By John Donovan
In 1979, my father Alfred Donovan and I, along with my uncle Bob Donovan and a chartered accountant/mathematician friend, Don Redhead, jointly founded a sales promotion company called Don Marketing. We devised a host of promotional games for Royal Dutch Shell and many other blue-chip clients. Bob (right) passed away in March 2023 at the age of 95. My sincere condolences to his family and friends.
Bob was always a gentleman in every sense of the word even though he had an unsettled childhood during the pre-war years and the early years of Word War II. Bob enlisted in the Army as soon as he was old enough to do so at the tail end of the War.
An intelligent and creative individual, he went on to have a successful career owning his own business in the London suburbs before teaming up to form Don Marketing.
He subsequently retired to live with his wonderful wife, Peggy, in Lincolnshire.
Robert Alexander Donovan (Bob Donovan) in an archive photograph with Don Marketing Office Manager Valerie Hewitt: 1981 (approx).
1984 Shell Make Money Game Created And Supplied By Don Marketing
Shell Mastermind Promotional Game Created And Supplied By Don Marketing
Shell Make Merry Harrods Linked Promotional Game Created And Supplied By Don Marketing
Shell Bruce’s Lucky Deal Promotional Game Created And Supplied By Don Marketing
UK VERSION
IRISH VERSION
Shell Star Trek Promotion Created And Supplied By Don Marketing
Bob Donovan and our office manager, Valerie Hewitt are shown in a photograph taken in 1979. They were visiting the security printer Rochford Thompson in Newbury, Berks, where one of our high-tech promotions, Freeline Football, was being produced at that time.
shellplc.website and its sister non-profit websites royaldutchshellplc.com, royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellenergy.website, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net and shell2004.com are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia feature.