Presentation

So, today, again I was very lucky to get to talk to a new startup in the media world. 

So much passion, and a lot of great ideas. All whilst producing some very original content. But their question was how to make a move towards gaining some serious sponsorship for their proposition. 

And the answer was - stop - think about what you need to do before you think about going for sponsorship/funding - you only get one chance.

Now, we live in a shallow world - which is depressing, but very true. You can have an amazing idea, a great company, the best content, but without the very best presentation.. No one will find it.

Everyone is increasingly busy, too little time, too little money and so on. Even if we're not busy, because we are programmed to only spend a short amount of time/energy on investigating something, thats all we'll do. We're lazy.

So, you, as a company, or individual, have to make sure that in those precious few seconds that someone finds your site/company you get their attention.

The risk is that you go for a huge, in your face, DFS style "SALE NOW ON!" which will put people off right away.

In the words of Joyce Grenfell - Don't do that..

However, it's been proven, that just like people make a judgement about someone they meet within 15 seconds, the same will apply to your website, and therefore in todays world - your company.

Everything about it will send signals to a potential client. The fonts, the colours, the layout, is it clear, simple and easy to find the information you need? 

None of this means that you have to be flashy - so many sites mistake an over the top intro for telling people about their brand - ask yourself, how often have you NOT clicked the Skip Intro button?

So, the point of all this is, if you spend a few days working on your site doing all of the above, and therefore, how your content is presented, you'll find that many more people stick around to view it.

Which means your metrics go up, which means that when you go and hunt for your sponsors, it might take you a month instead of two. Which in exchange for a day's work isn't a bad reward.

Think of it this way. Why was Tony Blair so successful at getting his information (his content) across? 

(In a classroom style drone) because his presentation was excellent.

And he spent his "day" on hiring Alastair Campbell. The merits of which are debatable, but certainly reaped its rewards.

So, who's going to help me learn Wordpress so that this Blog actually practices what it preaches?

David

Cost Control

Yawn. Cost control. Those that have worked with me (or ask my wife) know that this is/was not my strong point. 

But now that I am back on my own I've been discovering the joys of it in some quite life enhancing ways. 

When you're running a company, you don't realise how much of your "lifestyle" is funded by your job. And no, I don't mean abusing your expense account. 

But think about it - I was always in a hurry (or late.) so I'd grab a cab. Taking a client out, a good lunch or dinner for two could top £150 easily. Working late - grab supper on the company. Grab a coffee with someone - petty cash.

Particularly the last bit, which doesn't seem like much, it all adds up very very quickly. I'm working and taking meetings out of a members club at the moment, and at £1.50 a coke that sure isn't cheap. (I've been offered a desk in an office for £7 a day for example). 

So, I've been rediscovering the pleasure of saving money. Today, instead of taking the tube up to my meeting in Marylebone from Charing Cross, I walked it. Took 25 minutes, and I saved 2 quid. But when I bought my coffee - it was "free". I liked that so much, I walked back again.

Now, before this ends up as some pathetic isn't life tough post - grow up David - there is a point to this.

What I'm doing is terrible for the economy. Making a packed lunch means that Shelley's on Dean Street has lost out on £4 of business. The tube lost £4 today. The only beneficiary was Sainsbury's for the packed lunch ingredients, and the coffee shop because I couldn't very well bring in a thermos.

Oh - and a shoe repair company when I have holes in my soles from the walking. (Now there's a booming industry at the moment).

So, in one fell swoop - I helped do my little bit to keep us in a recession. Great.

But then, look back to the paragraph at the beginning. With a company card I was putting a huge amount into the economy every day - lunches, drinks, taxis, coffees.. Far more than I ever did personally.

So, as companies tighten their belts, the first thing they crack down on is expenses. So people, like me, no longer have those expensive lunches, or coffees and take the tube instead of a taxi.

The government keeps asking the banks to free up credit to individuals, but I don't really think this is where the difference is being felt most keenly. I cut back today and took £4 out of the economy. In a company environment, I'd cut back and perhaps take as much as £200 out.

Thats a 50x difference by one individual. Now, I know there are a heck of a lot more people who are going to walk somewhere than there are senior executives, but in London there are an awful lot of the latter.

It's why the government must focus on helping business, and not just the big ones. If a company can't get credit, and things are tight, when it comes to the decision to spend some money on attracting new clients - they frequently (and incorrectly) will choose not to. Which means they turnover less, which means they spend less, which means they turnover less....

You get the picture.

Stuff recapitalising the banks - get some money direct to companies.

Except Cobblers - they don't need it.

David

I rest my case..

After blogging yesterday about linear TV's limitations:

Excerpt from today's Broadcast Magazine:

"Ratings rise as Snow falls"

"The adverse weather conditions had a strong impact on television viewing yesterday as audience levels were up by over a third across the day.

With heavy snow fall across England causing severe disruption to the transport network many people decided to take the day off work – estimated at a fifth of the work force, around 6.5m people - and clearly opted to sit in front of the television.
According to figures from media research company Attentional, overall TV viewing across all channels yesterday was up by 36.2% with an average audience of 9.4m across the day. This compares with an audience of 6.9m on a Monday across February last year."

A third more potential people for advertisers then. All missed.

David

Why Snow means the death of Broadcast TV

Today, like most Londoners, I was stuck at home, as no trains were running from where I live into the centre of town.

Whilst for me, since I was working from home today, that wasn't too much of a drag, my wife's office was closed as no-one could get in. So she ended up being stuck at home as well.

Now, while for many married people, this might be an incentive for the husband to spend even more time in the study working, (I only joke) we've only been married for 6 months, so an unexpected day together is something rare.

So, funnily enough, not as much work was done, and around going out for a walk, throwing snowballs at each other and the local urchins, and going to the pub, we watched daytime television.

And what greeted us?

The same diet of dreadful programming ("Wanted down under" anyone? "Homes under the Hammer"?). And unsurprisingly the same adverts,  - car insurance, ambulance chasers, and the like.

Now, in the Greater London area alone today, there were what, 2-3 million people stuck at home? All of whom are probably people who are never there during the day. So therefore, it's a fair guess that of them, a high percentage were affluent (in credit crunch terms) who normally, programme makers, and therefore, advertisers, give their right eye teeth to reach.

It's at this moment that linear Broadcast TV's limitation's become painfully apparent.

The schedule was planned weeks in advance, the media buyers bought the advertising while the commercial was being made. So as a result, advertisers missed out on reaching literally millions of prime viewers.

So, now contrast this with internet television services - iplayer - the forthcoming Kangaroo, or Hulu in the US. 

These people, if they are savvy, are then going to choose what they watched today. They'll watch "A History of Scotland" or "Demons" or whatever takes their choosing. Suddenly the advertisers who paid to reach those particular audiences by targeting them end up with a bonus day.

As increasingly we get to choose when we want to work, with flexi-time and the like, advertisers are therefore going to be far less able to predict our viewing habits.

So, can a day - or two days at this rate - of snow be a tipping point? I know that if I was a brand owner I'd be furious that I missed out on today. 

And you don't want to be trying to renegotiate ad rates in this market with brands that are already pre-disposed to dislike you, do you?

However, lets face facts, adverts, or TV, are never going to win over plugging an annoying 16yr old in the face with a perfectly aimed snowball..

Where are my gloves...

David