Our Creative Director here at Pull Digital, Paul Stratford, in an attempt to raise some extra cash for the coming holiday season has decided to put the background of his Twitter profile up for sale. We all called him crazy for doing so, but it seems to have taken off, with adverts from The Appliance Warehouse and Pure Triumph already making an appearance.
If you'd like to see your logo there, bidding starts at 99p per box to be seen by all his followers for an indefinite time and he'll stop taking applications when all the spaces have been filled.
Email paul@pulldigital.com for more information.
http://twitter.com/updcreative
#twitterbackgroundforsale
Post by Piers
Friday, 4 December 2009
Tuesday, 17 November 2009
Pull Digital wins Explore for Digital Media
Uncharacteristic though it is for us to blow our own trumpet - sorry - we can’t contain ourselves.
Pull has won the account of leading adventure travel company Explore.
This was the outcome of an agency review by Marketing Manager Lou McKaigue.
Lou was kind enough to say:
“Pull were a breath of fresh air. Pull’s approach is open, creative and collaborative – allowing us to blend our knowledge with their insights. Pull also take a very commercial approach to delivering revenue-related results to us. We expect this to be a very productive partnership.”
I don’t think we need to say anything more except how we delighted we are – and how determined we are to use search marketing, SEO, and other digital channels to make a big impact on Explore’s bottom line.
Pull has won the account of leading adventure travel company Explore.
This was the outcome of an agency review by Marketing Manager Lou McKaigue.
Lou was kind enough to say:
“Pull were a breath of fresh air. Pull’s approach is open, creative and collaborative – allowing us to blend our knowledge with their insights. Pull also take a very commercial approach to delivering revenue-related results to us. We expect this to be a very productive partnership.”
I don’t think we need to say anything more except how we delighted we are – and how determined we are to use search marketing, SEO, and other digital channels to make a big impact on Explore’s bottom line.
Friday, 13 November 2009
Copy - "Keep it Short" isn't just for websites
My favourite quote of all time for copywriters is: "If I'd had more time I would have written a shorter letter" - Mark Twain. There is almost nothing worth saying that can’t be said better with fewer words. One great thing about the web is that the way people consume text on it means you have to be brutal about this.
Standing on the underground platform looking at the latest ad in a long line of those verbose Jack Daniels ads. It reads OK until I get to this sentence about their master distiller tasting the whiskey: 'He rarely ever swallows it'. What does the 'ever' add to that sentence? A good example of redundancy in language if ever I saw one. Still it's an American brand, and they are the past masters in verbal redundancy.
It reminds me of an English lesson at school in the politically incorrect seventies, and our English teacher flapping his gown (really) and berating a hapless American boy in our class who has used the unfortunate phrase: 'kind of like' - "Dear boy, that's a tautology. You can use 'like' if you like, or 'kind of' if you have to, but not both. . .
Posted by Chris
Standing on the underground platform looking at the latest ad in a long line of those verbose Jack Daniels ads. It reads OK until I get to this sentence about their master distiller tasting the whiskey: 'He rarely ever swallows it'. What does the 'ever' add to that sentence? A good example of redundancy in language if ever I saw one. Still it's an American brand, and they are the past masters in verbal redundancy.
It reminds me of an English lesson at school in the politically incorrect seventies, and our English teacher flapping his gown (really) and berating a hapless American boy in our class who has used the unfortunate phrase: 'kind of like' - "Dear boy, that's a tautology. You can use 'like' if you like, or 'kind of' if you have to, but not both. . .
Posted by Chris
Friday, 6 November 2009
E-commerce Migration Checklist
You want to migrate an ecommerce store across platforms?
If you want to lose SEO ranking, waste your marketing spend and alienate customers, migration could be the best way of damaging the bottom line ...
Migrating to a new e-commerce platform is a challenging task. Whether it’s to improve internal systems integration, enhance functionality, improve visibility or just plain scalability, you want to be certain, that you need to do it, and ensure you do it right.
So you’ve probably questioned your motivations over and over but there’s no escaping the fact – If you do it now it will pay for itself sooner.
Migration means a few critical checks, get them right and you will increase return… Ignore them and you risk everything.
Redirects / URLs:
If the old platform has pages already indexed on search engines it’s essential to redirect those pages to the equivalent on the new platform. Without this, the site will lose a significant volume of business.
Google PPC:
Evaluate external links - for example redirecting a PPC campaign might have significant consequences. An advert may have built up a high quality score, and changing the destination URL can impact this. Forgetting to redirect PPC campaigns sounds obvious, but there’s a lot to consider in the move.
Data Transfer:
This can be really tricky as data needs to be transferred in various formats; there are many tools that can aid this process. It makes sense to break down the structure to industry norms, and sites like Amazon have good product data specification datasheets that can be great references.
Don’t forget other data like user information and order history may also need to be migrated.
Analytics:
Don’t forget analytics reporting will need to be reconfigured ASAP. Update funnels and change goal pages right away – you’ll need to review the site at the earliest possible date and make any alterations.
