It gives me great pride to announce that last night, Bryan Adams, Managing Director was awarded Young Entrepreneur of The Year at the DLIB Livercool Awards.   

As I’m sure you’ll agree, this award was greatly deserved by Bryan - a true business leader that has made great waves in the creative industry and grown his vision into the huge success that today, is Ph.Creative. 

Ph.Creative would like to express sincere thanks to everyone who voted, and supported us, and say that we are proud to have established long-term relationships with all of our clients and associates. 

I’d like to express my congratulations to both the Ph.Creative team, and to Bryan – a creative genius, an inspirational leader, and a great friend. 

May our dream continue…

Over recent weeks, Ph HQ has seen its fair share of ailments.  From Swine Flu, seasonal migraines to severe tonsillitis – which turned out to be just a sore throat (OK, yes, that was me, but it felt a lot worse at the time.) 

With flu season looming, it’s only natural that at the first sign of an niggling headache or prickly throat, that our defence mechanism kicks in and we suffer a 20 second panic that we too have succumbed to the office exposed virus.  Call in: Dr. Google.  Today, one in seven people search the web for information on illnesses. As a self-confessed Hypochondriac, this is the perfect solution for busy professionals – no time taken out of the office, waiting days for an appointment or sitting around in a waiting room full of spluttering OAP’s. We do our shopping, book holidays and even socialise on the web, so it’s common sense that we use the web to monitor our health.  And we are now never more than a few clicks away from that panic relieving diagnosis.  But are search engine health checks actually making us worse? 

Last week, throat gripped with pain and sipping despondently on a Lemsip (thanks Charlie), I found myself compelled to check out my illness for myself.  Tapping in ‘sore throat’ to a search engine, from the results that flood the screen, I have a sudden panic that Halls Soothers aren’t my answer… Throat Cancer, Swine Flu and Dengue Fever are listed on the first page.  

As a nation, we are becoming increasingly shocked by the search engine results found when searching for our self-diagnosis.  Though there may well be actually nothing wrong we opt for thinking the worst, as we trust that these sites are accurate in their findings.  Introducing… Cyberchondria.  

On further research I found that a recent study by Microsoft showed that search engine diagnosis leads us to believe that despite simply having a mild headache or a bout of sniffles, we are actually at death’s door.  In a search for ‘Headache’, rather than highlighting common causes such as tiredness or caffeine overload, 25% of results point to…Brain Tumours.   

The problem here is that search engines have no ‘probability’ filter, so serious conditions will continue to come up as often as simple complaints.  So, if we believe all we read from our online GP, headaches tell us we have brain tumours, back pain is a sign of osteoporosis and swollen glands suggest the cancer, Lymphoma.

Microsoft are planning to create a smarter search engine, which will spot a medical query and direct it to the right site. 

In the meantime (it may take a while!), for all the Cyberchondriacs out there, my advice is to stick to sites with credentials, that have been recently updated and don’t steer you with one-sided advice.  And watch out for websites sponsored by companies trying to flog you their ‘miracle products’. If you do have a brain tumour, it will take more than a £50 miracle cream, a magnetic heat pack or ‘free shipping’ herbal remedies to fix it.

Last week, I proudly introduced the miracle that is our very own Phuse Marketing Manager. Relieving the stress of the mail merge, and providing the solution to the heart-aching speculation of whether that laboured email actually landed in the inbox of anyone who was moderately interested.   Sadly, in all it’s brilliance, the Phuse Marketing Manager doesn’t have the ability to write your email for you (we’re working on it folks!)  and sadly, this week I have been subjected to further reams of dreary email marketing waffle.  Come on folks – engage brains…  

It’s Not What You Say, But How You Say It…

Whilst you’re busy chewing over which key points you need to cram into your mail, are you actually thinking about the words you’re using?

Spam filters are infatuated with keywords that scream ‘sales’ and will weed your mail out straight into the Junk Box.  In contrast, Gatekeeper PA’s are allergic to sales-rich keywords and on browsing your email, any sign of sales lingo sparks a finger-click reflex towards the Recycle Bin.The word ‘contract’ reeks of legally binding documents – which ironically require legal support to get out of!  Consider opting for an ‘agreement’ or “strategy”. But don’t get trigger happy with the thesaurus – you won’t gain any points for a ‘legitimately long-term transaction’.  

Mail Merge Mistakes

If you’re going to ask for their business, at least get their name right.Yes, we all know it’s very clever to insert a your contacts name half way through your subject, well done.  But at least check that it’s relevant and makes sense.  An email starting with "Hi firstname" is equally as cringe worthy as “A Special Offer Just For You name!” 

What’s In It For Me?

Whilst it’s all very nice to read about what you do and your prolific list of clients, what exactly are you doing for your prospects business?  Don’t just tell people what you do, give them the benefits of using your product.  Be a resource – know the market so that you can assist in making good decisions and provide your prospects with the tools to improve their business.  People that trust your opinions will become loyal clients. 

