How one phone call changed a country wide packaging contract …

I'm a fan of Gloria Jeans Coffees. Partly because I got to know the two founders way back in the 90s when they brought the franchise to Australia (and then bought the whole company) but also because their stores give me a great customer experience. Last year the family gave me a home expresso machine and I now fill it with ground beans bought from my local GJC outlet. The coffee is always good and the service likewise. Over the past few months I noticed that as the bag of coffee got towards the end - coffee grounds started to leak out of the bottom of the packet.
This wasn't a major drama - but after the 5th bag did this I figured that GJC head office might like to know and check for a faulty batch.
After dropping an e-mail to my founding friend, GJC responded with a phone call to me that same day and then three follow-up e-mails. In the e-mails I gave some more information (although pretty hard to write in-depth about a bag that holds coffee grounds) and three days after my initial e-mail I received a note saying that GJC had spoken to their supplier and they had agreed to dump the previous style of packaging they supplied and move to a brand new style, Australia wide. Wow - how's that for influence? Not sure if my knowing one of the founders made the difference - but I am seriously impressed with such a quick response on behalf of GJC and their supplier.
Just goes to show the power of the consumer?
Gloria Jeans Coffees have also started sponsoring The Jesus Racing team and Andrew Fisher in the Jesus Ute in the V8 Ute series. Another reason to drink their coffee.
Thanks Peter.
PS. Be nice if GJC marketed a 200gm container with a resealable lid with a GJC logo, into which coffee lovers could decant their ground coffee? I'd buy one.

The circles of new business ...

I'm becoming a fan of Seth Godin. Seth is a blogger, an author and a speaker. Here's what he says about himself on his web site.
'Seth Godin is the author of ten books that have been bestsellers around the world and changed the way people think about marketing, change and work.'
A few weeks ago Seth wrote a blog called 'The circles (no more strangers)'
In it he spoke about how businesses go about getting new business. As someone just 16 months into running my own business I read it with interest. You can read it for yourself, but his core message was that in business, its a lot cheaper and easier to reach your existing customers and sell them another one of your products than it is to reach new customers. People who have already commissioned work from you are more likely to come back for more - especially if you delight them the first time around.
As I read that, something intriguing happened. I got three calls from previous clients asking me to do something new for them. In one case a client referred me on to one of her clients because she knew I could do the job.
The coincidence of Seth's blog and then seeing it work out in practice was exciting and now, some months after I read Seth's original piece, its still happening. Can't complain about that.

Reality - 50 years on

For the past few days I have been in the state's New England area shooting a documentary and promotional DVD for the Will Graham Reality event. Will is the grandson of famous US evangelist Billy Graham and the son of Franklin Graham, CEO of Samaritan's Purse and the US Billy Graham organisation. (Pic: Will with his Colin Buchanan 'graffited' dressing room sign)
Like his grandfather, Will is a preacher and his message is pure Gospel. Local churches in the New England area have spent more than a year preparing for Reality and the numbers attending the events are certainly evidence of the work the churches have done.
Some observations. There continues to be strong memories of the 1959, 1968 and 1974 Australian Crusades by Will's grandfather, Billy. Most of the organisers that I met were either converted at one of the three Crusades or worked on local committees. This blogger is in the former category (1959).
The audiences (is that what they're called) so far have been a mixture of the over 60's - who remember the 1959 Crusade and Gen X and Gen Y who enjoy the contemporary music that Reality has organised. From country and western/children's entertainer Colin Buchanan through to 'Compliments of Gus' there's something for everyone. Tomorrow night's meeting in Tamworth is featuring the Tamworth Choral Society, so that will be harking back to Billy's day.
I've been surprised by the people I've met from my past. A young guy who used to be in the Baptist church in Griffith is now an accountant in Tamworth. He was kind enough to say I hadn't changed - must be 35 years since we last saw each other.
Another attender is Gary, whose father Ron was dramatically converted at the 1959 Crusade and was featured in the Remembering '59 documentary. He is here to see if Will's style will work in Bathurst where is a Baptist minister.
The legacy of the initial 1959 Billy Graham Crusade continues to impact Australia. It's not Billy, but churches are excited to have his grandson come and continue the ministry. Praise to God.

So, this is what getting an award feels like ...

