We Could Be Heroes

When my mobile buzzed on Sunday afternoon, I wasn’t expecting to see the news that greeted me on the text.  Wales manager Gary Speed had been found dead, it was a shock. 

Even more shocking was the circumstances in which the former Leeds, Everton, Newcastle and Bolton midfielder had died.  Although Speed was never one of ‘my players’, he was a player who garnered respect even from opposition fans.  Not flashy, just a good honest pro with no little ability.  The kind of player that would give you a consistently great performance every week.  He was a hero to so many, and his recent Wales record had given a whole national cause for optimism.  Gary Speed as Wales manager just seemed to fit.

He was, on the surface, a person who had it all.  The successful career, the money garnered from his Premiership playing days, the gorgeous wife and kids, and a new managerial career that was just taking off.  Yet, the perfect life wasn’t so much for Speed, he was obviously suffering in silence, I’m not sure how else you could explain it. 

It is so often the way for men in particular to suffer in relative silence when something isn’t right.  Sometimes, the more successful you are, the harder it gets to admit to such feelings.  Often the loneliest place to be is surrounded by friends and family, it becomes a battle within yourself to try and balance the basic human need to be physically part of a group with a feeling that you are better alone.

As someone who does suffer, it is an incident that makes you think.  The men in our lives are so often our ‘heroes’ whether they want to be or not.  I think it is this basis which can make it so difficult for a man, especially a man like Gary Speed, to seek help.  Our Dads, Granddads, Uncles, footballers, rugby players, businessmen, firemen, soldiers, policemen all look and feel to us like heroes.  I remember when I was in the primary school playground ‘being Gary Lineker’ or ‘Frankie Bunn’, and my Dad could do anything (though he wasn’t bigger than your dad obviously).  Though I’m older than almost all of the Oldham team these days, I can still be heard every Saturday praising another ‘hero’ on the pitch, it is ingrained.  Surrounded by that kind of pressure (loving pressure but pressure none the less) it is not surprising that so many men find it difficult to admit they can’t cope.  Particularly when on the surface they have no need for help.  Indeed, it is often suggested that we should just ‘pull ourselves together’ or ‘get over it’.  Often that isn’t easy.

I met a psychologist once who told me that so often it is the most successful people who are the most vunerable.  I’m not suggesting that I am successful by any means, but what the chap was trying to say was that often we create circumstances where to ask for help with such a problem becomes impossible to us. 

So much of this is down to unhappiness with us, whatever the material rewards have brought.  Being happy within ourselves and being true to ourselves is ultimately the best way to be content with life.  It sounds so easy to say, but for so many people, men and women, it is a concept that the pace of modern life will never ‘allow’ them to achieve.

So whatever really happened to Gary Speed I hope that it will make all those other heroes out there realise that sometimes being happy with ourselves is the biggest battle we face.

B+ your Public Speaking

Public speaking.  Various studies have shown time and again that the majority of people are frightened of undertaking any kind of public speaking.  Understandably, people fear the whole process of standing up in front of a group of others and talking.  Yet sometimes get those same people in a group of friends, and they'll have no qualms holding court, often being witty, funny and entertaining. 

Even those people that don't speak even to a group of friends tell a fantastic story when one-on-one.  Put an audience in front of them, or make the 'speech' a formal occasion however and they go to pieces.  Public speaking is considered by so many to be an art form in itself.  Some of the worlds great orators past and present such as Winston Churchill and Steve Jobs are considered 'other worldly' because of the quality and polish of their public speaking skills.  However, it is possible for anyone to become a good public speaker, I should know. 

I probably got the kind of introduction to public speaking that many others would've loved. From a very early age my mum (a teacher) was keen on me learning the art of speaking to an audience, purely I should add, as a way of getting me past my innate shyness.

However, it probably wasn't until my Sixth Form and University days that I began to gain confidence in public speaking skills.  I'd often volunteer to be the person who did the presentation or make the announcement.  Though I did find this was frequently because I just wanted to keep the lesson / event moving and hated the kind of 'no you, no you' conversation that followed a request of 'Can I have a volunteer to go first'.

Public Speaking doesn't have to be a nightmare though.  Here's my 3 B's  of public speaking:

Brain

Your brain is a wonderful thing.  The creativity contained within it is amazing, well it is for nearly all moments apart from the public speaking moment.  Even before you've stood up your brain has switched into maximum negative imagination mode and you're running through hundreds of scenarios of what might go wrong.  Fly's down, fainting, falling over, accidentally swearing...to be honest its a wonder you're still sat there.  Sound familiar?  It doesn't need to be like this, it just requires a couple of basic techniques and you can overcome it.

1. Visualise a fabulous reaction at the end of your speech, concentrate on how delightful and fun it will be to share the knowledge you have
2. Be in the moment, you've practised so even if you think you can't remember it you can.  Concentrate on what you want to say...it quietens the brain's more 'creative' thoughts.

Get your brain working for you when you're public speaking and you're onto a winner.

Body

Your body and posture can make an instant difference to your speech.  Imagine an invisible piece of string running up your spine and out of the top of your head and give it an imaginary tug.  You'll feel your head up, shoulders relax and a straight back.  Not only does this give you an added air of authority to your audience, it will instantly make you feel confident. 
The old adage which is so true with public speaking is Look confident, feel confident and you'll be confident.
Now isn't the time to slouch in your seat or cower away, head up, shoulders back (and relaxed) and you're already winning!

Breathing

The human body cannot survive without oxygen for more than 3 minutes, yet in our haste to rattle through our speech we seem to forget that.  Breathing not only keeps you alive (seriously listen to me people), it also helps in two major ways.
Firstly maintaining your breathing at a regular rate will slowly calm you down and counteract the adrenalin that will be shooting through you as you prepare to speak.  It helps to give your conscious mind something else to concentrate on too (further distraction from the 'creative' thinking).  Secondly, if you've practised your speech correctly you'll have your natural breaks/breathing breaks.  Adding these gives your speech a fantastic flow allowing you to emphasise points and gives the whole thing a more natural rhythm.  It also gives your audience a chance to take in the speech without worrying for your health as you rattle through without taking a breath.

Three simple points, but three very effective B's to remember the next time you are speaking in public.

From 3-3 to 3-3, 3 things for Paul Dickov to learn from

Like two perfectly formed book ends there was certain symmetry about Oldham’s 3-3 draw with Carlisle United at the weekend.  Not just in the final score, but with another 3-3 draw 46 league games ago.  Both finished 3-3, both saw late, late equalisers from the opposition and perhaps most tellingly both had seen Oldham race into 3-0 leads playing some of their best football of the season.

One thing Oldham manager, ex-Manchester City striker, Paul Dickov will be hoping is that the two results book-end a poor conventional season of results.  In the 46 games between the 3-3 draw with Exeter City at Boundary Park last November, and the 3-3 draw with Carlisle, Dickov oversaw a period of relatively poor results and football littered with defensive errors and goal-less attackers.  This contrasts hugely with what had gone before when Dickovs’ side started last season in such a fashion they were quickly nicknamed Galadickovs, including previously shot-shy midfielder, Dean Furman scoring the Football League goal of the season, also nominated one of the European goals of the season.

In between these two games, Oldham have gone from Galadickovs at the top of League One  earning over 1.7 points per game, scoring 1.4 goals per game to just avoiding relegation at the end of last season and starting this one as the model of mid-table mediocrity (win 2, lose 2, draw 2).  The overall record for the 46 games in between would have Oldham on 51 points from 46 games, possibly (just) enough to stay up in a conventional League One season (though 51 points hasn’t been enough in the past).

So what can we learn from Dickov’s tenure so far...here’s my own 3-3 draw, 3 positives v 3 improvements.

3 For

Scouting and Signing
Dickov and his scouts have proved they can pick a player.  He’s also shown he has a very useful list of contacts currently in some big clubs.  Some good loan signings last season Oumare Tounkare, Aidy White, Jason Lowe, Cedric Evina (turned to permanent) all unknowns who performed very well last season until the lack of quality replacements took there toll on the youngsters .  He’s continued to show the touch this season with the signings of Smith, Diamond, Simpson, Clarke and Kuqi.  All better known, but all have fitted in well to Dickovs system showing he’s certainly done his homework.  His signing failures have been few and far between. 

