Try this….if youu’re really gullible

The Diary, public spirited as ever, has a cautionary tale for Marketing Week readers, after an alarming scam came to light.

Top marketers are being sent what purports to be an advertisement from Executive Focus magazine, espousing the virtues of signing up to various US monthly or fortnightly reports at some considerable cost.

The ad carries a handwritten message: “Try this. It’s really good! J.”, to make the gullible think it has been sent by a friend or colleague.

The resulting report, called “The Trend Letter” is an absolutely dire newsletter expressing the blatantly obvious – for example, this insight on managing meetings: “Experts agree every meeting room should have a clock prominently placed, so each speaker has a constant reminder of how long they’ve been speaking.”