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]]>THen today as I was checking through our emails, I found this very random email:
Sent at: 15 07 2010
I’m so upset!
Many moons ago at a networking event in London organised by Larry, Rubber Cheese had a stand and I acquired a pencil with a yellow cheese rubber on the end. I’ve loved that pencil and rubber and looked after it with great tender loving care, now it’s vanished! I suspect “borrowed” by a granddaughter.
What am I to do? :(
Don’t laugh, I really did like that pencil and rubber!
Jackie
This was my reply:
Hi Jackie
Thanks for the email at this very distressing time! But you need to stress no more!
Luckily for you, we have a spare one or two pencils at Rubber Cheese headquarters. If you send me your address, I will send you a couple free of charge!
Sorry to hear about your loss, but I hope i’ve made it a much better day for you!?
regards
Paul
So, the story ends on a happy note and Jackie will have a brand new pencil landing on her doormat very soon!
This got me thinking that more people should have these pencils. So, if you would also like to have one of our very special pencil and rubbers, please use twitter to tweet a message giving a reason for why you think you deserve to have a pencil. The reasons can be as random or a sensible as you like. We will then decide if we think you should have one or not. Don’t worry we’re not that hard to please!
We will then message you to find out your address and send you a lovely Rubber Cheese pencil and rubber. Please make sure you add this hash tag in the message: #rubbercheese
Also, please note, we only have a limited supply, so once they are gone, they are gone for good!
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Write a “7 ways to”, or “The Top 5 Myths about” article. Break up those 7, 5 or whatever number of points into separate emails and schedule one tip or piece of advice to go out each week as a series over the summer months.
Even if you have no press releases going out and are making no follow up calls, the press are still getting regular contact from you and you are continuing to build your brand.
You might think that it’s not worth it as there will be fewer attendees, but the reality is that you are more likely to strike up a quality conversation when people are relaxed and there’s less of a crowd competing for your attention.
If you’re anything like me you may well have projects that you just never seem to have to finish, or ideas that you haven’t got around to implementing. Using an intern, whether it’s a student or a keen teenager, for the summer, might be one way of getting them off your to-do list.
Many of my clients know that doing a blog would be a wise move, and many of those actually enjoy writing so it won’t be too much of a chore. What they haven’t yet got is the habit of writing their blog. Why not use these quieter summer months as a time to create that habit by blogging first thing every morning. It doesn’t have to be a full scale article, just a comment on what’s in the news or even a think piece will do..and think how much juicy search engine friendly content you will have by the end of the summer.
Take advantage of the summer sun to sit in pavement cafes, sip a smoothie or cappuccino and really get to grips with the difference between The Telegraph and The Guardian, or just immerse yourself in the trade mags and the language they use, ready for a fresh approach in the Autumn.
Book out some time to plan your campaign for the Autumn so that everything - your press releases, Twitter, Facebook, article writing, tips, product shots - works together to promote the brand. Take a look at my Get Noticed consultation if you want help with this.
These are requests put out by journalists who are looking for case studies, experts and products for review or goodie bags. You can sometimes spot them on business forums or get sent them by trade associations. Alternatively, you can join our Publicity Club and get them sent direct to you. Replying to these as and when relevant ones come in is a great low-key way to garner coverage and help build a cracking media list at the same time.
And, for the very reasonable fee of £150 a month, we’ll even do this for you. Contact me at if you’d like to know more.
Here’s hoping the sun will last,
Paula Gardner
2. It Amplifies The Results From Other Marketing ActivitesHaving a PR strategy will reinforce the work you do in other areas. You can tie your advertising, online and offline marketing and newsletter into the same theme as your PR campaign so that they all pull together. This also means that you can re-use material too, taking the core and using it in your marketing material, press releases, articles, tip sheets and newsletters.
3. It Helps You keep UpEven if you don’t have a PR strategy you can bet your competitors do. It can be gutting to watch what was once your contemporary steam ahead in both profile and sales – I know I have been there in a previous life.
4. It Gets You SeriousYou know you need a PR strategy long-term, so why put it off when you could be stepping up and stepping into the serious business that you really want to be?
5. You will get added benefitsImplementing a PR campaign will bring you so much more than just mere press coverage. You will increase in confidence, tackle a new skill and build relationships that will impact on your business over and over again.
6. And about building those relationships..A press campaign is not just about sending out press releases, but about building up a relationship with the press…talking to them, perhaps even taking time out to meet them. Just like a friendship, a relationship with a journalist can’t be rushed…so why are you waiting around when you could be making a start?