Football

Some of the football Oldham has played has been the best since Joe Royle’s legends graced Boundary Park.  High tempo, high pressure games built very much in the image of Dickov, but allied to some beautiful passing is the hallmark of Dickovs side at its best.  He admitted early in his tenure that he had been advised from some very experienced heads that 4-4-2 was the best way to get out of League One, and he has stuck fairly rigidly to this.  However, with players such as Chris Taylor, Fillipe Morais and even youngster David Mellor he has the ability to flex the formation during the game.  He’s also not averse to sending the big centre half up front when chasing a goal.

PR

Dickov has brought the polish of a man brought up in the goldfish bowl that the Premier League has become.  He exudes natural enthusiasm, is clear and concise in his interviews and, despite understandably relying on a few clichés and regular phrases, his honesty whilst still backing his players is clear.  So too his willingness to help promote the club, and get the players involved in promotion and PR, all crucial at League One level where a ‘big name’ like Dickov in a town like Oldham can make a real difference.  PR may sound like an insignificant point to raise, but with fans as sceptical as Oldham’s can be, it makes a refreshing change from what has gone before.

3 Against

Half Time / Full Time

Dickov’s playing style was, let’s say, combative.  Ok, scrub that, it was an all-out assault every time he took to the field.  Non-stop from the 1^st minute until the last, which makes one of his sides biggest failings all the more surprising. 

Since he took the reins, Oldham have developed the disturbing habit of regularly conceding goals in the 5 minutes either side of half time and in the last few crucial minutes of games.  Games the side have been in total control of have swung entirely on a goal just before/after half time.  Even more worrying is the sheer number of goals conceded in the second half of games, with around 60% of goals conceded throughout Dickov’s tenure happening in the second period.  For a side that on the surface seems extremely fit, this trend is difficult to explain.  It does point to a certain lack of concentration, but is it something more?  Just what happens in the Oldham dressing room at half time?

Experience

Dickov’s backroom staff should be complemented on the way they have helped create a team that plays the way it does at it’s best.  Former Leicester City and Bolton centre back Gerry Taggart as Dickov’s assistant brings the defensive experience to complement the striking experience of the manager, and they obviously get on extremely well.  However, what does strike many Oldham fans is the lack of management experience in the coaching team.  Certainly Dickov has admitted himself on more than one occasion that he has got substitutions and tactical changes wrong.

Perhaps some experience around the coaching team, maybe even a Joe Royle type figure would aid Dickovs development.  I’m not advocating a change to the coaching staff, merely the addition of some experience, even just in the form of an advisor which could enhance the team.  Almost in the same vain that the likes of Brian Horton, Lennie Lawrence and Gerry Francis have aided the managers they’ve worked with.  A strong man like Paul Dickov will do things his way, and quite rightly, but adding that experienced voice may just make that crucial difference at key times. 

Set Pieces

Set pieces play such a key part in any game both offensively and defensively that there isn’t a single manager worth his salt that doesn’t put the training hours into perfecting them.  Dickov is no exception.  However, Oldham have suffered almost the perfect ‘negative’ storm over the Dickovs tenure, regularly conceding from set pieces and never scoring from them themselves.

It isn’t an area that Dickov and his team aren’t aware of, and is regularly mentioned by Gerry Taggart in his musings, but still the problem persists.  Certainly this specific problem was a consideration in some of the pre-season signings this summer with height and experience brought in.  However, set pieces are all about concentration and ‘switching on’ quicker than the opposition (see the earlier section on Half Time/Full Time).  It is getting this right that can make a massive difference for Paul Dickov’s side.

3-3

I’ve been hugely impressed with the way Paul Dickov has gone about the job over the past season.  His command of the role and the way he has the side playing has been a joy to watch at times, particularly after many years of stagnation in League One.  As an Oldham fan I’m hoping Paul can stick around for a few more years yet and finally give this old club a reason to smile once again.

Strictly Business

As an amateur Ballroom and Latin sprawler, the return of Strictly Come Dancing to Saturday night TV serves two purposes for me. 

Firstly, it gives me the complete confirmation that I will never make it pro, and secondly just how much works goes into the 1 min and 30 seconds of performance we see on our screens.  Good, bad or Widdecombe, there is no hiding when the various celebs get their sequins and fake tans on and strut like they’ve never strutted before (apart from Robbie Savage who always had a strut that wound up opposition fans).

But Strictly Come Dancing gives us 5 business lessons that we can all learn from:

Dedication, that’s what you need

The celebs on Strictly eat, sleep and breathe (sometimes very heavily) dancing.  They have to; there is just no getting away from the intense period of time that is the show.  Last series we saw Matt Baker training in farmers fields and cow sheds whilst on location doing his day job of Countryfile.  This series Chelsee Healey is spending 8 hours a day filming Waterloo Road and then heading straight to the training room for 3 hours of intense dance. 

Whatever your opinion on TV work being ‘real’ or not, the celebs are dedicating every minute they have to the competition.  As with any business, if you are dedicated to that business, giving your all and every minute you have it will show.

Hard Work Pays off

When you are in business, it’s hard work that pays off.  Put the hours in both in your business and on your business and you’ll succeed.  Most entrepreneurs will take 16 hour work days as the norm, especially in the early days of a business, working all hours to ensure they are producing, selling, marketing and accounting.  It’s non-stop. 

At Strictly, it’s completely the same, put the hours in to learn not just the dance, but the technique and you’ll get the kind of marks that put you top of the leaderboard.  Take Harry Judd for example, the McFly drummer currently tops the training hours leaderboard and waltzed off with the first 10 of the series. 

Putting the hours and hard work in to your business is the way to get results, it’s just a pity we can’t all be accompanied by Harry or Aliona to make the time a little easier.

Know your limits

Let’s face it you wouldn’t ask Audley Harrison to perform a backflip.  Equally, asking Anita Dobson to lift Robin Windsor probably wouldn’t be the wisest decision either.  The professional dancers will put the dance choreography together to show off the best skills of the celeb.  They know exactly when is best to let them jive on their own and when it’s best just to slap them in a harness and hope for the best. 
Similarly it is crucial when you are running a business to recognise what you are good at, and what you aren’t so good at.  We aren’t superhuman as much as we like to think,  therefore getting help and support in for the bits that you aren’t so good at (or don’t want to do) will only help you and the business in the long run. 

Knowing your limits is the best way to push your business to the next level and often crystallises new appointments.

Sell the Dance

So many times celebs in Strictly Come Dancing will ‘nail’ all the steps.  Technically they’ll get to the end of the 90 seconds with the routine complete, yet something just won’t look right to us viewers or the judges.  Selling the dance be it Rhumba or Waltz is key to getting to the very top.  It is equally the case in business, you must ‘sell’ yourself and the business if you want to succeed.

Selling yourself, promoting the business is what can make the crucial difference between a sevennnnnn or a nine.  Without this essential part you are left with a technically great business that no-one gets or perhaps even knows about.  Selling is the key to success.

If you stumble, keep going

Sometimes the funniest Strictly moments are  those when it all goes wrong, and yet the celeb keeps going.  Pamela Stephenson last year nearly spun into the 3^rd row of the audience but kept going with a smile as big as ever.  This series Nancy Dell’Olio came to blows with a feather boa that wasn’t prepared to let her go, whilst Lulu completely forgot her steps in week one and carried on regardless.  The key with all of them was the celebs knew there was no hiding place they could do only one thing, carry on.

Running a business is no different, making mistakes is part of becoming an entrepreneur.  Some eminent entrepreneurs such a Richard Branson will tell you it is an essential part.  The key with these trips or mistakes is to keep going.  Dust yourself off and get back in the game.  There is no hiding place when you are in charge, you just have to keep going as best you can.  People will understand, and as long as you don’t keep making the same mistakes, it will only do you good in the long run.

Perhaps it’s time to get the glitter spray and fake tan out now, I’m feeling like a Quickstep.

Tom-tastic! Apprentice Series 7 The Final

Ladies and Gentlemen we have a winner!


