I rather like British Airway’s ‘To Fly, To Serve’ campaign. As a marketer it appeals to me on several levels.
 
Firstly, it’s focusing on what is perceived as a core brand strength – service, delivered in a distincly British way. As BA’s MD of Brands and Customer Service, Frank Van Der Post, put it:
 
‘BA is a very strong brand. We do not need to reinvent ourselves as something else. What we need to do is to tell the story a little louder.’
 
Secondly, they’re backing words with actions – £5bn of investment in …

I was talking with an internet consultant contact of mine the other day – chatting about how he helps businesses with their online client acquisition strategies. In the midst of our conversation he said something very interesting – something that resonated with my own experience:
 
‘Before I even get into the online strategy I spend a lot of time working with clients identifying what they actually sell. You’ll be surprised how many don’t know…’
 
Now clearly you’ll be assuming that this guy must work entirely with morons. How on earth can they …

People are always telling me that marketing is ‘common sense’ – usually those not in the profession or those that have made a made a move from another role.
 
Frankly, this particular observation drives me round the twist.  It’s like telling a doctor all those years of study and practice were a waste of time as you can just look up your ailment on the internet.  Quite apart from that it’s clearly wrong.  We’re surrounding by thousands of examples of ‘common sense’ marketing and do we pay a jot of notice …