7. Planning for the FutureI do come across businesses who say they will implement PR when they have the budget or have grown to a certain size. This is all very well and good but don’t they realise that they could be reaching those budgets or that growth now with the help of PR! Getting started on a PR campaign and then handing it over to a company or freelancer later puts you in a fabulous position. Having done PR you’ll know what you are talking about, be able to spot the deliverers from the mere promisers and be able to contribute to what should be a long-standing relationship with your PR agency.
Paula Gardner of Do Your Own PR is a PR and media coach and the author of Get Noticed.
For a free PR resource pack sign up at:
http://visitor.constantcontact.com/optin.jsp?v=0018aaLHdu4GfSgHuhbQI8XADfgnJ0W-pKZ
I’m sure she’s very grateful that we’ve given her a home, but her way of thanking us seems to be by stealing and eating all of our possessions.
Here is a list of things she has eaten, chewed or completely destroyed since she came to live with us.
Buster’s collar (Buster is our 5year old Chocolate Labrador)
Buster’s lead
Her lead
Buster’s dog food (This was followed by what I fondly call “The night of shit” – you can use your imagination)
My debit card (stolen from my purse)
A tea towel
Oven gloves
Wires for the speakers
Phone cable
Plug for the sink
Her bed
A bath towel
Half a dead snake (Found in the park. She only ate half because she bit it in half and I managed to throw it away)
Carpet
Underlay
Wall plaster (we’re renovating our house)
The fence
A book
Ear plugs
All my pot plants in the back garden
Drainage pipe
A bird (Jumped up and caught it on the bird feeder. She can jump really high; I’ve never seen anything like it)
A letter
DVD case
Extension lead
My mobile phone case
Skirting board
A bee
Blender plug
Hosepipe
I’d like to point out that we don’t leave things ling around for her to eat, she is very cunning and can open doors.
Jo Malone and Nick Leslau were both great as mentors, they were critical but in a supporting way, all the feedback they gave was to improve the offering rather than humiliate the contestants. There was a real sense of nurturing, especially from Malone, which allowed her humanity shine through.
I also enjoyed watching Lloyd Grossman, who was bought in to talk to the Singh family about packaging and branding of their chilli sauce bottle. He displayed gigantic cutouts of popular high street brands such as Hovis, Branston, Kellogg’s and Innocent drinks, then asked the Singh family how they felt when they saw the brands and what messages they took from the packaging.
One member of the family described how they’d “grown up” with Kelloggs, instantly giving the brand a place in their own childhood. Hovis gave them a feeling of heritage and long established goodness.
It was only when they began to understand the brand story behind the product that they realised what an important part the packaging plays in selling the product. Their packaging had very mixed messages and at least 3 different names, making it hard for customers to understand what to ask for when looking for it.
I have a real passion for branding and packaging design so the main appeal for me was viewing the advice and designs produced by both branding agencies Pearlfisher and Blue Marlin.
Both agencies worked with the businesses to help them document the stories behind the brand and understand the brand values. From this they were able to design packaging concepts that interpreted these values and stories. Mr Singh’s Sauce was born as the new brand name for the once confusing chilli sauce.
I now know both agencies had less than a week to do what would normally be six weeks’ work, and I think the end results were superb given such quick turnarounds.
One thing struck me though; it seemed that the agencies hadn’t spoken to any buyers, to understand what it is they are looking for in a brand. For example the Waitrose buyer explained her shoppers are focused on traceability, understanding where the product has come from and being able to see the product, what it looks like in its raw form. The Muddy Boots brand packaging fell short of the mark on the second point as the window of the box was just too small. The Waitrose buyers were not that keen on the packaging, but loved the product and people behind it.
It’s all well and good understanding your brand message, but brands also need to look at the people who are buying into the brands, the customers. Customers and clients are the most important people in any business. Without them, you have a product that isn’t bought into. So why not ask your customers or your target market what they want or what they like?
The buyers for Waitrose are the experts in knowing what their customers want. That’s what they get paid to do and is one of the key reasons that Waitrose are so successful.
I know next time we work in the packaging sector, I’ll be calling on my buyer connections for their expertise before we start the project…
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1. Approach
If you see someone standing at a networking event on their own, they will probably be very grateful if you were to approach them and introduce yourself. After all, wouldn’t you?
The chances are that they have not come to a networking event for solitude!
2. Help Others
Always look first to see how you can help others rather than how they can help you. Becoming known as a centre of influence, someone who is worth knowing, can be an invaluable asset.
3. Build Relationships
Pursue the relationship and not the sale. If you can find one or two people at each event you attend who will eventually become an integral part of your network and champion your business, it will have been well worth the time and effort.
