Monday, Jan 5

27 degrees, beautiful blue skies

Rested, surfed out, and tanned

We’re BACK! (except Gabby and Shirley, who at this very moment are either lying on Copacabana sipping mojitos or bringing Hong Kong out of its recession through extravagant shopping sprees)

What a year it has been for Tick Yes!

Not only did we add some smart, witty and hilarious staff members (aka Candice and moi) to the existing boisterous bunch at Tick Yes. We moved out of windowless, natural light unfriendly office that was Ultimo, into the sunny office at Bondi! (Westfield BJ is only 5 mins away + a female dominant workplace…you do the math!)

It has been a year where the concept of our work was successfully proved. Through project launches with clients such as Bayer, Sony and Schwarzkopf, we have demonstrated to the marketing community the value behind our mantra of building meaningful relationships with your key stakeholders.

We want to graciously thank all our clients who have shown enormous trust and support and our suppliers who have produced jaw gapingly fantastic work! We look forward to building on this relationship and working together on many more exciting opportunities in the years ahead!

So as the year draws to a close and you’re most likely reading this with the mother of all hangovers thanks to your Xmas party, we hope that in the coming weeks, you have a fantastic break, a champagne filled New Year and we’ll see you refreshed and sober(ish) come 2009!

….but for the time being, take 2 Naprogesics with a carrot and ginger juice! Thank me in 30 mins

Holiday beckons!

‘Hi, I’m Ryan and I’m a facebook addict’…

And so began the first of the 14 steps to heal thyself from facebook addiction. Well, in fairness, that’s not true, i’m slowing getting off the popular online social community because paradoxically, my real social life is becoming as rare as finding value on the Dow Jones.

However, the facebookers out there who constantly refresh the news feed, log in at least 15 times to check if anyone commented on their latest self portrait or threw enough sheeps at their friends to cause a woolly shortage in the land of the long white cloud, this is for you!

Ironically, therapy is in the form of a wait for it….a social network! Beating Addiction is a social site created by Kinal Crop where users can congregate and create support groups for any and all types of addictions, from serious issues like drugs/alcohol to Guitar Hero and World of Warcraft.

I’m eagerly waiting for the Beat Beating Addiction online social site!

How long are you spending on facebook, MySpace or online social networks a day?

Had an interesting conversation with a client today regarding a solution to their CRM problem. The dilemma we’re trying to overcome is that CRM or Customer Relationship Management is not about software or a string  of 1s and 0s that can effectively manage the relationship between your brand or service with your stakeholders . I wish it was only that easy! The reason it isn’t is because of the two keywords in the lexicon - CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP.

Building customer relationships on the back of a software package is about as effective as sex education with pictures of birds and bees. In fact, CRM should not be about software, it’s about strategies and processes that turn strangers into positive brand ambassadors. It is a project that takes time, effort and a well sought out plan designed to engage and interact.

We need to be clear here that the goal is beyond creating a database or sending out the occasional email blast or promotion. Whilst they play a role in fostering that relationship, they are far from being standalone solutions.

Think of it as dating, would your relationship gain any momentum or spark if the girl of your dreams only calls you once every few months and send the occasional email to say hi?

Or would you feel much more optimistic if there was a mutually positive rapport built on common interests and persona?

Can software do that?

Santa Claus came to Tick Yes over the weekend! Our arranged golf day did not happen as the weather turned London, but a lot of fun was had at King St Wharf with a pit stop made at James Squire before heading over to knock some pins down! Peter took home the coveted Jane!

What i love about the series created by Lee LeFever of Commoncraft is that he is able to take a complex topic like RSS or wiki and explain it in such simple and entertaining terms!

This week, we’re showcasing  his work on ‘Social Media’! Enjoy!