Dec 29th, 2020
by John Donovan.
Oct 24th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Extracts from the ebook “John Donovan, Shell’s Nightmare” (now available on Amazon websites globally)
From pages 14, 15 & 16
Extract begins
LEADING THE WORLD IN PROMOTIONAL GAMES
The above bold claim, made in numerous whole page advertisements in trade magazines, was legitimate. To the best of my knowledge, no company before or since has devised such a wide range of innovative promotional games.
I authored articles about promotional games for magazines such as Marketing Week and have acted as an expert witness in court cases relating to promotional games.
We had business dealings with the major US TV networks. Following negotiations in New York and London with NBC Senior Vice President, Steve Sohmer, I signed an agreement for a joint NBC/Don Marketing project with Ray Timothy, President of NBC Television. Lars H Lenck, President of Don Marketing USA, a former Chevron analyst, was also a signatory to the contract. read more
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Sep 18th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Jan 5th, 2009
by John Donovan.

Sales promotion in the 70s – you couldn’t get away with it now
Colin Lloyd: January 05, 2009

Colin Lloyd recalls his favourite campaigns.
Extracts
The golden age
Other classics include the Cadbury’s Golden Egg promotion, which had thousands of people digging up great tranches of the English countryside trying to discover Golden Eggs that Triangle had buried. Today the environmentalists would pull their hair out. And the free piggy banks from Gales Honey, put together in a mental asylum in Devon, did not look like any animal that I have seen.
Shell Make Money was my number one, and could be unbelievably successful in today’s climate. The Andrex Puppy appeal from my agency broke new ground for that brand and continues today in various incarnations. Heinz led the way with charity promotions, and its incredibly successful Win a Car a Day. Reputations were made, and sometimes lost, in two great decades. read more
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Jul 24th, 2008
by John Donovan.
John Donovan, managing director of Don Marketing, an agency specialising in promotional games, says he has supplied more than a billion game pieces without any problems. He counts Shell's Make Money game (said to have raised sales by 25%) and the Great Guinness Challenge (which boosted sales by 30%) among his biggest successes.
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shell2004.com
are owned by
John Donovan. There is also a
Wikipedia feature.
Jul 16th, 2008
by John Donovan.
Despite Shell making the agency an out-of-court settlement of £60,000 over the use-without-consent issue, Alfred Donovan has recently set up a 'Shell Corporate Conscience Pressure Group' to bring attention to what he believes is Shell's misconduct in relation to several promotions the company has run.
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John Donovan. There is also a
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Jul 15th, 2008
by John Donovan.
Many games have had spectacular results - for instance the Shell Make Money game in 1984, which is claimed to have lifted sales by more than 25 per cent...
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shell2004.com
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John Donovan. There is also a
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Jul 6th, 2008
by John Donovan.
In total, Don Marketing has issued three High Court writs and a County Court proceeding against Shell, alleging wrongful use of retail promotions developed by Don Marketing. Shell has already settled one of the three writs out of court.
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
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John Donovan. There is also a
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Jun 1st, 1993
by John Donovan.
Article added to our Online Archive
PROMOTIONS & INCENTIVES: UP TO SCRATCH
JUNE 1993
Picture Caption: Having shelved its Collect & Select promotion, Shell’s 1991 Star Trek scratch card campaign featured the first Star Trek series. It coincided with Star Trek’s 25th anniversary, Paramount launching a new series and BBC screening the original 1979 episodes
EXTRACTS FROM THE ARTICLE
But while there may have been a few disasters, there have also been countless successes. John Donovan, managing director of Don Marketing, an agency specialising in promotional games, says he has supplied more than a billion game pieces without any problems. He counts Shell’s Make Money game (said to have raised sales by 25%) and the Great Guinness Challenge (which boosted sales by 30%) among his biggest successes. read more
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.
May 31st, 1984
by John Donovan.
ARTICLE BEING ADDED TO OUR ONLINE ARCHIVE
Marketing: The play’s the thing
31 May 1984
EXTRACTS:
People love to play games, and, as Shell’s Make Money promotion shows, they’ll flock to the point of sale to take part. By George Pitcher
It is appropriate that the American term for promotions like the much vaunted and widely imitated Shell Make Money campaign, aimed specifically at getting customers to the point of sale, should be ‘traffic building’. The amount of extra traffic built at Shell stations at the expense of its less imaginative rivals has, most observers believe, made the £2m investment in the promotion look like money well spent.
Such can be the power of the game card. Nevertheless, it should not be forgotten that this technique of sales promotion has been around for some time – Shell first used it in the 60s. read more
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Mar 1st, 1984
by John Donovan.
The 1984 version of the famous Shell Make Money campaign has set alight the battle among the petroleum companies, and could lead to a renewal of the sort of promotional campaigns that were so familiar in the late 1960s.
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Feb 24th, 1984
by John Donovan.

Don Marketing directors from the left, John Donovan (Chairman), Roger Sotherton (Marketing Director) and John Chambers, Managing Director. Photograph taken at Don Marketing Chelmsford UK offices in 1984, with Shell Singapore Make Money poster in background.

Don Marketing Managing Director John Chambers photographed on Shell forecourt during the spectacularly successful Shell Make Money game in 1984.
Fast flowing Don: Marketing Magazine 16 February 1984
Shell Make Money full page advert: Daily Express 21 February 1984 read more
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.