thinkitcreative

Just finished reading Stewart Fraser’s Global Financial Centres report 2010 (PDF), which looks at what attracts people to locate in various international financial centres across the world.

My attention is particularly drawn to Asia, where Hong Kong and Singapore continue to cement their third- and fourth-place rankings as world financial centres (click on chart at the bottom of this article to view full sized). Not only are they credited for having rebounded faster from the recession than their counterparts in London and New York, they also get better marks (Singapore in particular) for the quality of the people they have on-hand.

Look a little deeper and you can see what’s behind that: a steadfast focus on innovation and education.

The old maxim is true: money goes where it’s most welcome, but it applies to people, too. Smart people go where they’re given the budget and resources to take great ideas and do amazing things with them.

(Chart: Global Financial Centres report 2010)

About the author: Patrick Gant is a writer & speaker. He owns thinkit creative, a company that specializes in writing and editing digital content for the web. Follow him on twitter here.

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The success (and utter genius) of the Old Spice Man campaign shows what can happen when the stars align in that just-right arrangement: a solid understanding of your target market, great timing, 100% client buy-in, brilliant casting, and razor-sharp creative with a thoughtful way of pulling it all together.

Great anecdote in this piece about how the actor who plays Old Spice Man found that unmistakable voicing, without which this might have just been another campaign for some kind of body wash product.

About the author: Patrick Gant is a writer & speaker. He owns thinkit creative, a company that specializes in writing and editing digital content for the web. Follow him on twitter here.

CreativeBoost gives you valuable updates about unlocking the power of writing that sells. It's free. Join today.

A brand-new article we’ve prepared for Engage Selling Solutions, based on the sales presentations of Colleen Francis.

Referrals can be really powerful selling tools when used correctly and as part of a formalized plan. However, there’s a right way and a wrong way to ask for referrals. Too often, sales people and business owners commit classic mistakes in asking for them and assume, based on their disappointing results, that referrals might simply not be worth all the effort. Referrals do work. More

About the author: Patrick Gant is a writer & speaker. He owns thinkit creative, a company that specializes in writing and editing digital content for the web. Follow him on twitter here.

CreativeBoost gives you valuable updates about unlocking the power of writing that sells. It's free. Join today.