Oscar de la Renta

December 9, 2009

This week Attinger Jack interactive was paid a visit by the boys in blue (note how we subtly refrain from using certain terms to avoid being SEO’d and associated with specific keywords).

Said undercover persons, looking dishevelled in a Starsky & Hutch fashion, we’re searching for a certain employee who had escaped the clutches of the law.

Did that employee belong to AJi?  We didn’t think so, but everybody’s eyes turned to our new Financial Director, Oscar Salas.  Focused, smart and pleasant to work with, Oscar can best be described as having a South American accent with a ‘godfather’ drawl straight out of Bogota.

Was his visa out of date?  Or were more sinister forces at work as Oscar moves £millions around the world in his ‘other’ job’?  Yes, you know the sort – the words ‘laundry’ and ‘money’ spring to mind.

Our suspicions were put to rest by Starsky & Hutch producing a photo of the offending villain.  Was it Oscar?  Not unless he’s had a face change. 

Phew. A big hearty welcome from all of us at Attinger Jack in Bath & Farringdon to Oscar Salas.  Oscar would also like us to point out that he doesn’t wear perfume.

A phoenix from the ashes

December 8, 2009

A few weeks ago, Attinger Jack was contacted by Media Week to inform us that the lunch we had planned with them might not be worth attending.  Why?  The magazine was shutting its doors and closing down immediately.  Cue much gnashing of teeth across the media industry as Media Week was really the only title that truly represented the sector.

Even worse was that we were told all the ‘marketing & media’ Haymarket journalists had to re-apply for their jobs with the headcount being reduced by one third. 

It was therefore with relief that this week we heard Sara Kimberley had retained her position as news reporter and Harriet Dennys had been promoted to Editor of Media Week Online.  Over the past two years both Sara and Harriet have written stories about Attinger Jack and AJ interactive and we’re really pleased for them both.

Good luck from all of us in Bath and London.

IAB Lead Gen Seminar

December 3, 2009

The great and good of the online lead generation world met this week for the IAB’s first ever lead gen seminar.  Taking place at the IAB’s swanky hip offices in a converted Covent Garden warehouse, the event attracted over 70 lead gen specialists.  Attendant brands included Danone, BMW, Air France, AOL and a host of media agencies such as Bigmouth Media, Mediacom, Response One to name a few. 

As founding members of the Internet Advertising Bureau Lead Generation Taskforce, AJi was also out in force with Tom Evans, Alex Attinger, Andy Turner and Jez Walters all present at the seminar. 

Tom was perhaps less present than most after indulging in one too many Asahi beers which he disclosed contributed to a “monster hangover”.  He then added “perhaps I’m getting old”……at 27?  Eh?  We dread to think what sort of hangover he’ll experience aged 50.

Feedback for the seminar was excellent and it is hoped another one will take place towards the latter half of 2010.  Other events planned for 2010 include a practical workshop, a debate and also some video interviews. Watch this space.

IAB showcases Cheapflights campaign

November 24, 2009

The Internet Advertising Bureau,  the UK’s leading online trade body based in Covent Garden, has just used one of Attinger Jack interactive’s campaigns as a case study for its lead generation section.

The campaign in question was for Cheapflights, the UK’s leading travel price comparison website.  Attinger Jack interactive was tasked by Cheapflights to drive registrations to its weekly e-newsletter with strict open rate targets of 32%, well above the industry average of 26%.

How did the campaign do?  In month one, 8,000 registrations were generated with an open rate of 18%.  By tweaking the campaign and modifying various aspects, subsequent results have witnessed monthly volumes of 16,000 with open rates peaking at 36%. 

The campaign is text book lead generation and a cast-iron example of AJi’s expertise in developing campaigns and also improving on them in real time in order to deliver the end results.  Cue pleased client and more than a few back-slaps for the hard working team at AJi in Farringdon.

If you’d like to read the case study, please click here.

Spot the difference!

November 17, 2009

A few weeks ago, the founder of Affiliate Heat and all-round internet whizzkid Murray Newlands called Attinger Jack interactive and asked whether he could interview Alex for his blog.

A former lawyer, Murray’s been in online marketing since 1999 and is now an acknowledged expert on affiliate marketing and wanted Alex’s views on all things lead gen.

All sounds good and the interview went extremely well, after all Murray and Alex have known each other for a number of years and there is a lot of mutual respect.  However, the question that everyone at AJi is now asking is whether there is TOO much respect?

How so?  Well, look at the aforementioned photographs of Alex (left) and Murray (right).  Can YOU spot the difference?  I mean there’s one thing about being inspired about someone’s fashion sense, there’s another when you replicate someone’s identity 100%.  Spooky.

The question is, who copied who?  Only Alex can answer and, given he pays our wages, we’ll probably agree with him!

Boujis Nights

November 13, 2009

Thursday evening saw Alex Attinger, David Attinger and a valued client hit the town. Given their penchant not to do anything by halves, everyone at AJi in Farringdon awaited Friday morning with baited breath, all the while scouring the morning London Metro paper to see whether Alex had vanished face down in a Mayfair puddle.