Excite!

Your punchy, power-packed email has it’s recipient captured at their desk. You have them in prime position for closing with the result you want.  Yet, as the end of the email looms, they are faced with nothing but an email signature and a lame ‘give me a call”.  Your powerful email has now become nothing but a good read.  Engage! You have their attention – keep it!  A simple link to your homepage or a call to action button will direct that little cursor towards your site, as opposed to the ‘delete’ button. It goes without saying, always check your links work, are relevant, and professional.  Something IT gurus, Experts Exchange (”expertsexchange.com”) might have wanted to look into. 

Go Fish!

Would you send out invites to a party and not bother to call round to see who’s coming?  Bashing out 300 emails and not bothering to follow them up makes for a poor salesperson and lazy business practice.  The sooner you follow up on your marketing campaign, the more likely it is that you are fresh in their mind, they are available for any dates/deadlines you have specified, and less likely to have taken their fat wallets to the competitor that bothered to call. A tool such as the Phuse Marketing Manager allows you to see who has opened your email, enabling you to plan your follow ups accordingly.  If you require a response, or action, it’s up to you to be tenacious enough to chase it.  Cold leads = no sales. 

If your campaign is simply to create awareness, a quick call in to the right people may just prompt them to pass it on to their own trusty database of contacts. If you don’t ask, you don’t get. 

Wind up your marketing rod, cast it out into your swarming sea of contacts, rein them in. And keep them warm...  There’s never any value in dead fish.

In today’s time-constrained day at the office, we don’t just want a response… we want a response now.  And what better way to spread the word, showcase your business and keep your contacts in tow, with a powerful email marketing campaign.  Simple… in theory!

You know the scenario:  you spend valuable hours perfecting an impressive email, setting up your mail merge with the faithful help of the animated paperclip, adjusting margins, grappling with images, and finally click Send. 

A thirty second wave of calm.  Before the abundance of Undelivered notices begin to stack up in your inbox. 

Further, there’s the added dilemma of the two day follow-up phone bashing, battling with the Executive PA's to check it’s landed. Trust me, as a master gatekeeper, we'll tell you one of the following; “they haven’t had time to look at it yet”, “we haven’t received it”, “I'll get back to you”…

Frustrated and discouraged by the challenge of getting your message out there, you, head in hands, ask your tepid coffee, ‘why couldn't someone make it simpler?’

We have....

Ph.Creative have now launched the PhUse Marketing Manager

Gone are the countless hours of deliberating over whether your hard-laboured email campaign has reached its intended recipients.  The PhUse Marketing Manager provides efficient, easy to use templates to input your email messages and manage your campaigns individually.   Saving the need to merge an array of Excel spreadsheets into one and facing the dreaded #INVALID CODE# – aargh! scenario, you can import several contact lists and select which message you want to send to which contacts (leaving out, of course, those you'd rather not!) .  Test the water and Split Test your campaigns to compare the effectiveness with a small selection of contacts before the big Send.

For the hot-deskers out there, unable to pin themselves to their desk for those crucial optimum sending times, you can schedule a campaign to be sent at a time and date of your choice.  Thus saving the embarrassment of no-one actually believing that the 5.15am e-mail they received, was actually just sent personally from you.

The spam-savvy keyword function cleverly checks your text for spam keywords (tough luck animated paperclip!) giving you the opportunity to re-assess your wording for maximum efficiency in avoiding the jaws of the Junk Mail Box.

With the ability to monitor and track your email campaigns, the Phuse Marketing Manager provides real-time statistics showing how many recipients have opened, read, or deleted your mail, any links followed and for the budding detectives out there, you can even list in detail which contacts have performed these actions.  Not only does this allow you to strategically schedule the all-important follow-up call, but you’ll see first hand how successfully your campaign has been received. Are your links attracting significant traffic to your site? Or have the 300 emails from your trusty little spreadsheet gone straight into the Recycle Bin?

Aiming an ineffective marketing campaign at your target audience is as useful for your business as an inflatable dartboard.  You can have all the latest, big bucks high-end marketing tools, but if you have no clue how to use them, you have wasted not only money, but a lot of hair-pulling time.

Less stress. More effective marketing.  More successful relationships.

…More time for basking in compliments on your successful campaign / booking in those appointments / touching base with your reams of referrals / enjoying a coffee… (delete as appropriate)

The National Legal Trade Exhibition came to the BT Convention Centre last week, and Ph.Creative were of course one of the top local businesses to join the action.

This was a great opportunity to showcase our distinctive brand, the expertise of our ingenious creative team, and get out there and network with the people!

 

Always one for challenging the norm, and in true Ph-style, never being partial to a table-clothed trestle table, a few leaflets and branded biros, I donned my creative cap and got to thinking outside the box.  Over a coffee-fuelled brainstorm with the team, we pondered over a concept for our exhibition that would really make us stand out from the crowd.

