How movers should take every opportunity to maximise publicity. Simon Jordan reports.
During the IAM conference in New York, Simon Hood made an ‘off the wall’ presentation entitled ‘From Boxes to Big Time’. His intention was to show how international movers have a wealth of golden opportunities to generate publicity for their companies - and that, in the age of AI, it is essential that they do so.
His ‘show’ kicked off with him running onto the stage dressed as a hot dog (before quickly changing into something more sensible), to the strains of Ozzy Ozbourne singing Paranoid. It was done just for effect of course, and it was ridiculous, but the choice of music was appreciated by the audience as there would have been plenty of people talking about Simon’s presentation long after he had left the stage. In that sense, his paranoia was justified.
Simon explained how he had risen during his career in part at least by doing the unexpected. He said that we should all be prepared to "Break the rules" by asking for attention, asking for more and asking for the impossible. “It’s always worth asking,” he said. “People will say yes or no, you have a 50/50 chance of getting what you want.” His approach has led his company, John Mason International Movers, to winning the King's Award last year and in Simon being voted a Great British Entrepreneur of the Year.
Simon described how he had done some ridiculous things to get publicity. For example, he once put up his local football team on eBay as a publicity stunt, and sent 25 balloons to King Charles.
He urged movers to use the many human-interest stories that come from international moving as opportunities for publicity. One idea was to ask customers what is their most treasured item, and get the crew to make a short video about how it’s packed. He also said people should try different things to see what works. He calls it ‘Faffanomics’: faffing about until something works. Don’t be scared of challenges, they can often produce the best result.To illustrate the emotional power of video stories, Simon introduced Sam Teale from Sam Teale Productions, a UK video production company ...