[colin thomas]

anyone ever done this before, it's often a wall-planner but this one is a booklet, thoughts??

Dear Colin,
 
We have been contracted by your Council to publish the community guide booklet as stated above.  My contact is Kim Pettit, revenue & benefits client manager.

Every year the council has a statutory obligation to publish a financial statement regarding council tax and business rates to be sent with the bills. 

To achieve this the Council will be enclosing a full-colour 48 page A5 brochure highlighting council services and facilities, holiday refuse collections and school term dates.  It will also include on-going special events through the year, an a-z of council services and also vital information from the Police, Fire & Ambulance Services. 

The guide will be distributed by Royal Mail from the Council direct to 135,000 homes and businesses in the  council area in March 2010.
 

They will also be sent to new families and businesses relocating into the area during the next financial year.
 
A sample pdf of a similar publication can be viewed at www.cisdesigns.co.uk
 
Prices for the year to feature within the guide are as follows:

Full-page         £1495
Half-page         £895
Quarter-page         £495
Eighth-page         £295

colin

[daz1977]

i would contact the council to see if the are doing this, as many company just try to get you to advertise and use a catch like this, i use to get one from the cornwall fire brigade trying to get me to advertise with them,   i have never know the council to publish what they spend, to ever one they usually just publish it in the library, and let people go and look at if they want

[derek west]

ive not even read your post colin but i know its bowlocks. just like the firebrigade and police force ones.
avoid.

you have been warned.

derek

[Robert Watson]

You would be better spending your money in the bookies.
More chance of a return.
Rab.

[Joe H]

Its a no from me.

[Steve Barnett (Carpet Care Plus)]

ive not even read your post colin but i know its bowlocks. just like the firebrigade and police force ones.
avoid.

you have been warned.

derek

I agree with the gentleman from cheshire 

Steve

[colin thomas]

the actual booklet is kosher, it is real, i know someone at the council offices and it will be produced and sent out, my feeling is that it will be binned as soon as the envelope is opened, just wondered if anyone had tried similar.
often used to get calls related to firemen, schools or invalid children and these as we know are usually a con, funny thing is i haven't had any calls from the likes of them for ages, have they given up?

colin

[CATMAN]

What you need to ask yourself is this.

When you need a service, such as a carpet cleaner, were would you look,  probably like most you just google carpet cleaner wherever.

This type of marketing does not work. A fool and his money are soon parted and I have been that fool.

Advertised on an estate agents hand out, full colour gloss, £1000, seven years ago, not a single call, so I called the estate agent as someone who'd just moved house, and asked could they recommend a good carpet cleaner as I had just moved into my house, carpets are grubby,  response was "try yellow pages, we don't recommend anyone its not company policy"  Nuff Said

Regards

[Doctor Carpet (Ret'd)]

Colin

Waste of time and money.

I couldn't help but smile when I read the blurb and it said "delivered by Royal mail"!!

The way things are going, the council tax payers in your area won't even know that you have an advert to be ignored.

Roger

[scrubarug]

Give it a miss.
Better off putting ads in Newsagent windows for better returns
Steve

[Doug Holloway]

Hi Guys,

Worst marketing mistake I ever made, advertising on estate agents brochures and this sounds very similar.

Cost 700, got one job and that was 20 years ago.

Avoid like the swine flu !

Cheers

doug

[Hilton]

Simply ask them to provide references from 5 companies that have used the booklet previously,

They won't be able to do it, as this is just a council revenue raiser inconjunction with the printers, don't waste your time and money.

If you do you will be contacted by all manner of publications such as the Fire Brigade diary (another scam) Police, Ambulance, Charities etc, all rubbish.

[M.Acorn]

I had a call on Tue ,from some one saying they were doing a wall planner thing for abused children,asked for their reg charity number,phone went dead in an instant !

[AJB]

If any of these scams actually worked, you would have to join a
waiting list to get in it.
These companies prey on the gullible.
If they have to sell the advertising to you, it obviously doesn't work,
If it did it would sell itself!!!!

[derek west]

wise words there from "alan" "joseph" "barrington"

go on, how many out of 3 did i get right. or am i way off

derek "J" west

[lesterM]

I am surprised that this scam is still running. Ok everything is legal and true but its a con. ,absolute waste of money.
They ( firms of this ilk) invent or volunteer for a publication and the try and reap the benefits. They used to do diaries and such  that were only distributed to those who were in it.
They have cleaned up their act a little though , they used to bill you even if you just said "maybe" hoping that the bill would slip through you accounts department.
You will get more work putting the money behind that bar in a pub and then giving everyone a card.