Archive for the ‘Viewpoint’ Category

When we’re meeting with clients, we often find ourselves quoting the work of some of the best known brands, highlighting the reasons behind their success. As well as being an interesting  subject matter, this often prompts ideas and inspiration… and can help give direction to a project.

We recently came across a great book which does this job far more eloquently than we could ever hope to do over a coffee… and with just the right amount of detail too. The book ‘How They Started – Global Brands’ looks at how 21 of the top global brands became successful, and includes stories on companies as diverse as Google and Volvo.

From the book:-

“Lots of us have ideas we think would make great businesses, yet most of us never do anything about these ideas. Probably because we just wouldn’t know where to start. But what if you took the first step? Where could it lead?

We reveal the stories behind some of the world’s biggest brands, including:

Where the initial idea came from
How the brand names were chosen
How and when the businesses first started
How long it took to make that first million
The challenge the founders faced
And the secrets to each brand’s success”

Whether you are managing an established brand, or are completely new to the subject, we think you will find this an interesting and engaging read. Who knows? You might even be able to learn from the ‘big boys’ and implement some of their ideas in your own business.

The book is available direct from: Crimson Publishing

Author: David Lester
Price: £12.99
ISBN: 978 1 85458 447 2

We’re great believers in simplicity. When it comes to marketing and advertising, there are three key principles that we strongly believe in… KISS, AIDA, and WOM (which, as you may have guessed, are all acronyms).

KISS

This is commonly referred to as ‘Keep It Simple Stupid’ (although as marketeers we prefer the slightly more positive ‘Keep It Short & Simple’). The basic thinking is that a design should be as simple as possible, and avoid any complexity. Want to know more?.. see here for details (did you see what we did there?).

AIDA/AIDAS

If you’re going to spend money on marketing and advertising, you want it to have a positive effect. This might sound obvious, but it’s amazing how many clients (and agencies) lose sight of this fact. In our view, a successful campaign will tick all of AIDA’S boxes:-

A – Attention (Awareness): attract the attention of the customer.
I – Interest: raise customer interest by demonstrating features, advantages, and benefits.
D – Desire: convince customers that they want the product or service and that it will satisfy their needs.
A – Action: lead customers towards taking action and/or purchasing.
S – Satisfaction – satisfy the customer so they become a repeat customer and give referrals to a product.

You can read more about AIDA here.

WOM

‘Word Of Mouth’ is becoming increasingly important in today’s marketing world (as it becomes harder to reach target audiences through traditional media). A good campaign will get people talking about your product and services. You can read more about ‘word of mouth’ here,

There are some nice examples of some highly creative (yet stunningly simple) campaigns at Just Creative Design. Many of them adopt some (or all) of the above principles.

If you’re about to commission some advertising and need a little inspiration, they’re well worth a look.

You will undoubdtedly be aware of the increase in ‘internet shopping’ over the last 12 months or so. Unsurprisingly this trend is set to continue, with market researchers Key Note predicting around 30% of all future UK purchases to be made at home.

This represents a massive change in consumer spending patterns, and will affect retailers and manufacturers within a very short time frame.

All elements of the ‘marketing mix’ (product, price, place, promotion) will require review. For example, ‘on shelf’ presence is currently important for brands within a store, but how will this translate to presence on a retailer website?

Brands will undoubtedly need to focus more on internet shoppers, and may even need to completely change their packaging to adapt for delivery to the individual home.

If you haven’t yet considered the impact on your business, then it’s probably time you did! Thankfully, here at blue sky, we are experts in both retail and the web. If you would like to discuss how your brand can adapt to changing consumer behaviour, we’d be only too happy to help.

via The Retail Bulletin

Image via easyontheeye.net