I probably shouldn’t read other people’s road test reports on cars I’m about to try out, but in this case I did.

And I can’t help thinking that many other motoring writers simply don’t “get” the Lexus CT200h. They lament the tardy zero to sixty time, complain that the styling isn’t great and whinge about the handling.

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I find Twitter chats invaluable for finding stuff out, and for staying in touch with people who share my interests. 

I’m also an avid business learner, so I was delighted when Best Colleges Online sent me a list of the best Twitter chats for people interested in business.

Here’s a link so you can have a look at it:  50 Best Twitter Chats For Business Students  read more »

I like to think of myself as a five star kind of person. All through life, I’ve always strived (and all too often failed financially) for the finer things in life.

But a recent experience made me question that whole philosophy.

I spent two nights in two different hotels – one a four star Hilton in a big city, the other a lowly Premier Inn, near a provincial airport.  I didn’t pay the bill – I didn’t even see it, but checking their respective websites it looks like the second was less than half the price of the first.  read more »

So we’ve covered all the work stuff and it’s time to focus on the personal side of life.

I’m A Triathlete

You probably know that I decided to become a triathlete in 2011. Julie calls it a mid life crisis – on my 50th birthday in March I announced I wanted to do Ironman in 2013. Typically, she decided to join me!  read more »

This is the second part of my review – you can read the first here: Review of 2011 – Part One

If you haven’t read the case study of the first year of our travel blog, Lanzarote Information’s existence, then you should do so – all you have to do is sign up to the newsletter to your right.

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In common with many bloggers, especially those of us who earn income from our blogs, I use this time between Christmas and New Year to examine the previous year and set my goals and objectives for the coming one.

Summarising 2011 falls into several categories, so I’ll spread the information out over a few days, otherwise we’ll end up with a book rather than a post. Things we’ll cover include:  read more »

I was 24 years old, a newly appointed manager and I was sitting in what felt like a very grown up meeting where we were being presented with  a new marketing plan and strategy by an agency. I was the most junior person there by miles.

As the Powerpoint presentation ran, a feeling of dread came over me. Every fibre of my being was telling me that the agency had completely missed what the brand was about, and that the strategy was miles off in terms of speaking to our target audience.

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Imagine you’re at a cocktail party. You’re introduced to someone new and after some general chit chat you ask “So what do you do for a living?”

They answer. “I’m sorry, I can’t discuss that here. This is a social occasion.”

So you move on.

The next day you have a meeting with a young lady who’s interested in buying your product for her company. During the conversation you notice a photo on her desk showing her hitting a drive on a golf course. You say “I love golf too, I’m trying to get down to a single figure handicap. What do you play off?”  read more »

Businesses and the people responsible for marketing them have been trained for years that marketing is a “broadcast tool.” There’s a message you want to get out to the world (usually how good or how cheap your product is) and a need to give them a call to action – “Buy now!” “Book a test drive!”

Those same people now realise that they have to “get into” social media. The whole world’s there, and it’s free! What could be better?  read more »

British Leyland were probably the first, and most notorious brand destroyer in the 1960’s. The once proud logos of Vanden Plas, Riley, Wolsely and even MG suddenly adorned an assortment of Allegros, Mini’s and what were originally Austin 1300’s.

Despite the lessons from that era, manufacturers, in their desperate quest for market share and a self destructive desire to be represented in every niche, are still risking brand reputations which have taken years to establish.  read more »