We see it happen all the time. A client comes to us with a new business idea or is ready to re-position an existing business and they want a fantastic brand and/or website. They invest time and money getting us to create something stunning but then when it comes time to start trading they wonder why no one knows about them. What they have forgotten about is creating a business plan and having a promotional plan in place to promote their new look.
Explore our historical blog articles for nuggets of wisdom (and random musings) from our crew.
At the moment I am studying a postgraduate marketing unit as part of my quest to continue to fill my mind with knowledge, and despite my scepticism, I have really learnt a lot. Interestingly, something I have noticed along the way is many Jack in the box concepts and philosophies have resonance and relevance to some of the biggest companies in the world. A recent text book reading (author of which was the ever faithful Kotler and his marketing buddies) cemented that thought by talking about winning consumers’ hearts and minds, as the pathway to winning profits. It made me ponder how many companies truly have a distinction between winning hearts, minds and profits as part of their corporate objectives (or understand the difference).
So everyone wants to know the secret to ‘marketing on a budget’. Well after years and years of being asked, I figured it was time to reveal the secrets behind the magic…
When a word is described as a ‘generic’ term, it can no longer be registered or enforced as a trademark. It happens as brands or slogans become common place, and don’t differentiate any longer. The famous ugg boots case is a prime example – ‘ugg boots’ can no longer be ‘owned’ by anyone – it is a generic descriptive term for woollen boots. Another recent and interesting example is Apple, and the loss of the right to the iconic ‘i’ prefix.
There has been some interesting research of late investigating the role of children in influencing the purchase decisions of their families. Traditionally, marketers have assumed that parents control all family purchase decisions, but there is a lot of research that proves otherwise.
Everyone loves an item that is well designed. Whether it be a piece of packaging that catches your eye, a business card you’ve received or perhaps a magazine you’ve picked up. The question is why though. Why do you like it? What attracted you to it?
I was once asked where ‘inspiration’ comes from. I thought this to be an interesting question and in struggling with the answer I unearthed a real gem. I very quickly realised that we as human beings are all possessed with the power of inspiration. It’s in everyone of us – we just don’t; can’t; or are discouraged from using it. It’s there all the time, it’s not too far from the surface but in the majority of people it is suppressed