What is the best job in the world?

Snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef is as my good friend Steve would say 'sweet' but after a day or two , I have to best honest - what's next?

Having spent 3 days in glorious Townsville recently where the sky was the perfect shade of blue, the temperature was 27 degrees, the sun was shining and the sea was incredibly inviting - I lapped up a day down at the beach, hopped on a ferry to Magnetic Island and in general had an idyllic winters day - who could possibly complain? This is paradise after all. Every Melburnians dream winters day particularly as we are expecting a very chilly 9 degrees this Friday and unless you are on the slopes, this is not too appealing.

By day 2 in the Sunshine State it became apparent that there was little to do and I was in fact bored. I can't believe I am saying this, but it's the truth. There wasn't a good golf course in site (http://www.womensgolflife.com/) simply because the good ones are in the suburbs in Townsville, and let's be honest Townsville isn't known for its shopping (although there is one good shop called Avanti that looks like it belongs in Paris rather than Townsville - I bet the very gorgeous Rachel Finch shops here!). On top of this, the sun is quite harsh on my lilly white skin and having worked on an advertising campaign for The Melanoma Foundation a few years ago, I am acutely aware of the dangers of too much sun. It's fashionable to be white I keep telling myself every time I am lured into the warmth of a summers day although I am green with envy at the bronzed lifesavers who strut up and down the beaches in their speedos.

So, for me... I don't think it was actually the best job in the world. In fact, I can't imagine why anyone would think it is. After a week of holidaying in a beach resort, how many of us actually want to stay? Chances are we enjoy our holiday but also can't wait to get back home to friends and family and the entertainment options that are available to us in the big city.

From a marketing perspective, however, this is 'the best job in the world' as whoever came up with the campaign deserves every accolade that they have received.

Statistics as at 6 July 2009 were that the campaign attracted 8 million visitors to http://www.islandreefjob.com/, 94,000 subscribers to receive Best Job in the World Updates and the winner has more than 2000 followers on Twitter. Very impressive.

As a marketer we are always praying that this good fortune will happen to us on the next campaign we are working on.

Having recently won a beer account - yep, that is almost the best job in the world for most men I suspect - I can't help but think that getting a job as a beer tester wouldn't be too bad... but like our tourism counterparts, after day one, what's next?

What is your idea of the best job in the world? Mine... sad but true... is exactly what I am doing right now.

http://www.marketingeye.com.au/

$10 per day websites - To discount or not?

Brainstorming ways to generate more sales in the current economic times is a daily ritual for those who work at Marketing Eye. Our last quarter was still strong, but could have been better - like everyone else in the consulting game.

The latest, or more precisely, today's great idea is $10 per day websites over 12 months interest free. Now I personally have a problem with this, as it's the same product that we give clients who pay $8,000 for a website and they have to pay upfront.

Whilst we offer small to medium sized businesses a Marketing Manager for $24,000 per year*, we don't normally discount and this is more than 50% off the normal price.

We say, 'everybody needs a marketing eye, but not everyone has one' and we feel the same way about websites. Everybody needs one but not everyone has one or at least, has one that people see.

For us, it's like the first entry into marketing your business successfully after developing your brand.

We are not alone when it comes to discounting in the area of professional services. According to Raintoday.com, discounting is the norm.

61.4% of professional services firms report that they discount their fees from their internally standard or externally published rate or fee structure.
38.6% report they do not ever discount.

Marketing Eye does not discount its fee structure at all, but areas that are add-on's, we regularly review on a client-by-client basis. The reason being is that if the company we work with doesn't have a good brand, has a bad website, or doesn't understand the value of public relations, sometimes we have to lead the way and show them the benefits by actually giving it to them at a price that is too good to refuse. If they don't have these things, how can we market their businesses?

Should companies be discounting in the current climate?

To trial this promotion, we are focusing on companies in the Gold Coast, Brisbane, Townsville, Rockhampton and Cairns.