4. Make Notes
Don’t worry if you haven’t got your business cards ready; go to the event anyway. When you have a good, positive conversation and you want to follow up, make sure that you get the other person’s card. You are then in control of the conversation.
Write notes on the back; where you met, what you said, how you agreed to move forward, so that you can refresh your mind when you are back in your office.
5. Bring People Together
When listening for others, always have your network in the back of your mind and be proactively thinking about how you can bring people together
6. Be Interested
Always remember, people are interested in people who are interested in them (Dale Carnegie)
7. Conversation
“What do you do?” is the networking equivalent of “Do you come here often?”! Most people aren’t interested in the answer when they first meet you.
Talk about something of interest to both of you and save the work conversation for when you are interested in the response, because you want to help that person.
8. Be Confident to Show Your Ability
If you have tangible achievements to share, don’t be afraid to tell people. We sometimes feel nervous about appearing boastful but, if you can demonstrate you excellence in your field, you should be telling people.
If we want people to help us get to where we want to be we need them to feel confident in our ability to deliver.
9. Look for Body Language
You can look at the body language of people and groups when deciding who to join in conversation. Are they looking relaxed or intense? Do they look like they are discussing general topics or business? Is there room for you to join the conversation naturally, or is the group closed to you, denying you natural eye contact?
10. Research the Network
Don’t join a business network without understanding what is required from you to ensure achieve your goals from membership, and knowing that you can, and will, meet those commitments.
11. Stay in touch
Unless you have agreed otherwise, in the first instance follow up by email. Drop a one or two line email confirming where you met and, if appropriate, the agreed follow up. Most people don’t want to receive unsolicited email attachments or be subscribed to e-zines without their permission, so keep it simple and don’t try to sell.
You can always ask for subsequent permission to add people to your regular mailing list.
12. Set Targets
Don’t expect immediate results. Set targets for success, continually monitor where new introductions and new business comes from and review the results on a regular basis.
]]>Andy Lopata
Labeled ‘Mr Network’ by The Sun, Andy Lopata has been described by the Financial Times as one of Europe’s leading business networking strategists.
The co-author of two books on networking, Andy is a featured columnist for the US magazine ‘The National Networker’ and writes for a number of UK publications, as well as being quoted in national press, including The Sunday Times and The Guardian.
You can read more of Andy’s thoughts, and subscribe to his fortnightly networking tips e-zine, at www.lopata.co.uk
Like the existing (and continuing) LogoLounge book series, the new Master Library books will bring you exemplary logo design work from creatives from around the world. Each book in the Master Library series will focus on a very specific logo design category:
Initials and Crests
Animals and Mythology
Typography
People
Shapes and Symbols
Nature and Food
Arts and Culture
As with Rockport’s other books on logos, this series has the same inspirational draw, featuring over 3,000 logos. Constantly looking for fresh inspiration, designers can use this new series to take a more focused look at core logo applications.
The Animals and Mythology book will be published in the next year. It will be an honor to be part of it!
]]>So if you don’t know your Front-End from your Plug-In, then this list is ideal.
Here are some of the web design terms in more explaination:
Breadcrumbs are the bit of navigation elements that generally appear near the top of a give web page that show you the pages and subpages the appear before the page you’re on. For examples, on a blog, the breadcrumbs might look something like: Home > Category > Year > Month > Post (or they might be a lot simpler that that). The breadcrumbs term comes from the fairy tale “Hansel and Gretel.”
Also referred to simply as CSS, Cascading Style Sheets are used to define the look and feel of a web site outside of the actual HTML file(s) of the site. In recent years, CSS has replaced tables and other HTML-based methods for formatting and laying out websites. The benefits to using CSS are many, but some of the most important are the simplification of a site’s HTML files (which can actually increase search engine rankings) and the ability to completely change the style of a site by changing just one file, without having to make changes to content.
Favicons are tiny (generally 16×16 pixels, though some are 32×32 pixels), customizable icons displayed in the web address bar in most browsers next to the web address. They’re either 8-bit or 24-bit in color depth and are saved in either .ico, .gif or .png file formats.
Stands for Hypertext Markup Language. It’s the primary language used to write web pages. HTML is primarily intended as a way to provide content on websites (with CSS handling the layout and stylistic options), though it can also be used to determine how that content is displayed.
Usability refers to how easy it is for a visitor to your site to use your site in its intended manner. In other words, are navigation, content, images, and any interactive elements easy to use, functioning the way they were intended, and that your intended target visitor will not need any special training in order to use your site.
To see the full list: A-Z list of Web Design Industry Jargon click here
If you have any other web design terms that your not sure about, please let us know and we’ll try our best to give you a non technical explanation.
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R - Recall
How easy is it to recall the name?