To our surprise, Alex turned up bright and breezy but surprisingly light in the wallet stakes.  What happened?  Sheepishly Alex told us the trio had enjoyed a trip to London’s most exclusive private members bar, Boujis – frequented by Prince William, Harry and all sorts of eclectic A-listers.

The problem occurred when, half way through the meal, our group was informed that a minimum spend on a table at Boujis is £1,000.  Not even a meal and three bottles of Chateau Haut-Brion 1997 could cover that so our intrepid trio decided on the only option…..either a £750 tip (which was deemed excessive given the waiter service was ‘decent’ at best) or a magnum of Dom Perignon to take-away.

Their choice?  A bottle of Dom Perignon which proudly sits in Alex’s living room.  All £750 worth of it.  We’re awaiting an invite…

Halloween…

November 3, 2009

Never one to miss an opportunity to party, Attinger Jack interactive used Halloween as an excuse to organise a fancy dress event in London’s Brick Lane,

It was indeed a ghastly sight to witness Tom Evans, AJi’s sales director, dressed as Chucky whilst staggering down one of England’s most famous curry districts.  Certainly enough to put anyone off their onion bhaji.  If that didn’t work, seeing Adam Seogalutze waltz down the same street dressed as Pink Panther would certainly do the trick.

As for AJi’s managing director, Alex, his outfit was generously described as ‘a Boogie Nights special’ with wide leather loafers, tight trousers, cravat and a hat that wouldn’t have been out of place in Dicken’s Scrooge.  Nobody could determine whether his outfit was on purpose or whether it was accidentally horrific. 

As befits an AJi outing, the evening didn’t pass without incident as Alex’s bowler hat was ‘half inched’ as things tend to do in the shadows of Bow Bells.  The guys decided to ‘let it go’ only to wake up and read a report of a murder when a man chased after the thief stealing his girlfriend’s top hat.  As Tom said, “sometimes it’s better to leave things be” – and that’s someone who does Thai boxing as a hobby. Restraint indeed.

Top of the League!

October 20, 2009

Attinger Jack interactive’s football team, imaginatively titled Attinger Jack interactive, now sits proudly on top of the Waterloo Thursday Top Corner League.

Admittedly the chaps have only played one game, and that was a ‘pools panel’ home win after the opposition turned up late, but the five goals that rattled in during the subsequent kick-about were an indication of the team’s potential.

Boasting Tom Evans, Ollie Attinger, Alex Attinger, Adam Seogalutze, Andy Turner, Fin James and Tom McDonald, the team won’t give too many people sleepless nights, but as Alex points out, they’ll know they’ve been in a game.

The big question amongst other members of AJi’s staff is how long the enthusiasm for a Thursday evening league match will last, especially as the nights get colder.  Our office sweepstakes suggest that by December 5^th the boys will be laid low with enough injuries to make even Darren Anderton weep……subsequently watch how Thursday nights metamorphose into pub nights!

It’s a Garden Bargain

October 14, 2009

How long does it take to produce a brochure?  A month?  Two months? 

Answer?  None of the above. 

In fact it’s taken the best part of 2009 to produce our latest brochure for one of our favourite clients, GardenBargains.com.  With more delays than the Bath to London Great Western rail line – well, maybe not that much – everyone at Attinger Jack has been relieved to see said brochure eventually go to print.

Reasons for the delay are long, complicated and as irrelevant as a David Cameron conference speech.  Suffice to say that the problem with a brochure for plants is that the various items on offer have to be in season – amendments often leading to more amendments as various plants exceed their growing period.

Needless to say the wait has been worth it and the eventual brochure perfectly highlights some of GardenBargains special varieties.  Which is more than can be said for our picture above which is one of Ann Gardiner’s valiant attempts at patio gardening.  Best stick to Interflora, Ann.

Sand, Sea but no Sun for Kiniki

October 6, 2009

Our client, Kiniki - the online underwear and swimsuit brand - found itself in hot water with The Sun newspaper recently.

Launching it’s brand new patented swimwear technology that allows 80% of the sun’s UV rays to pass through it – giving an all over tan whilst retaining one’s modesty – Kiniki hit on a visual ‘before and after’ creative execution.

The headline simply stated, “Tan through swimwear” with an accompanying photo of a few tastefully shot women in swimwear.  

The problem?  One of the young ladies was keen to show her bikini tan line which involved dropping her bikini briefs by an inch or two.  Yet even with the top of her rear-end clearly shown it was felt that the visual treatment retained her modesty whilst demonstrating the unsightly impact of a bright white tan line.

All good you might say? 

Not so, as The Sun felt compelled to inform Kiniki’s media buying agency (i.e. us)  that the ad would be banned on grounds of taste. 

With The Sun’s ethical bar normally set so low only a centipede could crawl under it, we were left scratching our heads at how a paper that prides itself on exposing teenagers’ breasts could suddenly raise the bar so high even The Telegraph would blanch.

Solution?  By covering the lady’s backside with a 30% discount offer, The Sun felt assured that its dignity would be upheld.  That’s alright then.