Training:
It’s easy to underestimate a new platform with a high level of functionality. At first glance it seems complex to use - this learning curve can often be avoided with some upfront training.
Existing Users:
Most people don’t respond well to change, and existing loyal customers may initially find the new platform awkward to use, particularly if they are used to the older system. Their data may change or order history lost when such a change happens. They need to be sold the benefits of the new system and be reassured on their way through the journey.
So, if you really, really feel you have to migrate, just make sure you consider all the pitfalls and use the above list as a reference.
Posted by Manoj
If you want to lose SEO ranking, waste your marketing spend and alienate customers, migration could be the best way of damaging the bottom line ...
Migrating to a new e-commerce platform is a challenging task. Whether it’s to improve internal systems integration, enhance functionality, improve visibility or just plain scalability, you want to be certain, that you need to do it, and ensure you do it right.
So you’ve probably questioned your motivations over and over but there’s no escaping the fact – If you do it now it will pay for itself sooner.
Migration means a few critical checks, get them right and you will increase return… Ignore them and you risk everything.
Redirects / URLs:
If the old platform has pages already indexed on search engines it’s essential to redirect those pages to the equivalent on the new platform. Without this, the site will lose a significant volume of business.
Google PPC:
Evaluate external links - for example redirecting a PPC campaign might have significant consequences. An advert may have built up a high quality score, and changing the destination URL can impact this. Forgetting to redirect PPC campaigns sounds obvious, but there’s a lot to consider in the move.
Data Transfer:
This can be really tricky as data needs to be transferred in various formats; there are many tools that can aid this process. It makes sense to break down the structure to industry norms, and sites like Amazon have good product data specification datasheets that can be great references.
Don’t forget other data like user information and order history may also need to be migrated.
Analytics:
Don’t forget analytics reporting will need to be reconfigured ASAP. Update funnels and change goal pages right away – you’ll need to review the site at the earliest possible date and make any alterations.
Training:
It’s easy to underestimate a new platform with a high level of functionality. At first glance it seems complex to use - this learning curve can often be avoided with some upfront training.
Existing Users:
Most people don’t respond well to change, and existing loyal customers may initially find the new platform awkward to use, particularly if they are used to the older system. Their data may change or order history lost when such a change happens. They need to be sold the benefits of the new system and be reassured on their way through the journey.
So, if you really, really feel you have to migrate, just make sure you consider all the pitfalls and use the above list as a reference.
Posted by Manoj
Monday, 28 September 2009
All Websites need a Conversion Funnel
At Pull we try very hard not to just do Design. That is, we like to create sites where site architecture, graphic design, copy and search marketing are all used in a complementary way to make a site that looks good, but more importantly really works. This makes site design truly a team sport in our office, and starts with principals and a wire-frame, not a home page design.
One of our latest projects – a new site for city data management experts Cadis - started this way when we sat down with Cadis’s Marketing Services agency Metia, to define core objectives, before creating wireframes of key pages using the excellent Axure wireframing tool http://www.axure.com/. Using this methodology we created a clear architecture with conversion funnels to ‘action points’ within the site, all built on a best-of-breed .NET CMS platform. We also optimised the site for known key industry phrases.
Only a week since launch I just received an email from our client, see below. Proving that B2B sites need as much care about ‘Conversion” as any e-commerce site.
“Just a quick note to thank you for all the hard work you and your team did on the site. We are receiving excellent feedback and have had a significant increase in enquires in the past week. The new CMS really is much better as well." Stuart Plane
http://www.cadisedm.com/
Posted by Dean
One of our latest projects – a new site for city data management experts Cadis - started this way when we sat down with Cadis’s Marketing Services agency Metia, to define core objectives, before creating wireframes of key pages using the excellent Axure wireframing tool http://www.axure.com/. Using this methodology we created a clear architecture with conversion funnels to ‘action points’ within the site, all built on a best-of-breed .NET CMS platform. We also optimised the site for known key industry phrases.
Only a week since launch I just received an email from our client, see below. Proving that B2B sites need as much care about ‘Conversion” as any e-commerce site.
“Just a quick note to thank you for all the hard work you and your team did on the site. We are receiving excellent feedback and have had a significant increase in enquires in the past week. The new CMS really is much better as well." Stuart Plane
http://www.cadisedm.com/
Posted by Dean
Monday, 21 September 2009
Telling the Truth - the least used trick in marketing
Notoriously, Gerald Ratner lost his job for being honest about the ‘Crap’ his company was peddling. No wonder so many marketers are afraid of the truth. So how honest should you be with your marketing?
Imagine the scene. We are in a workshop with a client who is scratching his head over a product pricing dilemma. In testing, consumers don’t buy because they don’t believe it’s possible to get that quality for such a low price – they: “Just can’t believe you can do it for that price – there has to be catch.” (There isn’t.) So they don’t buy. After a long pause, I broke the silence: “You know, telling the truth is a much under-utilised marketing strategy.” He and his partner fell about laughing, and said that he had never heard anything so creative. . .
