A Daily Mail Child

I started my paper round a week before my 13^th birthday and I remember being taken aback by how many people read The Sun or Daily Mirror.  Why didn’t everyone read the Daily Mail like my parents did?  I noticed that the handful of houses that did take the Daily Mail were a bit tidier than those receiving red tops.

From a young age, I was hooked into the genius of the Daily Mail as the voice of those aspiring to the middle class.  For the last 3 years I have had the privilege to work for the group that publishes the title.  This week that came to an end as Motors.co.uk was acquired by Manheimfrom the Daily Mail & General Trust.

On a paper round of 35-40 houses, I would deliver at best one or two national broadsheets (only The Times and The Daily Telegraph) making them feel niche.  The Daily Mail, therefore, was my only understanding of a “quality” newspaper.  Holding fast to Thatcher’s vision, no media was probably more influential in my youth.

I know that the fashion is to view the title with cynicism, but I have grown to understand that the title is a masterstroke of positioning.  The target audience is middle aged housewives in lower/average middle class families, but its trick is that it feels like so much more to these readers and always holds the impression of being a quality newspaper without being snooty and “too wordy” (my mum’s words) like The Times. 

The paper faces an ageing readership and a society that is reading fewer newspapers, but the Mail rises strong online.  The profits may never be as big as print, but there is no doubting that the vision/strategy/luck of backing a celebrity news driven website has been the right one.   I felt a sense of pride when the site was named the most visited newspaper website in the world.  I chuckled that the mighty New York Times had to resort to a debate about audience measurement, I’m not sure too many care about comScore’s classification methods. 

The website became an addiction of mine.  Not because I worked within the same office where it was created, but because I am a shameless internet news junky.  Consequently, I have given up the Daily Mail website for lent (along with the Guardian and BBC websites – other mainstays).  My conclusion so far?  No other site is able to provide the immediacy and variety that I’ve become so used to. 

But the thing I’m really struggling to find on other sites is opinion.  I may not always agree with the Mail’s view (remember I’m not a housewife!), but at least there is one.  In this abstinence I have even considered a subscription to The Times online as no other site provides free access to strong (and professional) opinions.  With this I really hope that the government relaxes rules on the independence of television news. 

Fox News may irritate many, but it entertains significantly more.  I would love to see a Daily Mail news channel on TV.  I’m confident that opinionated (but never extremist) news content would make news accessible to the masses.

Although Motors.co.uk moves on to an exciting future with Manheim, I will find it hard to accept that I’m no longer part of the Mail machine (even though I was never properly involved).  But herein lies the paper’s ability to embed itself firmly in the hearts and minds of its loyal audience. 

We often hear theories about the future of media and the influence that the Mail will have should not be understated.  And what’s more, we shouldn’t be scared by it…

Good marketing

As a growing brand at Motors.co.uk, we spend a lot of time trying to think about how we can do things differently.  Whilst we exist commercially to increase response for car dealers, the route to how we achieve this is in making ourselves well known to consumers and also optimising the search for a used car.

An area that we believe serves both purposes is championing the cause of the motorist and ensuring that we get a fair deal with easy access to information.

Recently this area overlapped with my personal life when my son grew out of his baby car seat.  A good friend had opted for a rear facing car seat and had made me aware of the key safety benefits (eg 7 times more likely to survive a crash).  I understood the basic physics and I felt compelled to make the purchase.  What I couldn’t understand though was when I searched the major retailers websites I couldn’t find any rear facing car seats.

Internet access proved vital, drawing on the excellent www.rearfacing.co.uk as well as retailers www.pushchairsandcarseats.co.uk and www.incarsafetycentre.co.uk.  But most frequently I found myself on the pages of the manufacturers themselves to make sense of ridiculous fitting requirements and which cars fitted which models.  When I would find a model that I liked, I had to spend time Google’ing to find whether the model was available in the UK – invariably they weren’t.

I found myself indignant at the poor choice in the UK, particularly given that the manufacturer sites I was looking at were brands we recognise in the UK.  But for some reason UK consumers are not privileged to have the option to buy the safer option.

