Lessons from a marketing genius

If you haven't read Hegarty on Advertising yet then you should. It is a great book by a great man. Sir John Hegarty was responsible for such great advertising campaigns as Vorsprung durch Technik for Audi and the great launderette TV campaign for Levis. The latter actually created a boom in demand for boxer shorts (showing underpants was not allowed) and also got Marvin Gaye in the charts at a higher position than he had been first time round with I heard it through the grapevine.

So when I heard that Sir John was speaking at The Telegraph Festival of Business I made a point of going to listen to him.  Here are just a few of the words of wisdom he shared.

Sir John had three key principles which he says apply in marketing:

1) The power of ideas is fundamentally important

2) The quality of the product is also important

3) Don't fear being different - because in difference value is created.

He went on to say that the first lesson of marketing is "can I remember it" claiming that memorability is the most important thing. Music to my ears as memorability is one of my Straight 10 Commandments. 

Market research was given short shrift with Sir John claiming that research ultimately will make everything the same. Difference is too important to ignore.

During the Q&A session I told Sir John that I had enjoyed his book immensely and that whilst it was initially a large book that I thought might take some time to read, the very large print and the thick pages actually made it a very quick and easy volume to digest. I then asked if he had ever advised a company to be so different that it damaged their brand. Sir John said that he probably had but he couldn't remember specifics. 

Later on I collared Sir John for a brief chat. Straight plc does some work with Zag, a spin off of BBH and I have visited their offices just off Regent Street in London a few times. I told him the question I really wanted to ask was where he found all of the beautiful women who work there. He just gave me a knowing smile, patted me on the back and was off to his next engagement. 

Times must be hard

Last week I was a delegate at The Telegraph Festival of Business in Manchester. Several hundred business owners and managers from a wide range of SMEs attended to hear various speakers including the Chancellor George Osborne.

During a Q&A session I asked George a question about Capital Gains Tax. I commended him on raising entrepreneurs' relief but reminded him that a problem remains with employee incentives.

My key staff who have share options and LTIPs (long term incentive plans) do not own 5% of the business and as such do not qualify for the 10% tax band. They all work hard in order to make the business a success and they will all deserve to be rewarded should the share price rise or should the business be sold.

They would all be taxed at 28% under current rules. I believe there is an inequality here where the people gaining the most from such transactions (i.e. the owners) will pay a much lower rate of tax than those who are benefiting substantially less.

To his credit, George understood the question perfectly. This was refreshing. I asked David Cameron the same question about 1 week into his premiership and he appeared not to understand what I was asking. Osborne said that he had every sympathy but that he had to be careful not to create any new loop holes that might be exploited.

It was then that I noticed the great big hole in the sole of George's shoe. Being quite a smartly presented fellow I am sure he would be horrified to know that anyone had seen this. I tweeted about seeing this hole, which was then also noticed by Daily Telegraph City Editor Richard Fletcher. Somehow word got to columnist and cobbler John Timpson who has offered to collect George's shoes and fix them. What a great idea as long as Georgie boy submits a declaration of interest of course.

They are not slop buckets!

Research by Friends of the Earth has found that more than 80% of people separating food waste for disposal say that the practice is not a nuisance. More than half of those who do not have food waste containers also agree.

This dispels the slop bucket myth being propagated by the Daily Mail, Eric Pickles and others.

At the CEO Summit the Prime Minister told me that "they are not slop buckets". I know this, having supplied many millions of kitchen and kerbside caddies to households around the UK, but it is good that the man at the top shares this philosophy.

FoE waste campaigner Julian Kirby said:

“It’s a load of rubbish that food waste collections are smelly and unpopular - most people think they’re hassle-free and want all councils to provide them. As food prices rise, it is even more important that we cut waste and recycle the scraps that cannot be eaten, and we can make genuinely renewable energy from what is left over. David Cameron must build on the success and popularity of recycling by setting a goal to halve the rubbish England throws away by the end of the decade.”

Hear hear.