Our client could have priced-up to address the issue, but was ambitious about market share. But to achieve their goals they needed to convince consumers that there isn’t a catch. It looks like consumers will be told how it’s done. And as a result I think our client will blow the lid of their market.
Yes of course marketers should tell the truth, but sometimes the truth – simply stated and frank – is more than just the truth, it’s a unique strategy. Go on – ambush your customers with a simple truth.
Tuesday, 15 September 2009
New Websites, New Offices & a Social Media Whirl
It’s been a crazy few months at Pull with the purchase of our new office in Godalming, Surrey, several new recruits, and oh yes, lots of new and challenging projects. For Pull watchers, here is a snap shot of a few things we have been doing for our clients and some stuff we have coming up.
Conversis Global
We have been working with Conversis Global; one of the world’s leading translation and localisation companies for over a year now. We recently created an online marketing strategy to include search marketing and email marketing, social media and a redesign of their corporate site and creation of the first of many industry focused microsites.
The full strategy has some way to go yet, however the new global site and health microsite are now live, and generating great interest and lots of leads.
The main challenge with the new Conversis site was to secure higher quality leads from blue chip targets. We had to create a site in this case that would play the very important ‘salesman’s’ role of qualifying prospects and actually put off the number of consumers coming to the site for a free or low cost translation.
We developed designs and messaging that clearly spoke to ‘big businesses’, filtering out the many small leads they previously had.
Global site - http://www.conversisglobal.com/
Health microsite - http://www.conversismedicaltranslation.com/
Hung Hing UK
Part of the world’s biggest printing group, Hung Hing UK have been working with Pull on Internet and email marketing for some time.
After great success marketing under their UK brand MacLehose, the UK representatives of Hung Hing decided to take a leadership stance and with Hung Hing China’s blessing and with a marketing and branding strategy from Pull Digital behind them, decided to launch a new site brining the Hung Hing brand to UK clients in a bold and refreshing way.
It is only a month or so since we launched, however, already it looks likely to shape Hing Hing’s global communications strategy, and the site and analytics are showing great improvements on what was already their successful previous site.
http://www.hunghing.co.uk/
All of these sites were developed on the best-of-breed CMS solution Kentico CMS, a fantastic platform for creating future proof, scalable sites - we can integrate communities, intranets, extranets, e-commerce functionality and more, without expensive bespoke build costs (There are just extra modules we skin and configure).
And beyond
Also currently in the pipeline; we are working with 3M on a new social media approach to their email campaigns and marketing, as well as a whole new look and feel for the Design Councils Designing Demand campaign websites and email campaigns, and a new brand, website and Internet marketing strategy for an exciting new fishing tackle brand.
So please watch this space over the coming months for fresh updates on the latest work form Pull.
Posted by Dean
Conversis Global
We have been working with Conversis Global; one of the world’s leading translation and localisation companies for over a year now. We recently created an online marketing strategy to include search marketing and email marketing, social media and a redesign of their corporate site and creation of the first of many industry focused microsites.
The full strategy has some way to go yet, however the new global site and health microsite are now live, and generating great interest and lots of leads.
The main challenge with the new Conversis site was to secure higher quality leads from blue chip targets. We had to create a site in this case that would play the very important ‘salesman’s’ role of qualifying prospects and actually put off the number of consumers coming to the site for a free or low cost translation.
We developed designs and messaging that clearly spoke to ‘big businesses’, filtering out the many small leads they previously had.
Global site - http://www.conversisglobal.com/
Health microsite - http://www.conversismedicaltranslation.com/
Hung Hing UK
Part of the world’s biggest printing group, Hung Hing UK have been working with Pull on Internet and email marketing for some time.
After great success marketing under their UK brand MacLehose, the UK representatives of Hung Hing decided to take a leadership stance and with Hung Hing China’s blessing and with a marketing and branding strategy from Pull Digital behind them, decided to launch a new site brining the Hung Hing brand to UK clients in a bold and refreshing way.
It is only a month or so since we launched, however, already it looks likely to shape Hing Hing’s global communications strategy, and the site and analytics are showing great improvements on what was already their successful previous site.
http://www.hunghing.co.uk/
All of these sites were developed on the best-of-breed CMS solution Kentico CMS, a fantastic platform for creating future proof, scalable sites - we can integrate communities, intranets, extranets, e-commerce functionality and more, without expensive bespoke build costs (There are just extra modules we skin and configure).
And beyond
Also currently in the pipeline; we are working with 3M on a new social media approach to their email campaigns and marketing, as well as a whole new look and feel for the Design Councils Designing Demand campaign websites and email campaigns, and a new brand, website and Internet marketing strategy for an exciting new fishing tackle brand.
So please watch this space over the coming months for fresh updates on the latest work form Pull.
Posted by Dean
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