The mad professor Tom Pellereau is the man Lord Sugar has backed to the tune of £250,000 after the final episode of The Apprentice. A worthy winner in many respects, a certainly fortunate to be under the new Apprentice prize of a joint business venture as opposed to a job within Lord Sugars portfolio of companies. If we’d been working to rules of previous series the likelihood is that Tom would’ve struggled to make it through the auditions let alone the first few weeks. His quirky style, mad inventor personality and action-man eyes always presented him as a potential loose cannon, but dig below that and Tom was always a candidate who stood out for Lord Sugar.

It is under the old rules that this year’s second place candidate, Helen Louise Milligan would’ve walked it. After a quiet opening few weeks Helen smashed her way to the top of the leaderboard and her structured planning and calculated organisation meant she stayed there right to the end. She played the perfect game in this series, and that perhaps is her biggest failing. There is a sense with Helen that she performs best within a structured environment, and as all new business owners will testify, a new start up is not the place to need rigid processes and procedures to perform at your best. Certainly in my experience, the ability to function within organised chaos would be closer to the mark. Helen you felt all along lacked a certain something despite her impressive showing, and it was crucial to Lord Sugar in the final reckoning. He was willing Helen to produce a stunning business idea, or even just a credible one, you felt if she had then even with the reservations she’d have been a shoe in. Not that she was the only one without a credible business plan.

The range of plans/businesses was revealed and disappointing was probably the easiest way to round them up. They ranged from Susan’s Skincare company to Jim’s e-learning entrepreneurial skills for schools.

Taking them individually, Susan’s plan involved the huge potential skincare market if she got it right, but with associated costs that would eat up the investment before it had time to breathe. Jim’s e-learning idea, cheekily branded AMsmart in line with Lord Sugars existing businesses, already exists and was in essence an idea non-profit business hastily given commercial figures. Helen disappointingly presented the equivalent of a virtual PA service that somehow was supposed to get the country back on its feet. Even winner Tom’s plan of ergonomic chairs and associated products was seriously flawed. Hugely disappointing all round and rightly all were pulled to pieces by what must be one of the most scary interview panels outside of the Den. In fact you got the feeling at one point that Lord Sugar was going to end the interviews and send all four over to the Dragons Den studio for a grilling in a BBC cross-show promotion.

Tom’s victory was down to two main attributes. He’s quite obviously a guy that Lord Sugar feels on a personal level he could work with. As I pointed out in a previous article, Sugar made most of his fortune in partnership with guys like Tom, and that was obviously a big draw for him, he knows how to handle this type of character. Secondly, Tom is a one-man ideas factory, it may take him 20 different ideas, but somewhere along the line Tom is going to hit on another massive idea and Lord Sugar wants to be there when it does. With his already established, but somewhat off-track, ‘Curved Nail file’ Sugar has a readymade product to start recouping his investment.

And so The Apprentice finishes for another series, we’ve had the usual mix of inflated egos, tears, tantrums and Top Hats. Only a few months until Junior Apprentice starts, and if that is anything like last year, those candidates will once again be putting their senior counterparts to shame.

Though certainly not this country’s entrepreneurial elite, this year’s batch of Apprentice candidates have made some great TV and been responsible (sometimes inadvertently) for some essential business lessons. We are left with the vision of a white coated Tom giggling away in a high-tech lab somewhere reaching for an emergency biscuit whilst creating the world’s first time machine using parts from a nodding dog, a top hat, nail file and travel clock. It’d be fun to be there don’t you think?

The PY's the limit! Apprentice Series 7 Episode 11

The un-official semi-final of this year’s series went off with a rather pleasant taste in the mouth. It was a fast food challenge, with each team coming up with a new fast food brand, menu and restaurant to wow a group of industry experts, and it proved a super episode.


Finally, yeah, Natasha, yeah went yeah and...aaarggghh I’ve annoyed myself again! Thank goodness the recruitment manager from Taunton was finally dismissed, though to be fair there was little chance of her reaching the final once Caracas went south. That’d be Caracas, as in the capital of Venezula, possibly discovered by the British explorer Christopher Columbus who was probably working alongside Shakespeare and Byron around the same time. All that was missing was to introduce the Columbus dish with...’just one more thing’ and the messy mixture would’ve been complete.

It should be said that the general knowledge mess-ups are certainly understandable, after all how many of us would have forgotten our own names after 11 weeks of living and working with this year’s candidates? It’s not surprising that for the third week running the candidate that has gone has been the one that has obviously run out of steam.

Just as with Zoe Beresford and Melody Hossaini before her, Natasha had the aura of a candidate who was gone before the task started. Match that to the fact that she was this tasks ‘Expert’ having a degree in Hospitality Management, (and her previous weeks poor performances) and she could’ve saved herself 48 hours of stress by catching a cab straight from the house. How she failed to grasp the task when she obviously has skills within the area was unforgivable so close to the final. Unforgivable, but pleasing all the same!

The dynamic duo Helen and Tom steered clear of the cheesy nacho regurgitation and instead hit on the impressive MYPY concept. Columbus rick aside, the clear direction, detailed costings plan and on-brief service made for a clear winner. MYPY was a genius concept, if a little Airline food looking in its delivery, but most importantly for a fast food restaurant, simple in its execution. In-store games within fast food outlets aren’t well known, but a little ‘I spy with my little PY’ could be a winner. Plus any food that can be served with gravy will always find a home in the glorious North of England so there’s a massive market ready-made. So glorious was the sight, seeing the ready-made meal in a crust served with lashing of the good stuff in the heart of the City, it was enough to make any Lancastrians heart flutter with pride. Oooo Northern Boys Love Gravy (*circa 2003 Soccer Am).

It was impressive all round from our second version of Beauty and Geek this series. The pair make an impressive double-act, so much so you wonder if Lord Sugar fancied calling this year a dead-heat and going into business with the pair of them. In a business such as fast food where organisation and detail is so important, Helen and Tom left nothing to chance and with Tom’s ideas and Helen’s organisation they could be an unstoppable combination.

So onto this year’s final, and we are left with the final four that doesn’t really hold any surprises. When Darth Norn/Jedi Jim strolled into the kitchen and asked ‘Did someone order a final four?’ I did hear someone shout ‘No Jim, I’m still waiting for my fajita’. It is Jim that is perhaps the most vulnerable of the remaining four despite being the best sales person left. You get the feeling that Lord Sugar is almost done with Jim. The same could be said of Tom with the number of losses he has been involved in. However, the big difference is Lord Sugar made his fortune working with people like Tom and you get the feeling his lordship is sizing up in his mind if he fancies one last crack at it with the loveable genius.

Helen, after a quiet start, has been awesome as the weeks have progressed. However, there is something missing with Helen that I can’t quite put my finger on. There is nothing wrong with reaching 30 without having started a business. After all some people just aren’t ready to and it’s admirable that she feels now is the time. There is just a feeling that she thinks she knows more about leading a new venture than the actual reality of doing so. But perhaps there is no better way to learn with the backing of Lord Sugar.

That leaves Snoozy Susie, Susan Ma. Possibly the Marmite candidate this year (you either love her or hate her), she is a hugely impressive individual. Not necessarily in each and every task, but just in how she has built her life, she has a real drive to achieve success. Indeed, the kind of drive that Lord Sugar himself is renowned for, and it could this that wins it for her. Much will depend on just how much time Lord Sugar is preparing to spend within each business and advising each candidate. If he wants to be quite hands on, Tom and Susan could be the kind of candidates he could work with. On the other hand, if he’s looking for no real input then Helen, and to a certain extent, Jim may be the preferred option.

The final featuring Daisy Communications Matt Riley and the return of Apprentice legend Margaret Mountford will see the candidates interviewed about their business plans. It is then we will get to know a little more about the kind of business Lord Sugar could be involved with.

It should be a cracking climax!

Melody Tuneless Lego Apprentice Series 7 Episode 10

The News of The World: It's another sign of The Naughties

When the new century dawned it was a time of massive optimism. A new century, a new start and lots to look forward to particularly as the technological age kicked into overdrive. We’d survived the Millienium Bug, and the dawn of the internet was well and truly upon us.


We’d had the 80’s with their years of despair, excess and big hair. We’d had the 90’s full of colour, brit pop and technology. Now we had, erm what do we call it??? Let’s go for the 00’s, the noughties, genius.

Perhaps looking back on the decade that was ‘the noughies’ (yes it has already been and gone) could it be said that we went for the wrong spelling, would ‘The Naughties’ be more appropriate?

