Of course we miss him

Well, where to start? It’s been a little while since First Purchase Research lifted the lid on some of the joys of a father and son working together.  Unfortunately my son Tom has taken the old adage of “always leave them wanting more” to heart and has left the employ of First Purchase Research, which has made the maintaining of a witty column about our day-to-day interactions a little challenging.

Yet this is no ordinary story of father hires son, father fires son.  Of course Leia (the cat) and I miss him, but it was only ever intended to be a temporary arrangement and his moving on is, if not quite a cause for celebration, a sign of recovery.  Since for nearly a decade now Tom has suffered intermittent issues with his mental health, which reached something of a nadir towards the end of 2017.  Having been ‘clear’ for more than a year and leaving university with a first class degree he took a job he didn’t really want that was based in a town he didn’t really want to be in and by Christmas his thoughts had turned mildly suicidal.  Medication was readily available, but diagnosis and professional support was another matter.  Tom had been on this journey several times before: the pills always seemed to help, he coped, but this time it was different – was this going to be the pattern for the rest of his life?  Would he ever be able to hold down a job?  How would this affect his relationships?  What would he do for money?

And so First Purchase Research took on its first non-feline employee at the beginning of 2018.  It was a lot more fun than I thought it would be and he was actually quite useful. Once or twice I had to remind him that I was the one with 30 years experience and he was the graduate trainee (and that nearly everyone gets a First nowadays anyway), and he seemed to think that if I was playing golf then he was playing golf, but generally we thrived.  We did have some differences of opinion with regards to the direction our marketing efforts for the business should take.  I was keen that our communications should major on our raison d’être - we help brands grow penetration.  Tom, on the other hand, felt that we could get more fame by promoting the fact that we are (or were) the only father, son and cat shopper insights company in existence. And to be fair to Tom, we have found that an approach that promises to bring Sharp’s laws of growth alive in a brand coupled with some cute cat pictures does seem to have most bases covered.

Along the way Tom started feeling a little better.  I only knew this because he told me, just like I only knew how unwell he had been feeling because he told me (and asked me to take him to hospital).  There were no visible symptoms.  His medication was revised; he had some counselling, and the support of his wonderful girlfriend, and, finally, a diagnosis arrived.  The diagnosis of bipolar 2 came as a huge relief for him.  First there was a sense of validation that after nearly 10 years a medical professional had identified what was wrong with him; second those with bipolar 2 are often misdiagnosed with depression (as was Tom) and the medication prescribed can do more harm than good; and third and most important was that he could move on – he’s likely to be on long-term drug treatments but it’s a condition that can be managed and he should be able to live a normal, happy and successful life.

So move on is what he did. Last September he began studying for a Masters degree in Journalism together with his NCTJ diploma, and two weeks ago he began work as a trainee reporter for a trade publication in the finance sector. He’s enjoying his first job as a journalist - even if he is a little surprised to find himself writing on topics such as Making Tax Digital!   He’s eagerly anticipating his first pay packet (as are those to whom he owes money) and whilst he’s aware there may be some bumps in the road ahead he’s now looking forward to his future.  He wrote a candid account of his journey to being diagnosed with bipolar 2 disorder for another publication which we have reproduced on our website if you are interested.

And what of First Purchase Research?  Well, after what might be described as a period of gestation we are beginning to prosper.  After a successful pilot one key client has decided that they will roll out the Purchase Outcomes?concept globally, and as more and more brands understand and adopt the principles of Byron Sharp and How Brands Grow we seem to be hitting a sweet spot with a very practical approach to helping brands gain new buyers.  If you’re trying to “implement Sharp” and work out how, exactly, you’re going to grow penetration you might want to get in touch.

Barry Lemmon is the Founder of First Purchase Research, and father of Tom, Ben and Dan.

First Purchase Research is a shopper insights company that helps brands grow penetration