Copywriting UK | TENFOUR blog

TENFOUR signed up to the Prince’s Rainforest Project a while ago. But, returning to their website today, we were impressed by a simple but effective change to the entry page.

The charity clearly wants visitors to sign up to their petition against deforestation. So, the new entry page is a simple ‘add your name now’ box with a short video from the Prince himself. You can then click to continue to the rest of the website.

It’s simple. But it’s also a great way to focus attention, don’t you think?

Why not have a look at the Prince’s Rainforest Project site now? And you should sign up while you’re there, of course.

TENFOUR really likes the Love’s Fish Restaurant website.

Love’s is a Brighton eaterie that featured on Channel 4’s Kitchen Nightmares. What we appreciate is the fact that the site does the basics well. A bit like the advice you’d get from Gordon Ramsey, we’d imagine.

It leads with food. Fish chowder, crumbed fish cakes, fish cooked whichever way you like, and the posh fish and chips deal from 12-5pm. They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Well, TENFOUR’s is rumbling.

Above and beyond that, there’s a super-clear map to find the restaurant and a simple booking facility. Without even speaking about the more fun features, it’s a site that truly works. It gets you hungry enough to snap up a table.

Well, we hope so. Owner Allan Love seems like a nice chap - one of those people you’d like to do well in business. It’s just a shame that TENFOUR writing is based in London, that’s all we say.

Why do some words work and others don’t? It’s a fine line sometimes.

TENFOUR was reading film posters on a tube journey home the other day. Here are two of them: Bangkok Dangerous and You Don’t Mess with the Zohan.

Both names are arguably bad. Though, while Bangkok Dangerous seems truly brainless to us, we thought there was something redeeming about the other.

What do you get from the ‘Bangkok Dangerous’ title? (1) The film is set in the Thai capital. And (2), there might just be some danger. We’re guessing guns, some cars and another sketchy Nicolas Cage haircut. It’s a title that’s super-clear about its audience, but no more.

‘You Don’t Mess with the Zohan’, on the other hand, is a bit more intriguing. Zohan, that’s an unusual name. Who is this man, Zohan? Why shouldn’t we mess with him exactly? Then there are all the hairdressing references. We might be clutching at straws, but at least the title makes us use our brain.

Therein lies the difference perhaps: it gets us thinking, even if that’s just a little. What do you reckon? And, have you got any favourite film titles… good or bad?

By the way, the TENFOUR jury is still out for ‘Snakes on a Plane’.

TENFOUR supports The Dogs Trust by sponsoring a rescue dog. They’re a truly great charity and, in our opinion, they send out really effective mailers.

We received one in the post the other day. It told the story of a dog called Weasel who was rescued from the street and rehabilitated. The unique thing about Weasel was that he was born with no ears. The mailer went on to explain how a lot of care and some surgery helped this dog get back on his feet, able to hear again and rehomed with a family.

It got us to thinking that we don’t receive that many positive, good-news stories in charity mailers. We’re aware it’s not always possible to tell a positive story. But, they sure seem effective when they’re told well.

Find out more about sponsoring a dog with The Dogs Trust>>

Most of us understand the concept of IQ (a measure of brain power). Some might have heard of EQ (emotional intelligence). But, how about SQ (spiritual intelligence)?

In the early morning London paper, City Am, journalist Carole Ann Rice suggests that leaders of industry need to look to spiritual intelligence for their businesses to grow in a meaningful and sustainable manner. Greed is no longer good. Equally, the outmoded motivations of fear, dominance and self-assertion.

TENFOUR warms to Rice’s description of a modern business culture built on exploration, co-operation and higher service provision. Companies that value SQ are likely to think about meaning and value; be compassionate, light-hearted and creative; and find motivation through a sense of vocation and loyalty. All great stuff.

So what of the Beeb’s most recent portrayal of the business world, The Apprentice? TENFOUR was a fan. But, we did question some of the motivations at play. Knighthood aside, perhaps we can say that the main man still keeps it real - ‘don’t be fooled by the rocks he got, he’s still, he’s still Alan from the block’… and all that. But, what about the job candidates - characters like 31-year-old Katie Hopkins, who included lying on her CV as one of her key assets?

Surely, if we believe in the principle of spiritual intelligence - at least, vaguely - these kind of ’skills’ should not be relevant any longer. Or are they? Is it now fair to define them as characteristics of ‘the naughties’ rather than ‘the noughties’? We’d say so.