Without wanting to make light of the current News of the World scandal, it comes on the back of the financial markets scandal and the MP’s expenses scandal. These are three huge stories and three events that may well define the decade in years to come. All three, it can be argued, triggered by corruption, greed and seeming sense of indestructibility, and all born during what could be the naughtiest decade of them all.

It may not be as straightforward as a case of greed as you may imagine. Though underlying the whole decade up to the crash and credit crunch of 2007 was an unprecedented period of economic growth throughout the country. Consumer spending rocketed, ease of credit, an unseemly obsession with celebrity and all its trappings, a public sector investing and bloating to huge proportions all contributed to and were outcomes of an economy that drove a new wave of greed.

At the same time this was occurring we saw the birth and explosive growth of a new media, a social media surfing the rise and rise of the internet. It gave us access to the breadth and depth of information we’d never had before, well not without spending months in a public library. In every house, in every pocket we now had the ability to find out pretty much everything there was to know about any subject, person or place. It also gave us access to information and people we could previously never have thought possible. It allowed us to communicate like never before, and it changed the way we wanted our information and the way we consumed our information. Suddenly waiting 24 hours or even 12 hours for news stories was no longer good enough when it was happening in front of our eyes. Public opinion was no longer the domain of the newspaper editors and tv presenters, we only had to press a button and we could see it. And that isn’t a bad thing.

What it did do was help fuel a culture of wanting everything now. Why wait a week, year, working life for your ‘material’ dreams to come true, when you can get it now. It was and is, I would argue, this driver that drove ‘the noughties’ to become ‘the naughties’. The financial markets, stupidly freed of red tape found new ways of making money for themselves and hungry clients and companies. MP’s, forgetting they were the servants of the state and lining their pockets. Finally, news rooms and newspaper desks across the country, driven by harder and harder revenue targets, celebrity status and an uncertain ‘new media’ future taking horrific, stupid and appalling decisions to get stories at any price, both morally and financially. All three born in a decade that should’ve been about the future, taking the world forward together into a new century instead it turned into a binge drinking night out in Oldham.

Yes we have so much to be thankful for in ‘The Noughties’, and they won’t be forgotten, but there is no getting away from the fact that the last decade really was ‘The Naughties’. As Robbie Williams sung in a now prophetic way in his song Millenium… “We all enjoy the madness, coz we know it’s gonna fade away’.

But what do you do? Apprentice Series 7 Episode 10

There was an air of excitement about the small figure stood in front of Tom this week. He was giddy with excitement looking at the merchandise pilled high in front of him. No not one of the young consumers Tom flogged patriotic nodding dogs to; I’m talking about Lord Sugar who was truly in his element at the start of this week’s task. You could see the former van trader practically leaping for joy as he outlined the stock selling task. The only thing missing was a yellow three wheel van power sliding through the warehouse doors.

With that picture firmly fixed in your mind, it was all the more shocking to see Snoozy Suzie sent to Knightsbridge to sell linen door to door. These are the kind of properties that sometimes won’t let number 1000 on The Sunday Times Rich List through the door to use the toilet, let alone a Croydon girl with handfuls of cheap polyester. But it was a sign of things to come from a Venture team led by the useless Natasha. Harsh for sure, but Lord Sugar’s disgust at their ‘win’ was followed by the removal of any winning treat. If she wasn’t sure before, the next time Natasha appears in the boardroom she’ll need to make sure her case is packed.

As much as it was a lucky win for Venture, it was not an unlucky loss for Logic, who under the leadership of Melody floundered under the weight of ego’s and coups. Undoubtedly the stars of the task were the two remaining boys, Tom and Jim, who on opposite teams, sold well. Meanwhile Melody hit several bum notes in failing to ‘smell what sells’ and opted to ignore Tom’s success whilst fighting off a power-drunk Helen hell bent on ‘saving’ the task. It was a poor move from Helen who got the wrong strategy on the task, and has seemingly hit on another poor one in her personal quest. Quite frankly the mere act of walking into a Pound Shop and trying to sell them watches at a trade price of £25 should be a firing offence on its own.

Melody Hossaini has not been the most tuneful of candidates, but, as with Zoe the previous week, she had an air of a candidate for whom the large lady was warming up her vocal chords. This was a real surprise from Melody who only weeks ago impressed Lord Sugar with her no nonsense one woman approach to the Paris task. It seems that rather than that being the start of her ascent to the top of Lord Sugar’s musical range, it was just a case of the triangle player getting over-excited and binging too early.

For far too much of the task both teams were guilty of chasing sales at any cost. They forgot the simple truth of sales that if you sell at a price above your costs you will make a profit. Spending 4 hours of an 8 hour selling window in the back of a cab getting stock to sell for peanuts isn’t going to make anyone any money.

It all proved a task too far for Melody who, though unfortunate to leave before Natasha, had to go having been given a couple of lives already.

All of which leaves a real rag tag bunch of Apprentice candidates in the final five, perhaps more so than any previous series.

How Natasha Scribbens is still among them is something I cannot fathom. She’s lived the kind of charmed life that makes you sure you must’ve missed an episode, either that or there’s more to her ‘yeahs’ than we think. Perhaps they are somehow managing to form a protective, Teflon coated, bubble around the girl keeping her immune from any downfall.

Tom Pellereau despite his obvious confidence floors elicits the kind of twinkle in Lord Sugars eyes that belies the insults flowing from the great man’s mouth. Sugar made his fortune working with people like Tom and even if Tom can’t see it, his Lordship is weighing up if he could do it again. “Jedi” Jim Eastwoood on the other hand, despite his excellent performance this week (and it could be argued, last week as well) looks like the type of candidate who is one slip up away from going. He’s going to have to be the top performer in every remaining task to stand a chance of being the last man standing.

Helen Milligan’s less than impressive task finally allowed us to see beyond the polished organiser from previous weeks, and I’m not sure there’s enough there to win it. Having a strategy and trying to plan is to be admired on such a chaotic task. But what’s more important is to get the right strategy and not just bang on about having a strategy when it was clearly flawed. Her attempted ‘kitchen coup’ underlined a feeling that Helen’s got a little bit drunk on previous weeks successes. Whether she heeds the warning she received in the boardroom will dictate if she stays until the end.

This leaves us with Suzie, the bambi to Jim’s Darth Norn. She divides opinion like no other candidate this year, and yet despite her annoying traits, time and time again she has got to the heart of the task quickly and understood what needs to happen. Ok, she’s often failed to push this through in the face of the strong personalities she is surrounded with, but she potentially has the kind of spark, enthusiasm and energy Lord Sugar is looking for. Whether he could work with her is an entirely different question, and one that may see her falling by the wayside before the end.

Who will win this year’s Apprentice? Let me know your thoughts and vote in the poll on this page.


Star of the Week: "Jedi" Jim Eastwood and Tom Pellereau joint winners this week, Jim showed his sales strengths and Tom stepped outside his comfort zone to sell, sell, sell.


Got Lucky: Natasha Scribbens. Saved again by being on the winning team. She's like Monty Pythons Black Knight and just won't go.

Heading for a Fall: Helen Louise Milligan.  Has she been found out?


For Twitter updates on The Apprentice don't forget to follow me @simonbrooke

Zo-go Zoe. Lego Apprentice Series 7 Episode 9

Soggy Biscuit Dunking. Apprentice Series 7 Episode 9

Right thought I’d set the scene on this week’s blog post for you. I’m sitting down in front of my laptop with a nicely steaming cup of coffee and the sun cracking t’flags outside. But wait, what’s this feeling? It’s overpowering my senses, I can’t concentrate, quite frankly I’m flagging and there is only one thing I need…an Emergency Biscuit. Yep, that will do the job. Phew crisis averted.

I don’t claim to be a playwright of any great repute, but I feel confident enough to say that my newly released ‘Emergency Biscuit Tragedy’ still sits slightly above the ‘Biscuit Lovers’ playlet dreamt up by Melody. Though I must confess I will be hard pressed to find a relationship as full of chemistry and connection as that of Beauty and the Geek; Melody and Tom. I’m thinking of casting Jeremy Clarkson and Germaine Greer.  The audience may even watch whilst eating Pop-biscuits, they are the new popcorn after all.

