Re: UKNM: No dirty tricks please, we're British

[Steve Johnston/IMRG]

I said,


>> Look again, the perception, because a 'creative' image is shown in both 

>> cases, is that you were both responsible for the 'creative' work because 


>> the work done was not described.


Then Tom Hume, from Good Technology said


>Well we could show a picture of our server or some of our staff doing HTML

>but I doubt it would sit well alongside the rest of the Revolution mag ;)


Alistair Duncan from APL said

>I am flattered that so many wish to be associated, as it were, with so  few, 

>but as far as www.mini.co.uk goes, the truth is, as Detective Columbo  might 

>say, Good Technology's client was not Rover, but was in fact, APL.


Hmm, Tom, perhaps those coders ( read 'honesty') should have got in the way 

of sitting well alongside the rest of the 'creatives'.


Alistair also said

>Audi is actually listed in our ad as a worldwide client. It is not listed 

>in the directory entry as a UK client. Get glasses. Get a Mini. Get a  life.


Audi is listed in your entry in the Revolution portfolio as a 'world wide 

web client'. There is no qualifier whatsoever to do with 'worldwide', Audi 

Asia or Extranets. 20/20 vision me, and my wife and three kids will vouch 

for the 'life'. You can keep the mini.


When I accidentally chanced upon the double claim in the said portfolio, in 

response to Tom's original complaint about cowboy operators, I really 

expected there to be no real issue in the projects referenced and that the 

real story was, and this is borne out by the explanations, a case of 

creative work and software implementation. 


My real concern here is that the client companies, who I know easily as 

well as I know the service/supply community - and our membership is full of 

them - find this opaqueness troublesome. And whilst I am sure you will find 

other dirty tricks throughout the world's service industries, I will always 

err on the side of transparency when expressing opinion or referring a 

client company to any developer. 


Alistair began with:

>I believe we have all done much to make web marketing a respectable  profession,

>I would prefer you all to keep it that way. So, anyone falsely claiming an 

>association with our work will need to justify it to our solicitors.


Are you aware of how pompous this makes you sound. Put your copywriters 

where your mouth is and say Audi Asia Extranet and not Audi. It doesn't 

take much thought to appreciate that if you say Audi to a primarily UK 


audience, they will assume you mean either the consumer web sites of Audi 

UK or Audi corporate in Germany. But then perhaps that is what you want 

people to assume. 


Perhaps your target customers don't tell you how hard they find it 

evaluating the scope of competencies and real experience that you 

(collectively as web marketers, developers etc.) have, but they certainly 

tell us. 


My only interest in this debate is to encourage better communication within 

the industry. Period. And if I am pissing anybody off it is at my own cost, 

as neither APL or Good Technology are IMRG members. Part of the IMRG's 

remit, though, is to remove barriers and I believe this sort of stuff, 

amongst a whole lot of other crap of course, impedes client investment.


Steve Johnston

Director of Development

The IMRG


www.imrg.org

********************

UKNM is sponsored by Excite UK, visit us at http://www.excite.co.uk.

Email Khalil Ibrahimi

khalilexcitecorp [dot] com (mailto:khalilexcitecorp [dot] com)

 to advertise on Excite.

********************

Change your UKNM subscription use http://www.chinwag.com/uknm.html