Q. Where can you buy British Rail bubble gum?

A. On a Chew Chew train.

Of course, no post would be complete without a marketing tip and, to keep it relevant, today’s tip is about cracking jokes…

Apparently 6.03pm is the time of day when most people are receptive to jokes (according to Laugh Lab www.laughlab.co.uk).  So, if you’re sending a humorous email or airing a funny advert, pick 6pm.  The best date is the 15th of the month and, in the UK, we prefer humour based on word-play.

I hope you laughed!

Renault has cleverly tapped into this modern dilemma and created what I consider to be one of the best adverts I have seen in a very long time.

With my marketing hat on, what do I think they’ve done right (that others can replicate)?

• They understand their target audience perfectly
• The narrative correctly describes people’s emotions and the dilemma they have between enjoying themselves and doing the right thing
• The advert uses the same language as their audience
• They don’t preach, dictate or insult anyone
• They don’t make light of the environmental situation
• They share what they as a company are doing to combat climate change
• And they offer a solution

To be fair, I’ve driven Renault’s and never been terribly impressed (I am admittedly a bit of a petrol head), but I can’t wait to test-drive their new range of electric cars.

Great job Renault (and your advertising agency) – well done.  I hope many more advertisers follow your lead and wake up to the responsibility many modern consumers feel.

In most cases, a one-off advert will not cover it’s costs.  And this is unfortunately what leads to most business owners being unhappy with marketing as a whole.  But, what they sometimes don’t realise is that there are many other marketing methods they can use; most of which are less expensive.  But they do require a bit more thought.

I’m afraid there is no magic marketing bullet that will bring you an inordinate amount of business overnight.  It’s a question of trying different methods and measuring your results.  But, we always recommend looking at the cheaper methods first – what difference could you make to your bottom line, for example, if you improved your customer retention by 10%?  Chances are that’s cheaper than looking for new customers.

By creating a plan, you can put some science to your marketing.  Henry Ford once famously said ‘I know 50% of my marketing spend is wasted – I just don’t know which 50%.’  My argument is that he should have known what was and wasn’t working – just by asking ‘How did you hear about us?’ you can reduce your spend in the areas that aren’t covering their costs and boost it in others.

One of our favourite customers did just this and re-allocated £5000 in advertising that wasn’t working, into a campaign that was generating results.  This year, his audience figures are up 18% on last year.  In the middle of a recession.