This week’s task was all about biscuits. Creating a new product and taking it to 3 sets of supermarket buyers to get onto the shelves and into the nations brews. As always with the Apprentice we had a twist in the boardroom, where yet again having seemingly gone off track with their ‘After School Treat’ that was for anytime, Team Venture pulled in a huge order from Asda (a new Apprentice record), and blasted Team Logic’s biscuit within a biscuit, BixMix, clean out of its digestive outer.

It was unfortunate for Team Logic as Venture had been less than impressive in the task from the first moment. As churlish as this may sound, Helen and Jim were probably two of the poorest performers this week, yet with a sidelined Natasha in tow, were able to persuade Asda of the potential of their product. How much different the final product, packaging and marketing would be if it was ever to hit the shelves will perhaps be the biggest example of Venture’s poor execution of a decent idea.

Having said all of that, it’s fair to say that Logic under Zoe’s robust stewardship really took the biscuit! Though we saw flashes of the feisty Cheshire girl’s management style, she had the air of a contestant who had perhaps had enough of the process. It was communication that really let her team down, and really brought home just how crucial it is across an organisation. I disagreed with Lord Sugar’s insistence that Zoe went to the production site; however she could’ve spent a great deal more time communicating with Melody and Tom in order to answer one question. Who are we aiming at? It was this that lay at the heart of their loss. Forget the bitching, playlet and politics, Logic lacked a clear target market and therefore production and sales/marketing had a complete disconnect.

Having learnt a little more about Zoe, it is clear to see just what Lord Sugar had seen in her. After all this was a woman who overcame two bouts of cancer in her late teens, she really was the kind of battler he loves. However, falling down on such a crucial element meant she was always likely to go this time.

Clear communication starts from the top of any organisation. Having a clear vision, moulded into a strategy and then followed down through the various functions is the best way for any company, whatever the size, to succeed. Even better, a fluid two-way process that allows this to be adjusted and take advantage of customer feedback and new markets is the standout feature of any successful business.

So we are left with Melody Hossaini, Susan Ma, Helen Louise Milligan, Natasha Scribbins, “Jedi” Jim and Tom Pellereau as the final six candidates and tasks running out fast. The unlikeliest winners out of that list probably include Natasha and Jim who have both faced Lord Sugars ire. The current standout would probably be Helen, though she still has an element of mystery surrounding her skills. Whatever the outcome over the next few episodes, it’s proving a difficult series to predict.


Star of the Week: Helen Louise Milligan. Granted it was Jedi Jim that 'won' the massive order, but Helen's management just pipped it.


Got Lucky: Natasha Scribbens.  Saved by being on the winning team. She'd have been dead in the water facing up to Jedi Jim and Helen in the boardroom having been sidelined by them.

Heading for a Fall: Tom Pellereau.  Unfortunately for 'Brains' he looks increasingly like a dead man walking.

For Twitter updates on The Apprentice don't forget to follow me @simonbrooke

Lego Apprentice Series 7 Episode 8

No Regret Rien - Apprentice Series 7 Episode 8

Fromage Frais, Chaise Longue, Petit Pois. By the standards of most of the Apprentice candidates who headed to Paris for the latest task, those six words mean I should probably change my name to Pierre.

It was an episode which saw the demise of a potential winner and the emergence of a killer queen in the shape of Melody who was anything but tuneful in her savagery. Dynamite with a laser beam she turned her attention quite squarely on Leon and Tom who were left reeling by her scary, yet somehow impressive display. Fair play to Melody who revelled in the task as a fluent French speaker, but went too far in alienating Leon, destroying Tom's strategy and hogging sales. But let's face it; this is the Apprentice not the real world, so she was probably toasted for her shameless performance with a glass of Moet and Chandon from a pretty cabinet. I'd get very worried if Melody was ever brought into translate on negotiations between two nations. Chances are if she took a dislike to you, you could very quickly find an admission that you were wrong, turning into an offer to 'step outside' and be none the wiser.

Tom continues to intrigue. For the first time he was forced to reveal his 'real life' track record in fighting against elimination. Having done so what was obvious was that, along with most of the other candidates, Tom's problem on this task was getting swept up by the fact they were in a foreign country rather than concentrating on the key aspects of engaging with buyers. It is a task he admits to doing regularly as part of his real life with buyers and suppliers across the Far East. The pressure of the Apprentice threw all these skills out of the window and he now risks being firmly in Lord Sugar's point of doom.

One candidate sure to divide opinion is bouncy Bambi, Susan. Now, since King Henry brought the Dauphin to his knees with a bunch of Robin Hood extras (yes I know) there has been a healthy rivalry with our friends across the channel (or la Manche - Pierre). Indeed it is fair to say that the banter is the basis of any Anglo-French meet. Susan took this to a whole new level, in her own way, in launching a series of bizarre statements including 'Do the French like their children?'. The look of disbelief on Karren Brady's face probably rivals many of Nick 'The Face' Hewer's very best.

Having ensured she is unlikely to gain any employment 'en France' any time soon, she should still be complimented on her performance in leading the team to a near record win. Helen again impressed with a massive order that rivalled Liz Locke's record breaking sale last year. She somehow remains difficult to back as a winner though, perhaps suffering from the bizarre scenario where she has yet to face the boardroom and show us who she is. It's not her fault though as she just keeps winning.

What was clear from this week’s Paris task was that when tasked with selling to buyers, be they foreign or domestic, having a clear plan and thoroughly researching the business you are sat in front of is essential. Test runs of products are all well and good and should be what you are aiming for, but insulting a buyer by offering an inappropriate amount is suicide. I'm sure no product developer reading this blog would dream of offering a business the size of Argos 10 units as a test quantity. That is the equivalent of what Logic offered the French powerhouse retailer La Redoute.

Believe it or not we only have four weeks left, so who is your money on?


Star of the Week: Helen Louise Milligan. Who else could it be with a sale as big as that.

Got Lucky: Tom Pellereau.  Got stitched up by Melody but should've been stronger.

Heading for a Fall: Helen Louise Milligan.  A record sale isn't enough to keep anyone in the Apprentice, just ask Liz Locke.  She needs to carry on her current upward trajectory or a nasty fall could happen.

For Twitter updates on The Apprentice don't forget to follow me @simonbrooke

Lego Apprentice Series 7 Episode 7

Hip to be Square Apprentice Series 7 Episode 7

Never let it be said that the Apprentice is all about the youngsters. These candidates fundamentally understand just how to engage with the old market, just as much as their own peers.


Who am I kidding, the ‘cream of UK business talent’ pulled a shocker of choices in this weeks task which was to create a brand new Freemium magazine and pitch to three of the countries largest media buying organisations to secure advertising revenue. In terms of the creative and pitching process it is one that I am very familiar with, and one thing I’ll always be an advocate of is not suppressing creative ideas. It is amazing sometime just where a seemingly weird idea (believe me some of them have been) will take you. Fundamentally however the key is to focus on the message and, more importantly, the market you are trying to reach.

This is the one and only reason why Natasha, yeah, led her team to a victory, yeah, even if yeah, her project manager skills yeah, had all the quality yeah of a pitch delivered word for word yeah in the way she talked yeah…grrrr I’ve irritated myself just writing it!

Her refusal to take the feedback from Tom, Helen and the group of burly if very well-behaved on camera student rugby players almost let her down. As did the out-dated Loaded-esq final product. But the fact that the largest media buyer had a client base that suited such a publication secured victory. Of course the fact that they understood the need to be flexible on the rate card cost helped massively.

Jedi Jim or Darth Norn Iron as he is now known missed this, which was as amazing as it was cringeworthy. How a supposed Sales expert got it so wrong says more about Jim’s real skills than his mouth would ever betray. Even without any clever TV editing any sales person worth their salt would’ve seen the change in atmosphere as Darth Norn told the media buyer that he wouldn’t negotiate on the rate card, not once but three times. He was lucky not to be hopping into the nearest TIE fighter, but it’s only a matter of time.

I can’t believe I’ve got this far into the article without any mention of the words ‘Hip’ and ‘Replacement’. I think that it’s because on some unconscious level I still can’t work out one thing…why!

