Samsung telephone systems and voicemail
BAAAAA FACED ADVERTISING By Kieran Howlett An enterprising internet firm is ewe-sing' Lancashire sheep to advertise its website. A Lytham livestock farmer, still financially stricken by the effects of BSE and foot-and-mount, is being paid to promote website advertisments on the sides of his sheep. Abbey Telecom, the installer of Samsung telephone systems and voicemail, is sponsoring special waterproof raincoats designed to protect early spring lambs from inclement weather. Each coat features an ad for Blackburn-based Abbey Telecom's new website, www.whoisthis.co.uk. The unusual idea evolved after Tony Raybnor, managing director of Abbey Telecom, met farmer Andrew Taylor at a Lytham Round Table dinner. Mr Taylor explains: `We suffered a particularly rainy start to February, andl like all farmers we're still adversely affected by BSE and foot-and-mouth disease. As you can imagine, cash for creature comforts such as lamb raincoats is hard to come by. Although we didn't lose cattle to foot-and-mouth, we did lose revenue due to the restrictions on movement. We've been seeking to replace lost profits in various ways, from horse pastrues to caravan storage. Advertising revenue is not normally an option for farmers, but necessity is the mother of invention! Abbey Telecom, base at Higher Church Street, Blackburn, started up in 1992 and has had a web presence since 1996. In January 2002 it added an e-commerce catalogue of more than 3,000 telecoms products. Tony Raynor added: The sponsorship deal gets us a field full of lambs on a prominent road into Lytham, which is home to a large number of company directors. This is just the type of target audience we're trying to attract to our new website, www.whoisthis.co.uk, so the location is ideal. The telecoms market is very competitive and we constantly have to seek low-cost ways to bring Abbey Telecom to people's attention. We know that 100% of business and 99% of households use what we sell, so all we have to do is remind people that we are strong in our chosen field.
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