 

As a surprisingly enthusiastic response was drawn from the childlike cartoon sketch of my exhibition stand vision…  

 

 

 

Ph.Creative Surgery was born...

Free IT Health Checks for those sick and tired of ineffective SEO and suffering aches and pains with online marketing strategies.

As the exhibition visitors filtered in, Ph.Creative Surgery was in full flow, consulting and advising on website effectiveness and prescribing remedies for the ailments of unsuccessful online marketing tools to the masses.

Bryan Adams presented yet another outstanding seminar on Online Marketing Tactics, which further prompted some technophobic patients to bob along for a check-up.  And if one mastermind lecture wasn’t enough, the medical team took a mid-afternoon respite to attend Sales Guru - Andy Bounds’ enlightening seminar, which was nothing short of inspirational team-building.

Diagnosis: Another great day at the office!

Having made a memorable impact (be that positive or negative!? You decide) Ph.Fever was certainly in the air!

If you missed out on your check-up this time, fear not... it won’t be long before the Doctor is back in town! (Or in case of an epidemic, give us a call!)

There isn’t much that gets me springing out of bed in the morning. 

But as my alarm kicks in to the shrill of Stevie Wonder’s ‘Isn’t She Lovely ‘at 6am sharp, I leap pyjama clad into action, perform the usual morning preening regime, and am out of my Bolton pad, on the road for 7am.  Just me, Key 103 and a Caffè Latte on a now cold, dark, wintery morning for a 40 mile road trip.  I love it.

Sadly no, I am not this insanely enthusiastic because Johnny Depp is waiting to greet me with a sunrise continental breakfast.  This is me, making my way to the Ph.Creative office.

I’ve now been part of the Ph.Creative team for a week, although told by a few that it feels as though I’ve been here for months (suggesting I am either an already well established part of the furniture, or simply cause everyone’s day to appear much longer!)

On the subject, connotation has been a familiar challenge this week, and one which I am promptly striving to get to grips with.  I am a well travelled woman, but bewildered as to how a 40 mile journey has transported me into a world where the English language is now incomprehensible…

My face says it all on Wednesday when Disco Steve asks me: “A use commun out fee a cuppla bevvies wi us afti werk?”

As my brain contends with this one, I drift into recollection of having successfully navigated myself across Paris’ 8th Arrondissment, armed with only a basic Phrase Guide.

Disco Steve now appearing perplexed by my delayed response, I nod.  I’m not sure but I think I have been invited out for drinks after work.

Despite my obvious requirement for a Scouse translator, I find myself keen as a bean as the end of the motorway greets me with ‘Welcome To Liverpool’.  As of next weekend, my new home.

If my first week is anything to go by, I can safely say, I love what I do!  Organising the life of a creative mastermind, representing a great brand, networking with inspiring people and working alongside the artistic geniuses that are the Ph. Creative team.  If this is my job, I’m more than happy to become a part of the furniture!

All in all, it’s been a ‘sound’ week.

(Not that I was paying particular attention, as I continued to scroll through my Facebook page as the evening news warbled away in the background…)

Yep, we’ve done it – the UK has become the first major economy where online advertising has overtaken TV advertising.  

The boffins state that online spending rose by 4.6% in the first half of 2009, as TV spend declined by 16%.  In real terms, due to the credit crunch forcing us to leave our expensive taste at the front door, us mere mortals spend less time being compelled to buy the latest Cheryl Cole endorsed facial anti-gravity serum, and more time poring over the Fashion First Lady’s Twitter page.

Gone are the days when we’d discuss Saturdays’ Stars in Their Eyes Live Final over Monday morning coffee.  Now we’re thrashing out tips for FarmVille, debating ‘Which Hollywood Actress Are You?’ and blushing in shame that we accidentally ‘Poke’d the CEO.  Following the birth of the social networks that now consume valuable hours of our day, it was inevitable that the diversity of the online Google box would surpass the entertainment capabilities of the good old Goggle box.   As a nation, we’d rather get our kicks from our HP than our HDTV.

Since the influx of reality TV shows that now seem to invade every channel, it’s not surprising that we have grown bored of watching twenty-something’s frolicking in hot tubs in hope of launching a TV career.  We’re more concerned with our own reality show – and where better to find out who’s doing what. With regular updates every four minutes. Until 4am in the morning. (You know who you are – no one cares if ‘Dave is making a brew’. Go to bed)

In a nutshell, TV is slowly being replaced as our heightened senses seek our more interactive forms of entertainment. Along with it goes our interest in adverts and our ability to be sucked in by airbrushed B-Listers that blatantly don’t use the product anyway. We have even gone so far as to create a set top box that allows us to skip the adverts between our beloved Big Brother shows. 

On the other side of the pond (you can always rely on those guys to come up with something extreme) ad makers in the US are experimenting with ads that only make sense when watched in fast forward. 

Personally, I have seen the light since my days of being a bona fide sucker for advertising…  Who cares if you’re wearing Dior lip gloss whilst you’re sat home alone Tweeting?