Nearly every company wants to include its history on its website or in brochures. But very few company histories are interesting to read - and even fewer could ever be used as an advertisement. Finding a compelling way to talk about company events a hundred years ago isn’t easy. Some companies use graphs, some bullet points and others turgid text. And very few are successful.

And then I came across this:

He just wanted a decent book to read…

Not too much to ask, is it? It was in 1935 when Allen Lane, Managing Director of Bodley Head Publishers, stood on a platform at Exeter railway station looking for something to read on his journey back to London. His choice was limited to popular magazines and poor-quality paperbacks - the same choice faced every day by the vast majority of readers, few of whom could afford hardbacks. Lane’s disappointment and subsequent anger at the range of books generally available led him to found a company - and change the world.

‘We believed in the existence in this country of a vast reading public for intelligent books at a low price, and staked everything on it.’
Sir Allen Lane, 1902-1970, founder of Penguin Books

The quality paperback had arrived - and not just in bookshops. Lane was adamant that his Penguins should appear in chain stores and tabacconists, and should cost not more than a packet of cigarettes.

Reading habits (and cigarette prices) have changed since 1935, but Penguin still believes in publishing the best books for everybody to enjoy. We still believe that good design costs no more than bad design, and we still believe that quality books published passionately and responsibly make the world a better place.
So wherever you see the little bird - whether it’s on a piece of prize-winning literary fiction or a celebratory autobiography, poitical tour de force or historical masterpiece, a serial-killer thriller, reference book, world classic or a piece of pure escapism - you can bet that it represents the very best that the genre has to offer.

Whatever you like to read - trust Penguin.

This was a full-page ad at the end of a Penguin book, and as soon as I started reading it, I was hooked. So why does it work so well?

For a start, the opening question sets up a little mystery for the reader. We hate an unsolved question, and we read on to find the answer. The same question puts us in Allen Lane’s shoes, we can feel his frustration - we’ve all searched the newsagent book stand looking for something decent to read, knowing that if we don’t find something we face a long, boring journey.

Then there are the details. Exeter train station, a packet of cigarettes. These locate the story for us in something concrete that we know and understand. Notice that these aren’t overdone: we don’t know if it was raining, or hear about the bussle of a busy station. But there’s just enough for our imaginations to flesh out the story.

Next are the emotions. We know that Lane was disappointed, angry even. Using these emotions enables the story to make quite dramatic claims (he changed the world). It also lends weight to the words believe and trust towards the end.

Then comes a strong (and slightly humorous) link to the present day. Things have changed the story tells us, but the belief at Penguin stays the same, and that means we won’t experience the same frustrating moment on Exeter train station.

Finally, it doesn’t tell too much. It doesn’t talk about takeovers, factories opening in Asia or recent product innovations. It tells just one story - the one that supports Penguin’s basic principles.

So, if you want your company story to do more than just be a list of facts and figures, look back into the past. Every company has an starting point - and with the right treatment, it can be used to enhance you brand.

You can read the full Penguin story. This version was a little too long for my taste. But still, every paragraph contains elements of what’s described above.

Berlingske Business recently pointed out how few PR agencies have a Corporate Blog - something they all strongly recommend to their clients. One of their arguments against corporate blogging is lack of time – another is that it’s hard to find something relevant to write about.

These were also our fears when we decided to set up a corporate blog about a year ago. And yes, one year’s experience with our blog has shown us that it does take some time to get it rolling, to find the “corporate blogging voice” and to catch people’s attention.

But the fact is that now that our blog is up and running, even our most regular bloggers hardly ever spend more than 30 minutes a week on the blog. Now, it’s true that we’re professional copywriters and writing is our thing. But even so, our staff is split into two groups – the bloggers and “the others”. Some people are natural bloggers and quickly latch onto a debate – others are simply not.

I believe that every company or agency has at least one natural born blogger. And that every company has something interesting to share with it’s stakeholders. An opinion on where the industry is going. Comments on new products or ideas. The blog is a great place for your audience to get to meet the “real people” behind the corporate facade – and they would like to hear what you have to say. So maybe it’s worth investing 30 minutes a week sharing your thoughts and ideas with your audience?

So grab your pens (keyboards) and BLOG ON! Of course you’ve got something relevant to say. So say it. Out loud – and proud.

In one of his books, John Simmons (writer, brand expert and much more) recounts a wonderful story. I’m going to paraphrase the story here (appologies, John, if I get anything wrong):

John had just finished his book Great Brand Stories: Innocent, and emailed one of the founders of Innocent Drinks to let him know everything was done. John received a reply that said something like: “well done, it’s a beautiful day, you should go to the park to celebrate”. So John sent back an email that looked something like this:

Subject: Out of office reply.

John Simmons is not in the office. He’s in the park enjoying the beautiful day.

This story made me think. Are we missing a trick on our out of office replies? Surely, this is a good place to build closer relationships with clients and suppliers. Explaining what you are doing could be the starting point of a friendly dialogue when you get back. It would certainly add a little more personality to your communications - and as we often only ever meet each other over email, extra depth is something we could often use in our work relationships.

Obviously, in some cases, details can be less than helpful. It may not be a good idea to write: “I’m not in the office today. I’m in court facing charges of shoplifting.”

But “I’m skiing in Norway for four days. Barring accidents, I’ll be back in the office on Friday and will get back to you then.” is a nice thing for people to read. We all take holidays, go to children’s birthday parties, travel on business. And it may be nice to share this information with clients.

So, I’m going to try it. I’m out of the office until next Tuesday. Send me an email - and you’ll find out what I’m up to. And of course, I’ll get back to you next week.

After four years in Denmark I’d come to a very definite conclusion: Danes swear. A lot. In English. At the most inopportune moments.

Don’t get me wrong. I swear like a trooper. But there’s a time and a place for it. In Denmark, you can be confronted by an English taboo word at any moment. In business meetings, surrounded by families at the Tivoli aquarium, on huge billboard posters. It can be embarrassing - and it nearly always makes me cringe.

(We’ve already written about the topic: check out David’s post on a Danish pop song, or this WordSpin article on a certain alcopop campaign.)

So, one thing I was looking forward to when I moved to Norway was being able to relax without worrying about when the next unsuitable swear word would come out. The Norwegians almost never swear in English. If they do, it’s always to stress a point and never in a business meeting. All was going well. Until I visited Stavanger. There I saw the f word proudly splashed on a shop sign. (I’m not going to show a picture of the sign on this site, but if you want to see it you can.)

The sentiment is similar to this one (also spotted in Stavanger)…

So what is it with the people in Stavanger? Why is it, as soon as you go to the west of Norway, they start getting offensive in the shop windows?