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I don’t like tea, I like gin...

Submitted by Rossana Murphy on 25 January 2012

Well what can I say. There are not enough adverts out there anymore that make you chuckle out loud, but for me Aldi's efforts definitely struck a chord.

Humour is always a great way to connect with an audience, doing it right means not only engaging the viewer but ensuring they remember your product, and I think Aldi has managed to do this perfectly.

Whether it’s the “gin loving pensioner”, the “like it parrot” or more recently their spin on the Special K adverts, they never fail to amuse.

My Social Awakening: Access’ Social Media Workshop

Submitted by Lois Keogh on 17 January 2012

Access Social AwakeningI was never one to disagree with the power of social media, nor was I one to advocate it.  As a recent graduate my usage of Facebook, YouTube and Twitter was only limited to the ‘social’ side of social media – uploading regrettable pictures, watching an endless amount of videos and following the cast of Made in Chelsea.  But as the newest member of Access [Hi!] I have, for the last month been in a state of information overload, exciting really; a prime example would be this blog, it’s the first one I have ever written. 

Christmas wishes from the team in Old Trafford

Submitted by Paul Gregory on 18 December 2011

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year - With love from Access

I'm very proud to say that this year's digital Christmas card from Access features my photography of local landmarks around Old Trafford and Salford Quays.

Drupalcon Sponsorship and The Feel Good Factor

Submitted by Mark Hope on 10 November 2011

DrupalCon is the twice-yearly international event that brings together the people who use, develop, design and support the Drupal platform.

It’s the Drupal platform that we, Access, use to develop and deliver the majority of our web projects and Content Management Systems. So, in August (is it that long ago?) we attended and chose to sponsor our first Drupalcon.

Drupalcon London
Drupalcon Croydon London!

Keynote, Sessions, BoFs and Beer

Drupalcon events typically kick off with an opening 'state of Drupal' keynote from Dries Buytaert, looking back on recent developments, outlining the challenges for the industry, but more importantly delivering the vision for future versions of Drupal. The days are then structured around other keynote speakers and ‘sessions’ – talks and discussion panels featuring Drupal experts and other industry visionaries from around the world. There’s something for everyone with topics themed around Code and Core Development, Design and UX (user experience), Business and Best Practices. For those looking to spend time on more specific topics or interests there’s the BoF (birds of a feather) meetings – breakouts of much smaller, ad-hoc groups collaborating to solve issues or share knowledge.

And of course, in between and after, there’s plenty of time to chat, network and drink a few beers. The event was very well run and the organisers and volunteers did an excellent job of making the DrupalCon London the biggest yet.

Social Media - Not One For The Intern

Submitted by Nyree Hughes on 10 November 2011

Thinking about ways to grow an engaging online presence is a big discussion area for the public sector, particularly when it comes down to winning the hearts of community audiences to give value and an all-round positive experience.

Whether that includes being able to request library books via a Smartphone app or getting in touch with the local constabulary on Twitter. Being innovative and engaging, knowledgeable and transparent is a top priority. 

Unfortunately, time poor and cash strapped departments make it even harder for public sector marketing teams to get to grips with this fast changing environment. 

Can you justify bringing in an expert, an experienced marketer just to look after social media?

Mia gets hitched... Swedish style!

Submitted by Vicky Green on 21 October 2011

Schnapps-drinking, partner-swapping, drunken singing and chair kissing…that’s what happened when our favourite Swede got married this August…

Not Every Ad Agency Can Have Its Own Harry Crane... by Neil Armstrong, Producer at The TV Department

Submitted by Nyree Hughes on 14 October 2011

"I think that we should have a television department. All the other agencies have them."  Harry Crane, Mad Men.

When it comes down to advertising for TV - gone are the glory years. I think it’s fair to say we are not all able to afford our own TV department. Of course, there are still some Sterling Cooper-esque advertising agencies, with in-house TV departments to look after TV clients and subsequent advertising requirements. For agencies with a hefty roster of TV work, this makes perfect sense.

Problems can arise however, if those agencies were to lose a large TV account or the work dried up. There would still be the expense of running the department alongside staffing and associated costs, which could become a financial drain. The reality is that either the department closes, making staff redundant, or the agency tries to ride-out the period whilst trying to secure new TV accounts.

This can become a yo-yo situation for some agencies, as the cost of running the department in the downtime may need to be recovered in the better times, making agency recharge fees sometimes at a slightly inflated rate.

A picture is worth a thousand words…

Submitted by Phill Watson on 23 September 2011

iStock photography sample

Getting your hands on a stock photography is now very simple, one search for ‘stock photograph’ yields a whole host of results. However, it’s worth shopping around not only for the best image, but for the best deal for you and for the photographer.

Thinking of a headline for this post, I was going to write something glib like; 'In stock photography terms, pictures are worth 'credits' or something similarly crap. After finding the above picture on iStockphoto, I'll just stick with the above headline.

The picture by the way, is paid for and is supposed to portray Getty images attitude to stock photography. I don't like Getty very much, if you haven't hadn’t already guessed.

Are Exhibitions Back in Vogue?

Submitted by Simon Landi on 12 September 2011

Exhibitions

Are exhibitions back in vogue?

I certainly think so. We’ve managed numerous exhibitions for our clients over the past few months, so I thought I’d highlight the key areas for consideration that we have identified to deliver successful shows. But before I get onto that I just wanted to explore a little more of the reasons behind the resurgence in exhibitions and shows – and in my opinion it’s down to two things: the internet and social media.

Psychology, Selling and the Internet – Part 3 of 5

Submitted by Simon Landi on 15 August 2011

...continued from Psychology, Selling and the Internet – Part 2 of 5

3. Small agreements lead to bigger ones

Available online for free

If someone came up to you and asked you for your agreement on some major issue, they are more likely to get a no from you than if they came up to you and led you on with a series of much smaller issues that you can easily agree on, building to the major issue. Getting people to agree to a major issue is a lot easier if you first give them related but smaller issues that they can automatically agree to.

One way to use this in your business is to provide a free trial. It is easy to get someone to try something free. After that, it is much easier to get them to upgrade to a complete version. Another thing you could do is to ask questions that most people will answer “yes” to, spread out within your sales pitch. They must be questions related to the product or service. That build up of several related but easy ‘yes’ answers make it much easier to get the final yes to buy.

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