A Room With A View[point]

So one of the guys, who is originally from Australia, showed us a leaflet he got sent with his bank statement.

Apart from the fact they are stating some pretty obvious points, we find it amazing they felt it environmentally appropriate to print this information and distribute it with all their customer statements, in this case to an account holder 9000kms from Australia!

We are big supporters of helping the environment, but this sort of thing doesn’t help at all, plus it has the additional negative ‘bonus’ of demonstrating the organisation is jumping on the bandwagon rather than wanting to really help instigate change.

As the old phrase goes, actions speak a lot louder than words.

Another wry observation by 42 Below vodka in their long history of wry observations.

We’ve just been sent this clip – we’re not sure if it’s real or not – and we’re not even sure if we would like it to be because whilst we appreciate the power and importance of first impressions, there is a limit to how much a business card is going to help your business, it’s certainly not going to guarantee corporate success.

The other thing we disagree with Mr Alpha Male about is that it’s a good idea to not be able to fit into a rolodex,

On first impressions it might sound like a simple way to ensure you stand out from the crowd, however he should know that people like things that fit in with their “pre-determined systems and processes” [in this case, being able to put business cards in rolodexes] and when if it doesn’t, they are more likely to dispose of it than find another way to store it … even if they find the product/service interesting.

Card quality and differentiation are important, however differentiation for the sake of differentiation is not a wise long-term strategy and nor is relying on a business card to ‘sell’ your organisation – because if that’s what you’re doing, you’re either talking to the wrong people or you need to build up your portfolio of work.

Introducing Clara – the latest, greatest and definitely oldest – celebrity chef.

Her Youtube show, ‘Meals From The Depression’ has become a huge hit – not just because she has wonderful charisma, but because she is showing people how to make food go further on a budget.

What she doesn’t know about lentils and rice isn’t worth knowing – but more importantly, it is also serving as a reminder that as tough as we have it, to compare the current financial crisis to 1929 is an insult to the people who lived through that period.

Getting back to the point, we think she would be a great spokesperson for a supermarket chain.

So many talk about price, freshness and/or variety yet there is an opportuntiy – especially in this climate – to talk about food and recipies that go further.

It is easy to claim in a recession that the doors of opportunity close, but when you open your eyes and look deeper into the needs/wants of society, you may just find as many doors are opening.

We love Clara, long may she cook …