Just back from the Christian Media Australia conference (CMA) on the Gold Coast and still getting over the shock (a nice shock) of being the recipient of the attached award.
CMA is the peak body of Christian media professionals in Australia and represents Christian radio, television and film. Phil Cooke was this year's guest speaker.
On the Thursday night they have an awards night and as I sat there and turned to the screen, I saw that the first image was that of this blogger. As the next images rolled across the screen with a suitably serious voice over and music I realised that the winner of the award for 'Outstanding Service to Christian Broadcasting in Australia' was me.
Wow!
As I watched the video some to an end I realised that I'd better think of something sensible to say when I got up to the stage to receive the award. I am told by my wife that I did make sense, so that was good.
It's a strange feeling to watch your life 'unfold' on the screen and to realise that you have spent thirty years in Christian broadcasting. It's gone so fast ....
Thank you to those who nominated me and those who have enabled me to continue to work in this industry. It was a great honour and I was truly humbled. To God be the Glory.

Has the E-Magazine finally come of age?

I've always shied away from publishing content on-line in the same way I'd publish the same content in print. Too often web sites just upload the pdf they send to their printer to their web site and think that web users will be happy to view this on their screen.
This is plain laziness as it fails to understand that an electronic version of their print piece is just not web friendly. You need to take the time to create a web friendly version using html.
However with the advent of the Kindle reader from Amazon and now the iPad, more and more publishers are revisiting this discussion.
fear.less magazine has just launched its first edition (http//fearlessstories.com) on line and on first viewing, its pretty good. First of all they've optimised the page size so it fits 'above the fold' on my browser and while it loads, you get some text to accompany the load icon which says "Saving Trees". Very cute. You 'turn the page' by clicking at the top right (or left) of each page.
The copy and layout looks like a magazine, but it works well on the browser screen and is easily readable. So - maybe I'll have to revise my thinking. Well done and thanks for being fear.less.

BTW, Jakob Nielsen's (the web's usability guru) weekly e-mail alert reported on a survey they undertook on the iPad. It didn't score very well - lots of usability problems.
Worth a read. iPad Usability.
"iPad apps are inconsistent and have low feature discoverability, with frequent user errors due to accidental gestures. An overly strong print metaphor and weird interaction styles cause further usability problems."

Noah's Ark discovered? Again?

Quoted from http://is.gd/bPde2

"Excitement has been in the air this week over recently released news that the Biblical ark built by Noah was actually discovered high up (about 4,000 meters) on Mt. Ararat in eastern Turkey.

The evangelical Chinese and Turkish exploration team brought back wood specimens taken from their find, originally excavated and documented on film in 2008 and 2009. The samples from the structure are said to be dated at 4,800 years old. (Photo: NoahsArkSearch.net/So. China Morning Post)

While the explorers warn they are not 100 percent certain that what they found is the true Noah's Ark as described in the Bible, they say they are "99 percent" sure. Scientists and archaeologists remain skeptical, however, due in part to the nature in which the news was released.

According to Dr. Aren M. Maeir, a professor at Israel's Bar Ilan University and director of the Tell es-Safi/Gath Archaeological Project, this is similar to previous claims which have been proved to be unfounded. "Periodically, there are announcements, almost always by enthusiasts without real background in archaeology, about the discovery of Noah's ark somewhere in Turkey," Dr. Maeir told the Christian Post."

The Jesus Boat, Fundraising Seminar and more ...

Today I announced some advance information about a fundraising seminar I'm running with the guys from Masterworks in Seattle, US in Sydney and Melbourne. More details on my web site - click here. If you're a fundraiser in the non-profit sector, check it out.

Earlier in the year I spent two weeks in Cambodia on a church Mission trip. As well as being part of the team, I also shot a number of stories that came out of the trip. The last one is my favourite and its on my home page. Click here.
It's the story of how we delivered a special baby bottle for a cleft palate baby in the slums of Phnom Penh. Pictured is Linda, one of our team, who helped source the bottle in Sydney before we left.

When I was in Israel in the mid-80's filming a documentary series, I heard about the discovery of what is now known as the Jesus Boat. A first century timber fishing boat lost in the mud at the bottom of Lake Galilee. Here's the story on the Christianity Today web site. http://is.gd/bMjuR