Clearly retailers are worried about the potential extra work of installation which is a fairly appalling reason to not offer the choice (simply reflect it in the pricing).  The car seats are expensive compared to forward facing, but this I’m sure is a victim of the low volumes being ordered into the UK.  Fundamentally though, the British consumer needs to have the choice.

I certainly don’t want to suggest that rear facing car seats should be mandatory, but we should be at least be given the choice and education as to the benefits of both.

If I had struggled to find this information, having had the benefit of a friend who was a minor expert and having spent hours reading various articles on the internet, I was fairly certain that the general public would be lacking.  Consequently, at Motors.co.uk we commissioned research into awareness of rear facing car seats.  Unsurprisingly, but disappointingly, 53% of parents felt there was a lack of information, and 52% of parents would consider buying rear facing once presented with the safety benefits.

The survey allowed us to get valuable media time for a number of experts on the subject including Helena (rearfacing.co.uk) and Jullian Preston-Powers (neuroprotective specialist at the University of Sussex).  I also made a couple of radio appearances too (there was even rumours at one point of a slot on This Morning).

In all honesty, I was disappointed by the initial media coverage as I passionately believe this is a subject that is dreadfully covered in the UK.  This fits squarely with the Motors brand of empowering the motorist and promoting choice and so we will continue to investigate how we can increase its exposure.

January was a humbling month in general for our marketing team as we also launched our “most deserving” campaign to give a local hero up to £10,000 towards a car as well as £2,000 for a charity of their choice (mostdeserving.motors.co.uk).  Some of the stories have blown us away, with individuals who set an incredible example of selflessness and support for others.

The end game of our marketing budget remains the same, but it is certainly rewarding when we are able to find ways of using it to coincide with pushing good causes. It’s too early to say what the correct mix within our budget should be, but it has certainly encouraged the team at Motors.co.uk to think wider. It's nice to think that marketing an online brand can go beyond Google, and influence change.


Ps it should be noted that since we launched the campaign John Lewis made available the Recaro Polaric rear facing car seat, but it’s still not a good enough choice…

Mourning REM

When I was 13 years old I got a CD player for Christmas.  I had two CDs: Divine Madness by Madness and Live Alive Quo by Status Quo.  Despite having always adored music, it became quickly clear to me that I had a fairly poor collection.  To quote Father Ted, “Dougal, what you have is a record, to have a collection you need more than one record”.  With this, I took my paper round money and selected the free 5 CDs I could get by subscribing to the Britannia Music Club.  The albums I can remember getting (can’t remember all 5) were the Wayne’s World Soundtrack, Diva by Annie Lennox and Automatic for the People by REM.

Looking back at how random the choices were, I am eternally thankful to fate for selecting the final album which is a masterpiece.  I didn’t take to the album quickly, but the band would become one of the most important in my music collection over the coming years.  In fact, I don’t think I really listened to the album much until a friend at school mentioned that he loved Everybody Hurts.

Gradually the album became a fixed resident of my CD player.  I used to always listen to my CDs on random, and the player always selected track 10 first.  Track 10 on Automatic is Man on the Moon and a great introduction to REM.  Today I don’t really like it, perhaps due to overexposure, but it was the starter drug that made me appreciate the rest of the album.

Most importantly for me, I met Marcus who would soon become one of my best and closest friends who had fallen for REM quicker than I.  His excitement made me listen to the album more, and I soon listened to the album differently, understanding the contrasting powers of Find the River and Monty Got a Raw Deal. 

It will be one of my biggest regrets that I didn’t join Marcus in purchasing tickets to see them at the Milton Keynes Bowl (the tickets having been rescheduled for Bill Berry’s aneurysm).  Instead, I can remember taping the concert as it was broadcast on Radio 1.  It is one of the few tapes I still own.

