Everybody is the marketing department

In 1969, the Rolling Stones needed the cover designed for their new album Let it Bleed.

They hired a creative team to come up with the design.

The team included an art director, a graphic designer, a photographer and the rest of the usual people.

They had the idea to feature a cake. 

There was no way you could buy a cake like this in the shops at the time, so they would have to make it themselves.

Nobody in the team knew how to bake a cake, but one of the group knew a friend ‘Dee’ if she could help.

Dee was a young woman working at the time as an assistant at their photography studio, turning her hand to anything that needed doing.

Dee made a brilliant cake. 

She decided to do something really fun, gaudy, over-the-top, old fashioned and chintzy, like an Edwardian wedding cake, complete with ittle model figures of the band.

It took on a whole new dimension to the idea. It became the star of the show.

The record was a huge success and sold millions of copies.









That same year Dee got a job as a food writer at The Daily Mirror, and then went on to write books and present cooking shows on television.

Today Dee is probably better known by her full name - Delia Smith.

Great ideas often benefit from input from lots of different people.

When you’re a tiny company, ask everybody what they think about everything.

Ask the kitchen porter what they think of the photos.

Ask the chef what they think of the wallpaper.

Ask the cleaner what they think of the menu. 

You never know who might be hiding a little unknown genius.

Everybody is the marketing department.