Throughout Glenn’s one-man creative storm he got so carried away with comedy ‘old-people’ terms that he’d lost sight of what the magazine stood for. Feedback from the focus group gave some credence to Zoe’s throwaway ‘Hip Replacement’ idea, but a combination of translation and Darth Norn’s attempt at funking up the front cover meant it was a loser. Credit to Zoe though for understanding how the magazine should be pitched, just a shame the name left it looking decidedly bizarre.

The firing was a surprise more for the fact Darth Norn remained than Glenn being fired. The same charge could be levelled at Susan, but, despite her best efforts to irritate most, she perceptively picks up on the fundamental business points in the tasks. She just needs to learn to speak up a bit more before the event.

Lord Sugars rather unkind adage on firing Glenn that he’d ‘never met an engineer that was good at business’ will rankle with many. Though in his Lordships defence he loves engineers in general, especially those that helped him make his vast fortune. He obviously has a few scars.

So it was the engineer that left, with Bambi and Darth Norn heading back to the other candidates with their saving more a stay of execution than an indication of being potential winners.

Star of the Week: Tom Pellereau and Helen Louise Milligan.  Both picked up on the correct route for Covered but were ignored by the whirling Natasha


Got Lucky: Darth Norn - Jim.  Got it so wrong and his inability to sell will have him gone before long.

Heading for a Fall: Natasha Scribbins.  Yeah!

For Twitter updates on The Apprentice don't forget to follow me @simonbrooke

Lego Apprentice Series 7 Episode 6 - (Almost) Bouncer's Dream

What a load of rubbish! Apprentice Series 7 Episode 6

Copper boilers, a builder that would put Del Boy to shame, and tears and tantrums, are there any more classic combinations for an Apprentice episode? Lord Sugar’s challenge of turning muck into brass (as long as it was copper) brought the first win for Team Logic and the loss of be-gloved Edna.

It was another task, as so many are, that was lost by Venture within the first throws. Zoe failed to see the merits in Susan’s spark of genius and was blown out of the water by a clever Logic move to not charge for waste removal and therefore win the three crucial commercial contracts. Less impressive was team Logics scout party led by Jedi Jim, the Norn Iron Obi Wan, and Tom berating hapless residents in their own homes in what must count as the most unlikely and scariest Rag and Bone combo since Darth Vader and Grand Moff Tarkin popped to Alderaan for spare parts (Star Wars references for those not quite as sad as me!). In fact I’m still not sure why Jedi Jim felt he had to use the PA, surely he could’ve just used his powers to make them answer the door – he obviously didn’t want to show off.

Enough Star Wars references, this was waste wars and it did show with some hard physical graft, just what it takes some new businesses to get off the ground.

Unless you are lucky, in the early days of a business there is no one else to pack the rubbish, drive the van, do the negotiation, clean up after and then arrive home tired, hungry and dirty and have the bookkeeping and administration to do before a couple of hours sleep and doing it all over again. It may have been rubbish, but it could well have been any kind of business you’d like to mention.

Getting new businesses off the ground is a hard and often lonely task, and sometimes the rewards for a day of graft are as little as £6. It is these times that you really need the support of a network of colleagues, contacts, friends and mentors – as well as advisors and dare I say bankers (something that seems to be severely lacking for many at the moment). It is this network of people that every new business owner needs (indeed every owner/entrepreneur regardless of their business) and sometimes cannot find.

Back to the episode, and leading team Logic, Helen was clever enough to realise that the risky strategy of not charging could secure the contracts and win the task. Though it is worth pointing out this wouldn’t have worked as a long term business strategy, this was about winning an Apprentice task, and so needs must.

I’ve mentioned Helen in my previous blogs only once, and that is mainly due to the fact that up until this episode she has been anonymous. Her calm organisational skills certainly helped in leading Logic to the win, however it should be said that even with three commercial contracts they did only win by £6. So Helen’s skills really do still remain a mystery. On the other hand, the ‘flaky’ (as she has been described by her teammates) Susan yet again hit on a winning idea, but didn’t have the force of will to push against the increasingly bullish Zoe (who survived the boardroom again, largely due to Lord Sugars desire to oust Edna).

Where did this all leave us? The list of potential fits with Lord Sugar looks to be heading along the lines of that in my previous blog, and as we see more of the candidates personality, the easier it is to see just who Lord Sugar could work with.

I get the impression that Lord Sugar has already separated the copper boilers from the steel baths that scrapheap is about to get a lot fuller.


Star of the Week: Tom Pellereau I don't think there has been an Apprentice candidate more happy to win a task.


Got Lucky: Zoe Beresford.  Does Lord Sugar have a soft spot for feisty Zoe, or has her choice of final 3 saved her.

Heading for a Fall: Helen Lousie Milligan. More as a question of whether she believes her own hype after what was a £6 win.

For Twitter updates on The Apprentice don't forget to follow me @simonbrooke

Lego Apprentice Series 7 Episode 5

A Blueprint For the Future; Oldham Athletic and Business

A couple of years ago I approached the directors at Oldham Athletic, my club, to offer my marketing and sales skills particularly in the form of putting a strategic approach to improving the marketing of the club together.
Fair play to them they listened, had a meeting, and I heard no more - though as you may spot a few activities may just have been acted on.  In any case I thought I'd share with you the outline I gave them that day...

A Blueprint for the Future of Oldham Athletic; Marketing the Club


Undoubtedly, on-field performance has the biggest impact on every aspect of the club. However, the development of a clear, strong and imaginative marketing strategy is vital in lessening the reliance on such an uncontrollable element and reinvigorating the marketing of the club.

Vital to moving the strategy forward would be the internal audience being completely on board. If not, this will ensure that the project is doomed to fail.

Challenges – Where we are?

In many ways the club has reached a key point in all areas from the management and squad to the stadium. There is a curious contrasting feeling within a proportion of the supporter base between cautious excitement at the progress that has been made particularly over the past 3 years and a growing apathy at a perceived lack of success and ‘settling’ for what exists.

Taking the general points from recent debates within the fan base, there is a feeling that marketing initiatives have rather ground to a halt, and the club could be doing more to promote the club in the town. There is also a lack of regular contact with the core supporters. Yet, there is also an understanding that many previous initiatives have been extremely generous and the lack of their success is probably contributing to the current situation.

It is against this backdrop that the key challenges appear to be:

• To increase and maintain the average attendances

• To raise the profile of the club within the wider community/town/area and associated business community

• To create a buzz within the supporter base about the club

• To increase the communication with key ‘customers’.

The club already has a number of elements in its favour:

• A loyal core support

• Good routes of communication

• A product that has a generally widespread appeal

• Wide potential base for idea generation

• Teamcard and Ticketmaster systems demonstrate an willingness to embrace new technology

What is clear from a small amount of research is that there is a clear need to ‘do something’. However, a balance must be struck between the pressure from fans for short-term rewards and the business need to create long-term, sustainable results.

What is possible?

Over the past decade, a number of football league clubs have recognised the changing nature of football fans. The fans are increasingly becoming more fickle and they expect more from their clubs and rightly so. Clubs such as Norwich City, Ipswich Town and Charlton Athletic have all created long-term strategies aimed at creating sustainable off-field activities, all with good results. They have all underpinned these strategies with a CRM system which places data at the heart of decision making. This has to be the way forward for a club such as Oldham that needs to make cost-effective and targeted decisions/offers.

The key for any marketing initiatives in a service/entertainment industry is to generate immediate results, within a clearly defined longer term aim. For example, a £2 entry game can be underpinned by a data collection exercise which would then provide additional targets for later marketing activity including season ticket offers.

This is an example where an innovative and extremely generous initiative could have been enhanced with a more controlled long-term approach. Any initiative must be designed along the following steps:

1. Clear start and end

2. Value offering

3. Common purpose

4. Targeted

5. Measured and tested

6. Clear Steps

By setting out a clear strategy in how the club will move forward with its sales and marketing approach it will become easier to develop and assess new ideas/outlets as they inevitably occur.

Every business benefits most from marketing initiatives that are developed from a clear understanding of both their customers and non/potential customers.

Taking a Strategic Approach

What is a strategic approach:

1. Attract leads

2. Convert leads to first sale

3. Know our customers

4. Increase the value per sale

5. Create flow-on effect

6. Increase margins

7. Reputation / Brand

The key to any strategy is results.



Recommendations – What would a blank canvas approach look like?

