On Friday afternoon the Banter Marketing office was engaged in heated discussion. What started as a simple question turned into a raucous debate, which I have a feeling could last a while.

So what was the question…? Well it seems simple enough… “what you reckon is the best print advert ever?”

The office fell silent except for the sound of frantic Google Image searches.

We looked at the Old-School Classics, I doubt they would work nowadays but they certainly made an impact when they were released:

The Famous Creatives that appear in every advertising textbook:

Those Minimalist Designs  which speak volumes through their simplicity:

The Funny Adverts which you really wish you had come up with:

The Copy Heavy work which looks boring but makes a real impact:

And those thought provoking Meaningful Campaigns which really make you think:

And the winner is… well actually, to tell you the truth, we didnt decide a winner, we had to relocate to the pub before a proper fight broke out! I’m sure this debate will last a while. What do you think? Do you a have a favourite…? email us at info@bantermarketing.com or log-on to facebook and let us know your thoughts.

Richard Dean, Founder of Banter Marketing recently met up with David Heard, to discuss “starting a new business” for Abintegro’s Online Careers Service. Some of the transcript is below. We’ll save you from the really boring parts, but hopefully it will give a good insight into the ethos and thinking behind Banter. Enjoy.

What made you want to start a marketing company?

“Firstly, I have always known I wanted to set-up and run my own business. Why? It’s got to be the ultimate test, one of the most difficult things you can do. It’s a challenge, but such an exciting one because you are changing businesses/consumers lives. You can make your own future.

“I have also always had a keen appetite for marketing. I remember being young and amazed how adverts could change peoples buying decisions. I was lucky enough to work in a vibrant marketing department during my school holidays and loved it. I mean how can you not love marketing? It’s the most important aspect of any business. Everything your company does can be improved by marketing. Being skilled in marketing can change fortunes and have the biggest impact of any business function.”

(You can catch up on the naming of Banter here)

Top 3 tips for someone considering starting up

“Am I only allowed 3…? Ok then, here we go: Understand your market, prospects and competitors. Find out who you are up against and what challenges you face. Gain as much insight as possible, you can never do too much research. Mmmm… secondly, treat your customers like kings, go the extra mile, at the start your reputation is worth everything. And lastly, don’t lose faith, it’ll be an emotional rollercoaster at points, but stay focused and keep believing.”

Has anything else helped you set up your business outside of the usual?

“Strangely, being an only child. I find it incredibly hard to get bored, so the long and lonely nights working on clients projects pose no problem!”

We’ll post a link to the final interview when they manage to edit out the bags under Richard’s eyes, a process that would take even the most skilled Photoshop surgeon a while.

For information on Abintegro and the great work they do click here.

And you can email Richard, here. Go on, I dare you.

So with the Edinburgh Fringe Festival coming to end, those who couldn’t make it up there get to enjoy a multitude of their favourite comedians on TV and Radio. And also their famous annual funniest joke competition. I’m sure many of you will have seen some of the winners.

Personally these are my favourites:

• “Crime in multi-storey car parks. That is wrong on so many different levels.” Tim Vine
• “I was in a band which we called The Prevention, because we hoped people would say we were better than The Cure.”  Alan Sharp
• “Someone asked me recently – what would I rather give up, food or sex. Neither! I’m not falling for that one again, wife.” Mark Watson

These are all concise, clear, intelligent and thought provoking – all the essential qualities of a good marketing strapline. Who said marketers couldn’t learn from comedians?!

Welcome to the new website of Banter Marketing! Have a look around and tell us what you think.

We are a new, London based, B2B marketing agency and consultancy. We are passionate about great marketing and communications. We specialise in providing innovative, results driven, multi-channel marketing, enabling our clients to meet their business objectives.

We utilise the full marketing mix to produce creative and effective marketing solutions which provide high ROI results for our clients. Specialists in lead-generation and communications, we will ensure your messages are heard by the right audience, at the right time, to maximise your exposure and cut through the clutter.

Whether you need to increase your brands reach, generate new business, develop your social media presence or engage with the media Banter has a great solution we can deliver quickly, effectively and within budget.

To stay updated on our activity, follow us on Twitter, Facebook or Linkedin and through our blog, Marketing Banter.

So this post is surprisingly harder to write than expected. Thought it’d be easy. And like everything in life the things you think will be easy, always take longer than expected. Like painting or cooking risotto.

So let’s start at the beginning, Banter. So I think someone famous once said “it’s all in the name”. Well hopefully it is. And I think I’ve chosen well.

So why Banter? Well it wasn’t a rash decision; it wasn’t made on a whim. It’s been planned, planned for a lot longer than most brand names I suspect. It all started one evening when I was 14 and relaxing with one of my best mates back in the family home. We were doing what we usually did at the time, talk about girls, discuss girls and chat some more about girls.

And while taking a break from these potentially Nobel winning debates, we decided one day in the future we needed to each own companies. Obviously, aiming high, I had Virgin in mind and while trying to think of a similarly universal brand and Banter was created. Obviously Banter isn’t totally universal; it probably wouldn’t work for a law firm or a science periodical, but it’s close enough for me.

So when I started this venture in 2010 the name obviously sprang to mind. For a second I doubted it – and then I remember no one has ever regretted a decision they made at 2:00am when a teenager, so I went with it… and Banter Marketing was born. I was more than surprised the name hadn’t been taken, but then I guess some things are meant to be.

You can follow us on Twitter @marketingbanter or find us on Facebook for more regular updates, so be greedy and get involved.