It pays to be cute. The meerkat, subject of the Compare the Market television commercials draw something like 1600% more charitable donations than the face-only-a-mother-could-love manatee. The whole Compare the Market campaign has been handled superbly, bring buzz to what is, in essence, just another very boring insurance comparison site.

I'll be honest and say that if I was sitting in on the Meerkat pitch, I would've said the Meerkat has nothing to do with insurance and to try another concept.The dairy industry has gone along with using cows in advertising as the cute and dosile animal for a long time, with varying degrees of success for the respective brands.

Two of the better recent examples include the Müller Corner "Thankyou Cows" advertisement and the Anchor Butter "Made by Cows" advertisement.

Let's take a closer look at both.....

   VS  

Formula One this year has been more exciting than any season the last decade; more overtaking, more small teams producing big results and a whole bunch of drivers in contention for the championship...

Not so long ago, the only reason you’d watch F1 would be to see how far ahead Schumacher would be at the end, but now it’s actually engaging. To be honest, I’ve like Red Bull Racing for a while. They were always struggling with the speed and reliability of the car, but still secured great drivers like David Coulthard, Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. They were everyone’s second favourite team...

Now, the car is fast, it’s getting more reliable and the team as well as both drivers are leading the world championship. Great for F1 and even better for Red Bull...

Norman and Mandy from The Penthouse G1 came to us when they were looking for a logo, website and printed materials for their new serviced apartment in Glasgow's Merchant city. Situated atop a newly developed block opposite St Andrews Cathedral, it has the most unique rooftop entertaining area of any serviced apartment, hotel room, or private dwelling in Glasgow.

I have been very fortunate to deal with clients that share my views on attention to detail. With the help of Emily Ross Furnishings, The Penthouse G1 was transformed from a blank canvas to what has to be the most comfortable luxury serviced apartment is Glasgow.

The Penthouse G1 has occupancy rates well above industry standards and are now seeing increases return custom.

I am pleased to report that Neo Marketing's relaionship with The Penthouse G1 is ongoing, as we look to at different ways of marketing their business.

...but STILL no new premises. We are waiting on the council's approval for a half shopfront half office look that we are going for. Without turning this blog into one long gripe, it's been going on since the beginning of the year, and they say it takes approximately 20 days. It is so very frustrating, but there are some bright spots on the horizon. The new(ish) web developer Mary has been going great. Her skillset and unique perspectives were are greatly appreciated, not just with all things web, but also general branding.

We have also got alot of projects in development, 7 in total, with agreements expected for another 3 within the week. Business is great and it is all from word of mouth, so thanks to our great former and ongoing clients. I'm going to profile a client project each week for the next few weeks, starting with a Scottish Housing Law Firm, then a very popular luxury serviced apartment, a bathroom installation company and finally a team of medical professionals who specialise in non-surgical cosmetic treatments (like botox).