A Strategic Approach – Overall Steps

1. Research exercise, including set up of key focus groups

2. Development of key strategy points

3. Feedback from focus groups on the strategic points

4. Develop the marketing strategy

5. Implement

It is clear that the club should work to a strategic plan for its off-field promotional activity. I would suggest that this is developed over a 3-5 year plan, with points included within this for review. The plan would be a long-term approach with various initiatives that place the key/loyal supporters at its centre. The best method to underpin such a strategy would be through a well developed database marketing approach. The club should give very strong thought to developing an efficient database system.

Research Exercise

The basis for the strategy should be a comprehensive consultation exercise with the existing fan base and wider town to both understand the needs and opinions of the existing/potential customers and open up a clear and structured line of communication. The research will have the benefit of:

• Providing input on supporter satisfaction with club facilities

• Understanding the fans’ views about the club and their relationship with it.

• Investigating season-ticket holding and ways of packaging membership to add value and increase uptake.

The research exercise should include the following groups:

• Season-ticket holders

• Fans groups

• Official fans forum

• Local businesses

• Non-Season ticket holders

• Non fans in the local area

• Non attending fans in the local area

A sample questionnaire is included at the end of this report.

Latics have excellent communication lines with fans through the website, OWTB forum and fans groups (Trust Oldham, OASA etc). However, the consultation must go further to encompass season ticket holders, regular and irregular attendees and former and non attendees. Targeted consultations can also be held with key groups such as businesses, community groups and public organisations.

Input would include all aspects of the club from pricing and communication to match day experiences and merchandising.

The questionnaire could be distributed via a number of different media including via the forums, on match days, the club shop/ticket office and even the Oldham Chronicle (perhaps by looking for sponsorship for the feature). By utilising a low-cost, online option such as Survey Monkey it would make it easier to gain the feedback. Some thoughts should be given to incentivising the return of questionnaires.

Key focus groups

To complement the questionnaire, it would be advisable to create a couple of focus groups to further discuss the issues under review. The groups should be split along the lines of season-ticket holders and potential season ticket holders.

Also, it will help to create a focus group of around 12-16 fans that is consulted on all the issues covered on an ongoing basis, for example every quarter. These should be a mix of season ticket holders and non-ticket holders/potential fans.

The research will identify a number of key points with regards to how best the club can develop initiatives that are both welcomed by fans and profitable, along with better informing general strategic approach of the club.

Such a research exercise can be combined with a review of existing customer data to begin the steps in building a database marketing system. The intention of this being to build a long-term picture of each individual that has an interaction with the club. This will allow the development of targeted offers aimed at increasing turnover from within the existing base and encouraging new ticket holders.


Key Targets and Possible Initiative Ideas


Season-Ticket Holders/Regulars/Best Spenders

As this group can be defined in many ways as the ‘most loyal’ supporters, it is a key group to involve in regular communication. As your best brand advocates, they provide a fantastic base with which to feed offers through.

Specific offers could be developed through collection of data, which would otherwise be loss leaders for other groups of fans eg:

• Regular communication both written, and quarterly fans meetings

• Birthday present of a free ticket to bring a friend/pint/pie

• Anniversary of their first season ticket, possibly a reduced price

• Thank you from the squad at the end of the season – email/card/letter

• Preview invitations to see the new kit before it goes on general sale (esp for those who are identified as regular spenders)

• Meet the new signings – again for most loyal especially relevant around pre-season before others get the chance to see them in action

• Golden Ticket – auto entry draw when you purchase a season ticket – get the full cost refunded if you win

• ‘Experience days’ for the loyalist fans, eg joining in training/footballer for the day/vip treatment

• Vouchers to encourage buying behaviour, eg for those who attend every game but don’t buy a pie/programme/spend in shop

• Vouchers as per Burnley FC promotion – especially relevant this season with the December schedule

• Joint offers with local businesses, eg we’re loyal to local business too

• Keep the other half happy, eg money off a bunch of flowers/bottle of wine/restaurant offer


Young Fans/Colleges/Schools

As the supporter of the future, they are a key target group for any long-term strategy. Latics have a great track record of servicing the younger fan base, in which Chaddy the Owl has become a major part. More could be done to build the special feel of belonging to the various Boundary Blues and Chaddy’s Gang groups. Data collection would also help to move the youngster through from junior tickets through to adult tickets, helping to pave the way for an intermediate ticket. By tracking the ages, intermediate tickets become easier to justify and service without the club suffering from potential ‘abuse’ of the system.

• Boundary Blues/Chaddy’s Gang own website, with forums, games and possibly a 2 games for £5 style offer

• Intermediate tickets covering university and college ages

• Direct promotion activity within colleges and university

• Creating mini-franchises in schools as part of their business training. They sell tickets/merchandise in schools to pupils taking a cut of the profits...running a proper business and promoting games in schools. This would work fantastically well as part of the community scheme.

Local Press/Media

Another key target should be to enhance the links with local media especially the Oldham Chronicle and they key effect that coverage across the sports pages and elsewhere in the title can have in winning over the community. It has felt at times that there is a lack of support from the Chronicle. Certainly it is a growing niggles with some fans that the two Manchester clubs appear to be getting more and more column inches. It is the club that are in a position to be able to make a difference on this.

• A dedicate section within the paper for community news/offers/promote upcoming game – perhaps with a co-sponsor to ensure paper is gaining some advertising revenue

• General shows/comments of support on various local issues/charitable causes


Local Council

The moves to ‘rebrand’ the town and the associated campaigns and investment, offer a huge opportunity for the club to place itself as a key player in helping the process/rebirth of the towns image. The new stadium planning situation could be turned into a positive in terms of a number of ‘open’ communication channels which now exist.

• Suggesting that the rebrand could involve the club – eg

ur Club l ur Town

I am Oldham (various media campaign featuring well know Oldhamers, along with residents eg. Chris Taylor)


Business Community

As business owners it is often difficult to see tangible benefits from general sponsorship activity of sports clubs. By having a good database marketing approach major/match sponsors could be given opportunities to communicate directly with the fan base. For example, an email newsletter sent either before or after the game to the fan base could have a mini-feature on the match sponsor. This immediately gives some more tangible incentive for sponsors.

• Have a presence at existing network events around the town

• Create the clubs own network events. These could differ from the norm by having a different member each week setting out what their business could do for Oldham Athletic. This makes their business more memorable by giving a practical example, creating a better core group. Sponsorship can be gained especially from local banks/solicitors who are very keen on these type of events

• Hold special meetings prior to games with a small drinks meeting prior to attending the game. This would work particularly well prior to evening games when it could be used as an excuse to leave the office early

• Develop a Presidents club/Platinum club (particularly with the new developments in mind). Allow an annual membership and limit numbers

• Targeted promotions to the fan base allow the offering of more cost-effective/higher value sponsorship deals

• A greater involvement with the local chambers/businesslink/enterprise centres –eg. East Lancashire has based their entire enterprise funding around the football clubs of Blackburn, Burnley and Accrington offering cheap office space and various start-up funding for businesses (LEGI funding)

• The new stadium developments could be placed at the centre of much of the activity eg. get in now and it will be cheaper when it is finished

• Use the data collected to identify those fans that are in decision making roles with their employers. Target these with specific hospitality offers and be proactive in meeting with them for their input

• Golf days / experience days

• Presentation evening pre-season for the presentation of squad shirts for shirt/major sponsors (paid event)

• Management in action eg. inviting managers from various businesses on non-match days for workshop/meet with our manager/director on running the club


Other General Suggestions

• Reinvigorate the stadium development excitement. Perhaps create a new website/micro-site showing the plans, updates on the progress, advertising for contractors

• Creating a car-share scheme – especially for those not able to attend/struggle to attend games or away games

• Town Centre shuttle bus prior and post match days – could be combined with...

• Match day promotion crew – in the town centre selling tickets with incentives to attend

• “Relive the Pinch Me Year’s” promotion – bring old memorabilia along to get it signed by old players. Make an event of it with games playing on screens

• Combined tickets/offers/events with other entertainment providers in town – eg his ‘n’ hers tickets for a day at the football and a night at the theatre, local restaurants.

• Football goes to the theatre – a full classic game replayed on a big screen at a local venue


The ideas outlined have been developed to fit within a long-term, sustained marketing approach. Conducting the survey would allow these ideas (and perhaps better ones) to be discussed and evaluated.