A - Aesthetics
How does the name look? How will it look on business cards and company literature?
I - Impressions
First impressions are crucial, so choose your name carefully
L - Length
Web addresses are limited to the 26 letters of the English alphabet, ten numerals and a hyphen - 37 characters in all. When picking a name, less is more. A short name is preferable to a long one.
“The purpose of the ‘Cheese Futures’ project was to challenge the next generation of designers to think about cheese packaging in a new way, and the concepts delivered did not disappoint,” said British Cheese Board secretary Nigel White.
He added that the commercial viability of the winning and runner-up designs was now being considered by a number of packaging firms and cheese producers.
The competition was judged by PFM Packaging, Pemberton & Whitefoord Design, North Downs Dairy and the British Cheese Board.
We think this design is just cheese-tastic!
]]>The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet. Established in 1996 during the Web’s infancy, the Webbys are presented by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a 550-member body of leading Web experts, business figures, luminaries, visionaries and creative celebrities.
Some of the winners from this years awards include:
BEST COPY/WRITING
NYTimes.com
http://NYTimes.com
BEST HOME/WELCOME PAGE
adidas.com homepage
http://www.adidas.com
BEST USE OF ANIMATION OR MOTION GRAPHICS
Coraline Website
http://coraline.com/
BEST USE OF PHOTOGRAPHY
The Big Picture
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture
BEST USE OF TYPOGRAPHY
Wordle
http://www.wordle.net/
BEST VISUAL DESIGN - AESTHETIC
The Turbo Gene Test
http://www.saab.com/turbogenetest
BEST VISUAL DESIGN - FUNCTION
NIKEiD
http://www.rga.com/award/nikeid.html
BLOG - BUSINESS
5 Blogs Before Lunch
http://www.5blogsbeforelunch.com
BLOG - CULTURE/PERSONAL
1000 Awesome Things
http://www.1000awesomethings.com
CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS
Seymourpowell
http://www.seymourpowell.com
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
cake-factory
http://www.cake-factory.com
SELF-PROMOTION/PORTFOLIO
Thank You begins with a T.
http://www.thisisgrow.com/awards/thankyou/
BANNER CAMPAIGNS
Volkswagen Innovations
http://www.achtung.nl/awards/2008/volkswageninnovations/
EMAIL MARKETING
Be Aware
http://216.31.180.181/entries/beAware/woman.htm
ONLINE CAMPAIGNS
IN AN ABSOLUT WORLD
http://kungsgrillen.se/iaawcampaign/
ONLINE GUERILLA MARKETING
Wario Land Shake it!
http://www.awards.goodbysilverstein.com/2009/wario_youtube/
RICH MEDIA ADVERTISING: BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS
TheLadders.com $100K Experiment
http://100k.theladders.com/
RICH MEDIA ADVERTISING: BUSINESS-TO-CONSUMER
Nike SPARQ
http://www.rga.com/award/sparq.html
VIRAL MARKETING
Diesel XXX SFW
http://www.break.com/index/sfw-porn-clips.html
Click here to see the full list of Winners and Nominees for the Webby Awards 2009
To hear more of the Wrongstars visit their myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/the_wrongstars
]]>A good looking website may help with making your brand stronger, but good looks alone aren’t enough to sell the products or services that you offer. For that, you need to introduce the element of marketing.
The 15 points covered include:
1. Subliminal Suggestion
2. Prevent Choice Paralysis
3. Show The Product
4. Let People Try It
5. AIDA
6. Guide attention
7. Always Provide Next Actions
8. The Gutenberg rule
9. A/B Testing
10. Footnotes: The Good and the Bad Ones
11. Testimonials
12. Scannable Feature Lists
13. Streamline The Sign-Up Process
14. White Space Is Not Lost Space
15. Set your type properly
To read these very helpful articles in full detail:
Click here for the first article
Click here for second article
I hope you enjoy!
]]>Lend Lease Retail operates a number of prime shopping centres throughout the UK including The Meadows in Chelmsford Essex and Bluewater.
Rubber Cheese won the business following a five-way pitch.
Sarah Blowers, Marketing and Commercialisation Manager at Meadows said:
“The Meadows was looking for someone to work as part of the team who would share and develop the vision for the future of The Meadows. As soon as we met Kelly and Paul we knew we had found what we were looking for. Their insight and ability is astounding and we are really excited about continuing to work together.”
Rubber Cheese will work alongside the in-house Marketing team on its yearly marketing program.
Kelly Molson, managing director at Rubber Cheese commented;
“We’re seeing some tough times ahead in the Retail sector. It’s now that good creative campaigns can really help drive sales and strengthen brands.”
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