STOP Traffic This Autumn

We here at TLC Business have previously mentioned that ‘Gorilla Marketing’ remains a strong influence on our marketing philosophy. If used effectively, Gorilla Marketing can add a buzz to your brand and make a product or service worth talking about.
Last week, Oxford Circus was brought to a standstill, not only by the traffic but by the powers of the fashion industry.  Commuters and shoppers stood in amazement as they witnessed a Halle Berry lookalike abseil into Oxford Street dressed head to toe in high street fashion, providing onlookers with a ‘Vertical Catwalk’.

This unique stunt was to promote the beginning of the second week of High Street Fashion Week, featuring retailers such as French Connection and H&M. Last Year the event kicked off with a catwalk on a tube, this year they took to the skies, so what will next year bring?

This is an extreme case of Gorilla Marketing and due to health and safety restrictions we do not recommend dangling your product or colleague off a building to promote your brand; however we do believe that adding a fresh, creative aspect to your marketing can provide you with the results you desire.

Here are some great examples of how different organisations have used Gorilla Marketing to create a brilliant PR spin for their brand:

Puma created a breakout of fashion onto the streets making the sports world stylish with a successful Gorilla Marketing concept.

Mini in the Netherlands came up with a quirky way of promoting the Mini Cooper by littering the busy streets of Amsterdam with over sized ‘mini boxes’.

Unique online jewellery and fashion accessory company Boticca staged a flash mob in Portobello Market Notting Hill.

Like any marketing, Gorilla Marketing can go wrong. We believe that the preparation stage of any marketing concept is vital and when not researched and implemented properly, brilliant marketing campaigns can flop.

The major fashion brand DKNY produced what looked like a fantastic Gorilla Marketing campaign by placing neon bicycles around New York City in an effort to promote their brand, as well as the eco friendly way of transport.  The BMX bikes were covered in bright neon colours with the DKNY logo in contrasting black. The marketing concept did not receive the feedback you would have expected from a high profile brand; the bikes that weren’t removed by the police due to being illegally chained to trees were picked clean for spare parts and left by the side of roads as litter. Not a great message for a luxury brand.

If you are a retailer or a business that feels the need to inject a bit of creativity into your marketing, then get in touch. The TLC Business team can help you create a campaign that stands out from the crowd and gets your business noticed for all the right reasons. Take advantage of our 15% off any campaign offer in September and make your brand work for you.  Contact us on +44(0)1962 600 147 or email Anna at anna@tlc-business.co.uk

 

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Monthly Marketing Tips

Septembers Top Marketing Tips

  • The Hampshire Business Directory is now available for the reduced price of £180, offering a 10% saving. This offer is available until 30 September 2010. The directory contains key business information and contacts that can be used to develop your sales and marketing campaigns.
  • CompeteFor is a free service that enables businesses to compete for contract opportunities linked to the London 2012 Games and other major public and private sector buying organisations.  CompeteFor is free of charge; over 1000 Hampshire companies have already registered with the service.
  • Logo Design Love: A Guide to Creating Iconic Brand Identities. Created from his popular blog, Irish graphic designer David Airey fills each page of this book with brilliant logos and real world anecdotes as well as 25 practical design tips to help you create a brand identity that lasts.

    Monthly Marketing Tips

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Our Top 3 Global Brands

We have previously mentioned that each year Interbrand conducts a survey to help identify the top global brands. The Top Global Brands survey offers insight into how these global organisations create and manage brand value. 2010’s top 30 is made up of some big household names including Toyota, BMW and Louis Vitton.
The top 30 featured many familiar faces but also threw up the odd surprise, however, an old favourite sat at the top of the pile, with Coca Cola shrugging off competition from powerhouse IT and technology brands to take top spot.

1. Coca Cola

Coca Cola’s accessible brand promise of fun, freedom, spirit and refreshment has allowed them to effectively take over the world. From the US to developing countries; you will always see the familiar face of the Coca Cola glass bottle.

Over the last few years Coca Cola has gained over 11 million fans on Facebook as well as 96,385 followers on Twitter. Coca Cola hasn’t always been in such a good position. On April 23, 1985, Coca-Cola, amid much publicity, attempted to change the formula of the drink with the idea of the “New Coke”. The company tried to move away from its existing unique selling point with negative results, the backlash led to the old formula being retained and the brand restored to its former glory.

