Welcome to the Escape Blog

Well done Michelle Bearne - friend of a friend of one of us - who won ze World Cup Competition and a 20 inch LCD TV.

If for no other reason to vatch the video - go check out the result!

David Meerman Scott at webinknow.com suggests that people respond to negative headlines in this thought-provoking white paper (PDF).

While the ‘negative’ technique most certainly works, it should be used sparingly. Only one negative link is appropriate on a site. And don’t forget — there must be something compelling and interesting to read once people click! Don’t promise something interesting with a negative headline and then fail to deliver.

He also mentions how, and we concur, that the web is so fluid, you can test and try different techniques - nothing ventured, nothing gained!

There’s some things wrong with this site - All Flash, slow interface, etc. but the films are great.

www.seadoofilms.com

The new way to advertise? If you have the budget and the time, it’s a great way to sell your message.

I am sure anyone who is interested in the products is gonna watch the movies on this specially dedicated site for Boats and Water Craft from Sea Doo.

We used to hide our reference content behind a registration process on our web. We thought people would register and give us their details to access it because it was worth "something".

The thing is, they didn’t. So we thought - what’s the point? Let’s give it to them.

B2B also suggests the same, backed with some great data.

Almost every company has at least some decent content for leads who are in the later stages of their buying process, including:  brochures, case studies, success stories, sell sheets, etc. 

The key is to reach people as early in their buying process as possible. That’s where you have the biggest influence. It’s not effective to wait until they are narrowing their short list.

If you are hiding data, maybe you are missing out? If they don’t get it from you, you can be rest assured they will be getting it somewhere else.

Forget the meaningless cliches and empty promises. What really matters is what customers take away about a business. That’s what a recent Business Week Article tells us.

The words we choose and use make a big difference and, according to the article, there are five big no-no’s:

Quality - every product worth buying is a quality product. It may be high-priced quality or it may be low-priced quality, but it’s quality either way. That means every company believes it can use the word "quality" in its advertising. Too many have, and as a result, now it has become just seven empty letters.

Value - like quality, is in the eye of the beholder, and every product or service has its own value equation. Saying "we provide the best value" is, therefore, virtually
meaningless.

Service - Have you ever seen an advert promising lousy service? Of course not, which is the reason why claiming good service just falls on deaf ears. It’s funny, but the companies that make the claim of good service the most tend to be those that deliver it the least.

Caring - Do you really believe your company cares more about your customers than your competition does? It may feel good to say so, but the claim flies in the face of
common sense. If your competitors didn’t care about their customers, they couldn’t stay in business.

The above four words all fail for essentially the same
reasons. Not only are they overused, they’re based on variables that
will be different for everyone. There’s a quality/value/service/caring
continuum in each person’s mind for every purchase occasion, and it is
a continually moving target.

But the fifth word is different. The fifth word doesn’t work precisely because it’s not variable. The fifth word is binary.

Integrity - A
company either has integrity or it doesn’t. It’s either honest or it
isn’t. And most people give companies the benefit of the doubt in
believing that they operate with integrity. When a company talks about
integrity in its advertising it’s for one of two reasons, neither one
of them good: They’re either trying to cover up some lack of integrity
(which never works) or they’re implying they live by a higher standard
than their competition.

Every
company needs to have integrity. No company needs to advertise it.

The internet works, doesn’t it? Why change the rules, just as we are all getting so used to it.

The BBC reports (amongst others) about the changing tide of the very principles of the Internet.

US politicians have rejected attempts to enshrine the principle of net neutrality in legislation.

Some fear the decision will mean net providers start deciding on behalf of customers which websites and services they can visit and use.

It’s interesting times. Is it just America trying to control something else? Perhaps we should let them get on with it and put a barrier around the ‘American’ web.

That said perhaps it is a little naive to think that a level playing field would remain the norm. The thing is, the user is the one with the power. Time and time again, we see bloggers and the ’small guy’ fight back and be victorious.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee (inventor of the internet) put it best when he warned that if the US decided to go ahead with a two-tier internet, the network would enter "a dark period".

It’s like Stars Wars - remind me again who the dark Lord is?

World Cup Fever is beginning to take hold.

Combine that with a week of sun and we have gone blooming crazy.

So much so that we are giving away a brand spanking new 20" LCD TV in our great new competition…

Car Park World Cup Goals

Google continues it’s quest for complete world domination with its release of a web-based spreadsheet application, on a limited test basis.

Not really a match for Microsoft Excel just yet, but it’s moving in the right direction. We also think this is the top of the ice berg as the new online applications take begin to take hold.

Sometimes, it is good to step back and think about yourself for once.

That’s what we did last Wednesday when we had our first ever Off-Site Company Session. (Ooh, ark at you The Escape, all grown up and all!)

Anyway, The Escape is made up of some great people with some even more impressive grey matter.

We spent the day analysing our business and got to working on some key points to make us even better as a company, and as individuals.

We also had a little bit of fun building paper towers and working out the many ways you can use a coat hanger.

A big thank you to Benita Mayhead from Cam Consulting who ran the show for us.

Conclusion - It’s good to think. It’s also good to constantly think about thinking. It’s even better when you do it all together!

(but some people don’t see it yet)

Stuart Bruce pointed me to this story about lawyers Baker & McKenzie, who sent a warning letter to Boing
Boing saying they will be watching their site for illegal use of any FIFA
World Cup video clips.

The thing is, Boing Boing is one of the most viewed blogs on the net. They have 1,402,000 subscribers for starters. Not only that, but they bit back.

Baker & McKenzie, be on alert: henceforth, Boing Boing will be actively monitoring your website  to identify dumbass activity and will, if necessary, take appropriate action to point out instances of wasting clients’ money by sending out unnecessary and obnoxious warning letters.

You gotta laugh!