When Jan Murray decided to bring the computer superstore
concept to the UK, he was an unknown retailer in a complex world. By skilfully and
dedicatedly devising messages that appealed to the national, end-user and distribution
channels, Jim Fisher was able to implement a pre-launch publicity programme that had
customers queuing (almost literally) for miles on the day the first store opened –
photos captured by that weekend’s Sunday Times to complement earlier coverage in The
Guardian and Independent, among others.
In the four years that preceded Dixons’ acquisition of the
company, PC World enjoyed the type and level of coverage that made it an attractive
target.
Similarly, when Jim was engaged by Olwen Direct Mail in 1994, the
company could best be described as the direct mail industry’s ‘best-kept
secret’. It had blue-chip clients in the financial services and retail sectors, for
example, but outside its client-base it was virtually invisible, certainly unknown. By
constantly and consistently liaising with journalists, arranging facility visits and
providing forums to air the ‘issues of the day’ over seven very successful
years, Jim built Olwen’s profile to become unquestionably the highest in their
sector, overtaking and easily surpassing the efforts of other major competitors.