The majority of the ideas will require an intelligent database marketing system to gain the best benefit from them. The Teamcard system which the club has recently introduced has been combined with such a system to good effect by clubs such as Norwich and Ipswich.

Approaching your marketing from this long-term view, and gaining a very clear understanding of your supporters will benefit all aspects of the club. It may also go some way to contributing to the feel that the club really is progressing into a club for the 21st Century.


...so there you go. How was it?  I designed a whole questionnaire to be distributed, but that was another thing not acted on.  Football at the lower levels needs to be clever in marketing terms.  Battling against so many powerful and huge marketing machines in not only the Premier League clubs, but the Premier League itself and Sky and the FA who all benefit from massive interest in the Premier League clubs.  However, with some thought and a long-term plan stuck to whatever is happening on the pitch, it is possible to box clever.

Who let the Dogs out? The Apprentice Series 7 Episode 5

Right, first things first, I thought it best to get several clichés out of the way now so as not to make this article too predictable. Today I will not be mentioning... ‘made a dogs dinner out of it’, ‘top dog’, ‘cat who got the cream’ ‘nine lives’, ‘dogs b****cks’. Though to be fair I probably won’t need the last one to describe any of the accomplishments in Episode 5.

The ‘Pet Food’ task could prove to be the pivotal episode in this year’s Apprentice as we saw a double firing, bookies favourite Jedi Jim becoming a marked man and the quiet man of the group, Tom manoeuvring himself into the limelight.

The demise of one-time favourite Ellie was as sad as it was frustrating. Ellie had given the impression of being the kind of female powerhouse that grows into the show. Sadly she failed to take on board last week’s bashing from Lord Sugar and remained a silent, un-interested looking participant in a losing team. There wasn’t even any of the superb spark that marked last week’s boardroom appearance. And it was really put into context when in a losing group headed by Dogtanian himself, Vincent, who Lord Sugar was gunning for; she succumbed to the firing first.

Vincent - One for all, and all for One

Surprisingly still was big favourite Jedi Jim being set clearly in Lord Sugars firing line. It was a bad performance from Jim and perhaps we saw some of his real personality for the first time, and his Lordship certainly didn’t approve.

To the task itself, and in a week when it was marketing and not sales that was the key decision, Logic applied none of it to their product under Vincent’s leadership. They failed to find a niche and perhaps misunderstood the essence of the task. This being about creating a good brand and marketing campaign, that was key, the possibility of huge sales wasn’t. That is why Glenn and Venture succeeded where Logic failed (again). And even though Glenn did his best to make a good idea, backed by identifying a niche market, sound and look bad (a poor advert and see their light!!??) the principles were sound, as was the design of the packaging.

A superior ad was never going to be enough to save Logic who had failed to identify key trends in the market. That would never wash with Lord Sugar. This task was a marketing one, focused solely on the process of identifying and addressing a niche within a massive market. I’m sure marketers everywhere cringed when Vincent uttered the words ‘we are targeting everyone with this’. In the age of digital, niche and personalised marketing, these utterings meant Vincent wasn’t going to last.

Vincent did pipe up with the marketing mantra of the ‘4 P’s’ which is always amusing for an experienced marketer to hear, if I was getting marketing geeky at this point I would say that ‘7 P’s’ is generally more accepted these days. But whether it’s 4 or 7, Logic were on a hiding to nothing having embarked (see what I did there) down the wrong path. Perhaps the 6 P’s of the SAS may have been more appropriate (Proper Planning Prevents P**s Poor Performance).

As usual Venture was helped more by the failings of Team Logic than a dynamic project manager of their own. Glenn did himself no favours in leading the team with all the management skills of Frank Spencer and none of the charm. You can’t knock him for sticking to his guns in the face of some ridicule, but the lack of any management skills could not have escaped Karren Brady and her all seeing (cats)eyes.

One thing that has become clearer after the Pet Food task is that Lord Sugar is already looking to who he feels he can trust to work with – not just employ and it is a very different requirement.

Already it looks like Jim, Natasha, Edna and Zoe are all out, Jim’s hammering in his absence the final nail in his coffin. All of which leaves Melody, Leon, Susan, Tom, Glenn and the elusive Helen. So who will come out as leader of the pack, the top dog, the cat that got the cream...oh b......


Star of the Week: Tom Pellereau got it spot on with his concerns, and for the 2nd week running he got to the nub of the issue quickly and with no fuss.

Got Lucky: Jedi Jim Eastwood and Glenn Ward. Jim is in the firing line and Glenn was fortunate to be on the winning team after his leadership style.

Heading for a Fall: Natasha Scribbens, another boardroom appearance probably saved only by the presence of the other two.  Will she realise that, or begin to believe her own hype?

For Twitter updates on The Apprentice don't forget to follow me @simonbrooke

Lego Apprentice Episode 4

You Beauty! The Apprentice Series 7 Episode 4

With the inevitability of a botox-fixed gaze the beauty task provided some ugly Apprentice moments, in an episode that saw this series spring to life. It is surprising that in a series which is focused on the search for a partner for Lord Sugar it has taken until episode 4 for almost all the candidates to 'feature'.


However episode 4 more than any previous introduced that classic mix that makes The Apprentice, when at its best, compelling TV viewing.

Team Logic kept up their unenviable run of defeats with the kind of Apprentice loss that could so easily have been avoided with some simple tweaks. Meanwhile Team Venture was led appallingly by Zoe. The toe-curling (or perhaps it was separation-ly) public haranguing of Susan when the lack of product sales hit home, looked like the most metro-sexual firing squad ever assembled. Clearly a case of a candidate thinking they were being clever and definitively pinning the ‘failure’ just in case anyone was unsure. There is, after all, a big ‘I’ in team, but then this is The Apprentice.

Though there was one person I felt more sorry for than Susan in this episode.  That was the guy who having been persuaded to have a massage by the persuasive beauty of Melody, stripped to his waist to be greated with the melodious Irish tones of Jedi Jim.  Who looked far too enthusiastic on arrival in the treatment room, I some how think that wasn't what the customer had in mind.

There were so many failings on both sides, from the pitching process when Logic lost out on the money spinner of fake tan spray, through the decision that a relaxing massage could live side by side with the hairdryer and ‘are you going on holiday this year’ chatter of hair styling it was inevitable that Felicity was destined to tossed away quicker than a Lady Gaga hair accessory after a night out at a rugby club awards do.

What this episode did demonstrate is that in so many areas of business location is key. As is not losing sight of the most important KPI in any business – margin. Amongst all their appalling decisions this one is the most unforgivable by Logic and led straight to their downfall. As the saying goes, Turnover is Vanity, Profit is Sanity – or in this case Looking like a salesperson is Vanity, Profit is Sanity, just too much time spent selling low margin products and ignoring the harder sell but higher margin treatments spelt the end.

Just what possess seemingly successful people (Ellie after all runs her own construction recruitment business) to go completely ga-ga and fail to spot that selling hair accessories came secondary in priorities to getting the more profitable treatment room full is a mystery.

What are becoming clearer are the personalities of the candidates and therefore the matching process with Lord Sugar is, possibly, a little clearer than previous series.

Already there is three groups forming. There are those that seem to be leading the race, Melody, Jim, Susan and possibly Ellie (if she can come back strongly from the boardroom appearance – which was a superb performance). Then those that just won’t match with Lord Sugar and so will be falling by the wayside, Natasha, Zoe, Vincent and Edna. Finally there is the group who could go either way, Tom, Leon, Glenn and Helen. A strong or weak PM performance could see any of them joining one of the other categories.

Perhaps Leon should just hold out his pinky now and see if Lord Sugar follows as easily as the female shoppers in Birmingham seemed to. I’m not sure what his girlfriend would have to say about that.



Star of the Week: In a week of poorness, Tom quietly hit the nail on the head but was ignored and Leon had his pinky out - Leon for the sheer cheek of it.

Got Lucky: Zoe Beresford - her calling out of Susan was just poor

Heading for a Fall: Vincent Disneur is looking more and more out of his depth by the week.  Natasha Scribbens isn't too far behind.

For Twitter updates on The Apprentice don't forget to follow me @simonbrooke