About This Campaign | [home]

As the MD of a small company I know that despite our aspirations we cannot afford to employ external marketing agencies to get ourselves known. In an effort to keep pace with trends I leap at the chance to attend free workshops. Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council Regeneration has their own Digital Development Unit, which ran a series of free workshops. The fact that these were in the evening means that I could afford the time to attend.

The courses encouraged me to understand that getting visitors to a website is more important than design. I looked at ideas from larger companies with almost limitless budgets and was intrigued by teaser campaigns that big firms use. I stumbled across the website of top London PR firm, Cunning Stunts Ltd, and was particularly impressed by their campaign for Vodafone called "You Are Here". With a little lateral thinking I soon registered www. WhoisThis .co.uk for £25 with Airtime Internet. Hosting and a re-direct to Abbey Telecom's website costs a nominal amount.

I figured that our website needed some sprucing up so I asked Blackburn and District Enterprise Trust if they knew of any small firms. They suggested copyc@t.web who were, ironically one of the speakers at the Digital Development Unit's workshops. They were very flexible and competitive and I have since recommended them to other firms.

The next step was to create interest in the WhoisThis domain. We have engineers' vehicles that cover several thousand miles per year throughout the North West, which is where we want to promote. We have spent around £100 per vehicle with Tatlow Signs adding reflective vinyl graphics. The response was so immediate that we had to delay implementing other activities so as not to waste enquiries.

It was my original intention to make WhoisThis a click through site leading straight to Abbey Telecom but then I thought, why waste an opportunity. If intrigue could bring a visitor to the site then humour should make the visitor tell his friends. We commissioned a local freehand cartoonist, Joey, to create a humorous cartoon with a business theme and copyc@t.web added the e-mail this link to a friend button.

Being that our engineers are in and out of business centres all day we figured that they could all be walking billboards. The cost of buying uniforms from Simon Jersey was minimal but the increase in traffic has been astounding.

The next step was to start looking for innovative marketing activities to draw attention to the WhoisThis campaign. I met a farmer at a Round Table dinner and within the hour had agreed to a sponsorship deal to provide raincoats for his new born lambs. The bright orange raincoats drew a lot of attention from passing motorists and we subsequently decided to have the sheep videoed by Video Makes Money for release to TV stations.

I have a hundred other low cost ideas to promote the WhoisThis website but I intend to implement them gradually so as not to waste enquiries. If you or your organisation has an idea for low cost promotion of the WhoisThis website e-mail it to ideas@WhoisThis.co.uk and we will give you credit on our much visited website if we use it.

Further information available from pr@abbeytelecom.co.uk tel: 01254 272000 Fax: 01254 272001