Week 4 by Elizabeth Davenport

This week at Purpol has been very different to my last three- in a good way! This week has been more creative, and seen me researching things I’ve never even thought about before- a bit like the whitepaper research, but less heavy on the writing!
The first task I began tackling on a sunny Tuesday morning was in preparation for our next, upcoming Purpol team meeting. Denise challenged us to create a whole direct marketing campaign, outlining everything from concept to target market, appropriate for Purpol’s
innovative and online Magnificent Marketing course.

As a creative individual, I knew I wanted this project to be quite visual as opposed to just conceptual or theoretical. So I got started straight away- using a lot of purple shades! I expect I’ll be able to show my work in more depth in next week’s blog, once I’ve unveiled it to the team
first! But for now, my general ideas revolved around the concept of targeting new businesses with the online marketing course.

To do this, I have created such direct marketing channels as social media ads (very handy for new businesses!) email campaigning and promotional letters than can be delivered straight to the targeted business. I have also considered why new businesses are an ideal target market and where to find them, as well as making sure that my copy features some of the strongest words in marketing- for example, ‘don’t miss’, ‘limited’ and ‘easy’ as these can be crucial in encouraging custom.

Another project that Denise has entrusted me with is one for an actual client! I introduced it briefly in my last blog post and mentioned that it has enabled me to develop my Excel abilities as well as get to grips with online resources like TopService.

I began this project by collating data on injury lawyers, both UK and internationally based, and displaying my results via an attractively Purpol-themed spreadsheet. While I do love research, this was a topic I was unfamiliar with so it was great to look into something a bit different- who knew there were so many law firms out there! I used sites such as Apil, Google Business and Linked In to find firms, their contact details and the key people working within that firm. Denise sent my finished spreadsheet of data onto the client this afternoon- scary but exciting! I just hope it can be of help. Next stop on this project is to explore TopService in more depth and use it to collect financial information on the firms I have researched so far. This will give us a better idea of business size and function.

Between time spent on these two projects, I have also begun initial research for more whitepaper writing. Next in the pipeline is ‘the 7 P’s of marketing and why they matter’ and the more challenging ‘how to cut through the noise of social media and stand out’. My approach to
whitepaper writing has really developed since my first attempt. I begin by breaking down my research into chunks or headings, which I always handwrite (it helps for some reason!) and then I type up an initial draft and re-type until I’m satisfied.

So, a very interesting week this week! It’s great to have been a bit more creative as, although I do love to write, I am also excited by choosing colours, fonts and layouts! It’s also been great to have more to show for my week than just whitepapers- diversity is key to staying focused and
passionate. Still learning a lot and still enjoying it, and especially can’t wait to see everyone again at the upcoming team meeting.