Spotted these advertising tags on the Singaporean trains (MRT). They have little cut-outs at one end to enable them to hand on the overhead hand rails.

It is rare to stumble upon a blog with thoughts that seems to fit so well with mine. This is what happened today when I discovered Emma McCreary’s Joy Ninja.

Reading through Emma’s posts, I suddenly realised why I have always been uncomfortable with conventional marketing and PR.

As I have often said on this blog, conventional business practice seems to assume there is only one “right” …

I find the ANZ bank’s current ads to be the most personable and fun. (Too bad their site does not seem to reflect this “feel”).

The ANZ ad shows “normal” bank employees, with Australian voices, sitting in a humble boardroom.

Simon is also the bear in an earlier ad:…

BankWest has started a brave and different “Happy Banking” campaign.

I first spotted this billboard in the city:

Then the ads came along:

This is an audacious and – if they can pull it off – powerful position of difference. I want to know how the bank’s actions are reflecting their advertised promises. If …

The Commonwealth Bank’s “Determined to be Different” campaign has been running for a good while now.

It is an odd tagline – somewhat apologetic perhaps. And definitely with a whiff of “committee crosschecked consensus” about it. But they are a bank, so I guess that’s to be expected.

What I am curious about is to hear from …

Attracting customers require a personality with consistency.

It requires authenticity – being who you are. It uses conversations to connect with potential customers. You need to have a genuine desire to help, an absolute belief in the quality of the offering, and a constancy of purpose or vision.

The development of these foundation factors are counter-intuitively focused internally on the business, not on customers!

Attraction is about being …

Coca Cola Amatil is thinking of sponsoring anti-whaling activism!

Now that would send out an interesting message for a company/brand more often associated with the worship of youth/sun/fun.

Read the full article Coke may join anti-whaling bout on the Sydney Morning Herald.

A great piece on Blackberries, their marketing, and the reality of their use/impact on most employees. On Cut The Crap.

Penguin has a series of books with blank white covers. You can design your own covers. Express yourself. Turn one into a unique gift and so forth.

Some customers will enjoy this level of customisation and participation. So how can you adapt this to your business?

Many examples exist in the tangible products world – you can buy “draw on me” versions of mugs, mouse mats, t-shirts …

Despite best efforts at the global standardisation, the experience of a product or service can vary greatly depending on the local culture. It is coloured by comparisons with local competition, and local cultural perceptions of the product’s originating culture.

This post has been sparked by spotting this book:

My initial reaction was a somewhat ho-hum one. I simply don’t associate Starbucks with amazingly good coffee. (No, I …