publications and that’s not a very useful place to be.   Only send information that is relevant to that particular title and to that specific journalist – targeting is key.
8. Include clear and accurate contact details so the journalist knows exactly who to call for more detail – and make sure they are going to be available should the journalist call.
9. A picture really does say a thousand words. Support with strong, creative photography if the story warrants it (two suited businesspeople shaking hands and smiling at the camera lens does not count as creative) and always include a relevant caption.   Don’t send huge files by email – if you’ve got that cracking photo, sending it as an inbox-blocking, journalist-maddening 4MB file is a wasted opportunity. Compress, then click.

Effective media relations isn’t rocket science, but it does require good ‘news sense’, excellent writing skills and a genuine understanding of the media.   Remember, your business’ reputation is at stake, so make sure your organisation’s PR is handled in a professional manner.

Sharing centre stage with seasoned commentator Greg Wright, deputy business editor of the Yorkshire Post, proved an interesting experience.  He was able to provide all sorts of practical advice from the usual pleas not to send long-winded, technical or irrelevant news releases, to avoiding the least convenient times to ring him (not around 11am or 3pm when the news meetings are held) and the easiest way of irritating a journalist – clogging up his inbox with oversized photos (be warned – apparently, the press, like elephants, never forget…)

My role was to give an overview of the value of PR and social media to professional services firms, and to offer some insight into the way the media is changing.  A somewhat daunting task when addressing an audience of switched on marketers.

Thinking about the key changes in the media, there are, of course, new faces and publications, but the major development has to be the meteoric rise of social media.  I have been staggered by the proliferation of social media ‘experts’ over the past few months offering their often very expensive services and ‘must-have’ seminars (take a look at a cracking skit that is a viral hit on YouTube called The Social Media Guru -  very well observed, if a little rich in its language, I am certain these self styled ‘gurus’ are breeding rapidly in the serviced offices of the UK).  I do worry that professionals are being panicked into tweeting, linking in and blogging without really thinking it through.  As with all marketing, a clear strategy must be the starting point.

Marketers are under pressure to exploit social media and there is no doubt that it has a useful part to play, particularly in monitoring brands and engaging with customers.   What’s more, some networks such as LinkedIn are extremely useful for all sorts of tasks, from finding suppliers to identifying potential job candidates.  However, it is becoming increasingly clear that whilst professional services firms need to embrace the world of social media, they must keep this tool in perspective and ensure that they use the proportionate resources to implement an SM strategy that suits their business. 

Don’t get me wrong, I am a strong exponent of social media (we recently undertook a very successful campaign to launch a new bargain fashion website TheFashionPixie.com – it was immediately picked up by Google and filled the first page of listings on the day it launched which would not have happened without SM).  However, I am trying to issue a word of caution amidst the current SM hysteria.  As the latest panacea, I fear social media could become the new wild west of marketing in much the same way as web design was ten years ago when clients could be charged five grand for a ten page brochure site designed by a 19 year old student in a weekend!  Finding the right social media partner, and avoiding the ones that cloak the common sense of social media in jargon and hype, isn’t easy, but there are some out there. 

Judging by the reception my comments received and the discussions that followed, it was a bit of an ‘emperor’s new clothes’ moment.  Everyone (particularly in marketing) feels they should be fully conversant with this growing phenomenon , and they don’t want to admit if they can’t actually identify any mind-blowing benefits it would give to their own particular business.   My advice is to look beyond the smoke and mirrors and trust your judgement!

Imagine my delight at working on our latest project, the launch of www.TheFashionPixie.com, a free website designed for fashion bargain hunters.  The beauty of this site is that it does all the work for you – instead of having to subscribe to hundreds of retailers, it compiles all of the sales, discounts and special offers and even sends you a couple of email alerts every week to make sure you stay ahead of the pack. Yes, it has already become one of my favourite on-line tools – part of my daily checklist and something I have been passing on to my address book in lieu of individual sale snippets.

There’s nothing else out there that does what this site does. It’s brilliant. And it means I can satisfy my shopping appetite armed with the best deals out there. It’s quite a liberating feeling – I no longer have to depend on friends to pass on those they come across because I can check for myself at the click of a button. It’s a great concept that will make retail therapy that little bit more therapeutic. Although admittedly, it’s not doing anything for my bank balance!

So far, the site has showcased sales and vouchers for a huge range of retailers. I’ve been able to feed my shoe addiction with offers at Moda in Pelle, Kurt Geiger, Jones the Bootmaker and Jimmy Choo (the latter for window shopping only!), whilst getting more bang for my buck with my Christmas shopping (for me and others…) thanks to sales at Debenhams, Oasis, Dorothy Perkins and White Stuff. It’s an easy to use site that should be a staple for all money, style and fashion conscious ladies out there.

I know that I am not alone in my bargain-hunting addiction. In fact, picking up ‘a steal’ is becoming a fashion in its own right these days. It’s no longer embarrassing to admit that we trawl the sale rails and internet deals when stocking up our glamorous wardrobes. After receiving a compliment about a new item of clothing/shoes/handbag, we can’t wait to point out that we found this fashion must-have for a fraction of its ‘real’ price. 