The album that inspired the tour, Monster, for me was an incredible awakening.  The band admitted that the previous album nearly broke the band, and that they were rarely in the same room for the recording.  When I heard Monster, I immediately picked up on these flaws.  The D chord at the start of What’s The Frequency Kenneth, was so simple and yet raw and dirty that I struggle to play an open D on an electric guitar knowing that it will forever be inferior.  This is irritating as D is quite useful.

I think what Marcus and I both liked about Monster was that other people didn’t like it.  They wanted the, admittedly beautiful, sweeping strings of Automatic, but here was Monster which was challenging and loud and different.  We loved it.  It was this album that made me discover the back catalogue and make me realise that REM were meant to be a band who played things fast – Michael Stipe admitting that his style of singing is designed to try and encourage the band to slow down.  The one song where he goes with the flow, It’s The End of the World (and I feel Fine), is a breathless vocal feat.  I will forever remember Marcus reciting the lyrics at breakneck speed when drunk (I dare you to challenge him).

I finally got to see REM live at Glastonbury in 1999.  This is the subject of a whole different blog, Marcus and I didn’t get drunk (I don’t think we even had a beer, it was too expensive), we didn’t stay up late, we were there for the music … and primarily to see REM.  I was blown away.  The band’s sound was unlike anything else I had heard, designed for the open air.  The change in pace between songs perfect.  Here was, the frankly strange and socially awkward, Michael Stipe emitting a charisma that was enchanting.  There may have been c80,000 people in the field, but I can only remember Marcus, me and REM. 

So now the band have broken up, and there is the age old debate of whether they should have called time earlier.  My view is that they shouldn’t have and I wish that they had continued.

Their newer albums weren’t as complete, they never would be, bands have their creative peaks when younger and hungrier.  However, they still produced great songs (Imitation of Life, At Your Most Beautiful, Leave, All the Way to Reno, Leaving New York just a selection) and, importantly, were still phenomenal live. 

Marcus and I saw REM at Twickenham in 2008 after releasing an “ok’ish” album in Acclerate, but live they were incredible and innovative and brave enough to play early tracks that most in the audience didn’t recognise.  Their use of lighting and cameras brought the most out of the screens.  Only U2 are comparable for staging such a show.  The energy of their live performance relentless, the band seemed to get faster throughout, taking a break only for poignant ballads which soured through the sky.

Without REM, my musical tastes may have never strayed from the mainstream albums that Britannia used to recommend.  But instead, I embraced alternative music, and what’s more gained the belief that I could understand it.  Whereas U2 made me discover musical roots, REM taught me appreciate new music. 

There is one main reason why I’ll miss REM; I will never get to stand shoulder to shoulder with Marcus at one of their concerts.  There we would be getting overexcited by random early REM songs, shouting the lyrics out word perfect whilst laughing at the weird looks we get from people around us waiting for something they recognise from Heart FM.  There are other bands and Marcus is still healthy, but I am sad that I won’t get to do this again.  If Michael, Mike, Peter (and hopefully even Bill) have a heart they will put on a show just so that Marcus and I can relive this again.  I’m sure it was the “right time” etc, but it is another sign of my youth coming to an end.

I know they may not be everyone’s favourite band, and I’m certainly not unconditional in my love of their songs.  But, they introduced me to the concept of challenging music and one that united two friends.   I’m eternally grateful to the band, but could they come and say goodbye properly?  Please?

Into The Sun

Using the blog as my scrapbook, here's my first ever appearance in The Sun.  Helpfully it came with a promotion ...

Link viewable here:

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/money/3848177/A-GENERATION-of-youngsters-are-being-priced-out-of-driving-by-fuel-and-insurance-costs.html

Traveling Betjeman

I'm halfway through a long train journey to Hull.  Stopping at Sheffield station I felt a bit Betjeman and impressed by the railways, but somewhat confused by myself.

What can help overcome this than a bit of pretentiousness?  

Here's a few words I wrote whilst enjoying my bagel...

"Laptop open, tethered to the digital world,

The industrial breeze of the railway

Provides the fresh air of the day.