What’s more, it’s only fair to share this type of essential female knowledge with friends. We knew that the viral nature of this project would make it perfect for a social media campaign.  On the day it launched, Google picked it up and its search listings filled the first page – unheard of for a new website and all down to the excellent SEO benefits of social media.  Just a week since its launch, there are already almost 500 fashion pixies subscribed to the site and they’re multiplying fast.

With many of the January sales arriving before Christmas this year, there are plenty of bargains to be had by the savvy fashionista.  So, take a quick peek at www.TheFashionPixie.com (and don’t forget to tell all your friends!) and you too can enjoy that frisson of excitement as the emailer lands in your inbox, knowing that there are yet more must-have essentials for your wardrobe, just a click away…

I had a quick lunch with a competitor Nathan Lane in Leeds last week, and was pleased to hear that he is as hacked off with the process of tendering as I am (as an agency we haven’t tendered for a couple of years).

My issue is simply that proper consultancy is a creative process that doesn’t suit the process of tendering.  Ask us to consult, to look at your organisation, the people involved and the business issues too and then we will propose the best activity to suit your business needs.

The fact is that some agencies like to tender. They have developed a framework that can be dropped in for any job that ticks boxes and wins work with little bespoke thinking or input.  They have junior staff rattling them off in a ‘numbers game’ approach.   

In-house marketers should appreciate that the tender process leads to duplication and lazy documents devoid of real creativity.  The most cost effective agencies don’t have the time to invest in bespoke tenders (as we don’t have fat margins) and most of the best ones don’t do ‘tick box’ proposals for any pitch because it is poor practice.

Why not have PR people invest their time into the solving of creative business issues, rather than ticking boxes?

A good example of the kind of irrelevant minutia that local government tender processes can involve could have a look at any council’s website.  Try this compelling detailed document from a recent Fenland District Council PR tender process, for crying out loud!

So, if you want to get the best consultants for your organisation follow these steps;

1)      Ask for credentials from between six to ten agencies

2)      Meet five or so and brief them face to face

3)      Ask for proposals from the most appropriate/impressive three

4)      Hire the agency that demonstrates a balance of best thinking and most cost effective proposal

I guarantee that if you run the process well and are open with the agencies you will have made a better appointment at the close than by implementing the dry and faceless tender process.  As a bonus your new PR partners will understand your issues better. 

Stick to tick box tendering, and you will keep hiring the people who are good at the tender process, not good at PR.

The guests cars were valet parked, we were signed in and driving credentials checked.   After a very elegant buffet lunch in a massive showroom with several cars on display and many Jaguar staff to serve refreshments, we (I was with the MD of a hotel group and David Parkin from TheBusinessDesk.com) started to notice a few celebs dotted around the room of 40 or so people.  Soon we were ushered into a very slick video and live presentation on the day ahead in a cinema style darkened room, and then paired with professional racing drivers (mine was a British Touring Car Championship driver) and before you could say ‘no cameras allowed’ we were cruising around the Aston Martin/Jaguar/Land Rover test track at 140mph! 

The thrill of the day was driving a 500 bhp XKR (I have a better memory for car information than anything else on earth) at 170mph down the 2 mile straight a few times, and screeching around sweeping bends at over 100mph with no fear of Plod appearing in my rear view mirror. 

The day was amazing as a motorsport and driving fan, but it was the commitment to a brand strategy that I was impressed with overall.  The company has launched three very exciting cars in the past 5 years with the aim of making the brand younger, cooler, more desirable and vital.  The designers have cracked it in my opinion (and that of many car journos too) but having a great product isn’t enough, they had the problem of a legacy image to deal with. 

The confidence to keep investing heavily in marketing at a time when sales dropped off a cliff last year though must have been tough, even with such a cracking product.  They realised they needed to have people experience the product, touch it, sit in it, feel the interiors and that is expensive, compared to simply putting adverts in front of people.  

Jaguar have have stuck to their guns and thrown millions at getting potential current or future customers to have another look at a brand that had become tied to figures like Arthur Daly, John Prescott and retired golf club secretary types. 

They have cooler/more glamorous customers now, some I dare say on freebies but some paying customers.  Trevor Nelson, GMTV’s Andrew Castle  and Carol Vorderman were all there on the day I attended, OK, they aren’t exactly A listers like George Clooney  or Lily Allen, but they are younger and more attractive than the pipe smoker I used to think drove the cars.

Their approach to cultivating strong envoys will I am sure pay off.  I have waxed lyrical about the cars I drove since Tuesday as I am sure have 100 or so other people lucky enough to be invited that day, and the hundreds more throughout the week. 

At a time when the parent company is facing well-publicised problems, it is heartening to see long term thinking and some confidence in the power of marketing, as these types of well-conceived and delivered experience marketing activities are what will deliver business in 2010 and beyond.  Some ballsy marketers have fought their corners within Jaguar, persuaded FDs and others that the way to keep growing the value of the Jaguar brand that has seen so much production investment in the past decade is to make sure people know how good their product now is.  With that determination and the foresight to invest in excellent marketing they deserve to succeed, and I am now a very big fan of the brand.

Now all they need is some government help.  We need policy makers in Westminster incentivise police forces to buy British cars.  A number of police authorities are trialling Jags again like in the 60’s instead of Volvos, BMWs, Subarus and other foreign vehicles. 

From my experience, not much would get away from them, we would all know how fast they now were, UK jobs would be created building then and we’d almost be proud when we got a ticket!