Suit, briefcase, Waitrose bag with his lunch,

An office with rolling views, albeit cramped,

Pauses at Sheffield awaiting the next leg.

Emails continue to flow but are disconnected,

from the station, drenched in sunshine,

populated by the masses to whom he tries to sell.

How much does he understand?

He’ll have to wait for the email to find out."

What’s it all for(square)?

I feel ashamed to say it, but I’m giving up on FourSquare.  I have used it relatively heavily in the last 6 months (within the confines of my simple life), and I’ve got to finally admit that I take almost no utility from it.

Why am I ashamed?  I like to think of myself as about a “level 3 or 4” (out of 5) in digital savvy’ ness, and FourSquare was something that people whose opinion I respected digitally understood and raved about.  To give up on it feels like an acceptance that I’m at best a 3 (possibly a 2!).

Before you condemn me please read my frustrations:

• 1)      I no longer live in a big city.  There is nothing cool about taking the mayorship of your local Argos as I began to obsess about
• 2)      My life is quite boring.  Reading through my check-ins reveals: home, offices, train stations.  There is only a light scattering of cool places I’ve been to, and this is tempered by the next point…
• 3)      Lack of 3G at the only cool places I go to.  I was at Old Trafford recently and I thought that would be a good check-in with plenty of points (see another frustration), but I subsequently spent most of the match trying to get internet connection.  Check-ins in London are also wildly unpredictable given the city’s appalling 3G coverage
• 4)      The usability is pretty dreadful.  The app regularly locks up and there are too many steps from completing a check-in to returning to your “home” screen.  The league table is unreliable and slow to load
• 5)      What do I get in return?  I’m aware that I’ve given some pretty personal info (including where and when I’m on holiday), and all I get are a few lousy points?  I’m competitive enough as it is, I don’t need the pain of getting addicted to something else (I got addicted)

That said, we have shared a few memorable moments, almost exclusively at train stations, when reading the “tips”.  At Peterborough station I was informed “don’t stop here, it’s shit” (useful advice) and, my favourite, discovering the Ken Dodd statue at Liverpool Lime St.

I’m probably not strong enough to give it up altogether (still paranoid I might be wrong), but I will no longer be able to endorse it.  FourSquare will recover, but will I?

Help – I think I’m bored of the internet…

A bit of a ranty one this, but over the past few weeks I’ve found myself increasingly unsatisfied with internet.  Part of this is due to my addiction to the net, checking Twitter, BBC Sport etc which compels me to look regularly and, unsurprisingly, quicker than juicy content can be uploaded.

A smaller case of this problem is exemplified by regular watching of Sky Sports News where you are sucked into reading the ticker at the bottom of the screen in the hope that something new (and possibly interesting) is updated.  The waiting is as addictive as the content itself (and subliminally learning top goal scorers in La Liga).

In a world of 24 hour news channels and constantly updated newspaper websites the reality is that the world simply isn’t that interesting.  Alternatively, we’re so numbed by the updates that it’s hard to appreciate the privilege we have access to.  But more than this, I think that the quality of the content on the net is frankly not that good (I appreciate the irony of this comment).

With the economics of online journalism being as they are, it is becoming increasingly rare to find good quality content.  I’m as big a fan of Mail Online as anyone, but there’s only so much cheese I can take before I feel bloated.  I’m overly reliant on The Guardian for essays, though crave an alternative voice which just isn’t provided in the same depth by other news sites.  I had big hopes for HuffingtonPost, but I find the site so busy and the articles so cut and pasted that it fails on the initial promise of providing an online soap box for high profile bloggers.

Perhaps the world of quality online writing is going the way of most blogs, we start with great intentions and then just lose interest. 

Ultimately (and slightly worried this puts me in the Murdoch camp) there surely needs to be a way of making the economics work so that good quality journalism can be paid for?  I just don’t think the right forum has been found yet.  Sites like SabotageTimes touch on it, but I’ve yet to see a great example of it yet.  When I work out the answer I may finally stop needing to watch Sky Sports News…