When you think of Coca Cola, the word ‘health’ doesn’t really come to mind; however, Coca Cola want to change this. The global giant may face problems in the future from a growing health conscious society; however, Coca Cola are already formulating campaigns aggressively targeting new, fast developing markets, whilst promoting programs, such as ‘Healthy Active Living’, to reposition perception of their products. Like them or love them, you cannot fail but be impressed by the manner in which the marketers at Coca Cola continue to allow a fizzy drink manufacturer to dominate the global corporate landscape and translate their brand across numerous cultural, religious and economic boundaries.

At TLC Business, we believe that sometimes it’s best to stick with what your good at rather than change a great product. Yes Coca Cola isn’t the healthiest choice, but it seems to be the number one drink around world. Coca Cola has recognised that the growing health concerns of many consumers could be a huge barrier for the brand in the future, therefore, they are acting now to strengthen Coca Cola’s values for the impending shift in consumer behaviour. SMEs can learn from Coca Cola’s example. It is important to stay in touch with your client and target audience’s changing perceptions and opinions. By undertaking regular client surveys and research of your target market you will be ideally placed to stay relevant and competitive, pre-empting and responding to shifts in attitude amongst your target market.

11. Toyota

Toyota was a surprise entry in this year’s Top 30 global brands. 2008 saw Toyota scoop number one car manufacture of the year. However, since then, the reputation of Toyota has taken a beating over their much publicised product recalls in January 2010.

Toyota had previously established itself as a leader in reliability, safety and efficiency. The key values which helped them head off the competition in 2008, came back to haunt then in 2010.  The negative backlash associated with the massive safety recalls of its vehicles meant that credibility and sales naturally suffered.

But Toyota must have done something right to make it into the world’s top 30 brands, right?

In the wake of the product recalls, Toyota decided that the brand needed to get back on track and rebuild confidence amongst the general public. So how does a brand repair its image…Twitter?

Toyota adopted a branded channel on Tweetmeme, named ‘Toyota Conversations’, bringing together the top stories, news articles, press releases and videos from Toyota to engage with the public. This social media channel bypassed the media and allowed the brand to communicate directly with its consumers. This positive engagement overshadowed the media negativity and allowed Toyota to start rebuilding confidence in their damaged brand.

It is enlightening to see such a high profile company using twitter to repair its image after such negative media backlash. Toyota’s faith in utilising a relatively untested communication channel, social media, to rebuild its shattered reputation, illustrates the potential of new marketing methods, accessible to SMEs and corporates alike.

21. H&M

Technology brands continue to dominate within the top global brands.  Yes, Apple has had another great year after breaking yet more sales records; however, we thought we’d focus on the company that featured at 21st position, global retailer H&M, for our final comment. When thinking of the world’s top 30 brands, H&M doesn’t instantly come to mind; however, 2010 has been a great year for this Swedish retailer.

H&M mixes high fashion with low price points, delivering its consumers, celebrity and designer collaborations across its 2,000 stores in 37 different markets.

According to Interbrand: ‘H&M takes responsibility for the integrity of its operation chain, from employees to materials. Corporate citizenship investment includes a five-year collaboration with UNICEF, which protects children’s rights in a heavy cotton-producing area in India.’

In order to keep up with its fashion and image conscious consumer base, the retailer also engages with its different markets via Facebook, YouTube and Twitter in order to drive traffic to its new e-commerce site and target consumers outside of its 2,000 global stores.

H&M provides the fashion conscious with fast, affordable fashion but also takes care of the people who start the whole process off, without them there would be no statement dress or must have accessory. This is a key value for H&M and a great statement to make within the much-criticised fashion industry.

These brands may make up the Top 30 Global Brands but that doesn’t mean your business can’t adopt some of their methods to achieve results within your target market.  Whether it’s the use of Twitter to gain positive coverage or a great USP, make sure you undertake the necessary research and planning prior to undertaking a campaign to ensure you get maximum results.

To download the full Top Global Brands report click here.

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October’s Top Marketing Tips

  • Sometimes it’s not easy reading through books looking for the perfect answer to your design query. If you struggle to find inspiration; here is a great book to add to your wishlist. The Non-Designers Design Book is a great tool for helping you create flyers, business cards and teach you all about type. This book lets you in on all the tips and secrets that professional designers use on a daily basis.
  • This October’s top tip maybe not help you with your marketing but it’s some great advice none the less. Some things are too good to lose, especially if you’re a small business.TagBak UK, the innovative UK lost and found solution, will move heaven and earth to get your lost possession back to you in less than 24 hours of finding it. Protect your possessions with TagBak UK.
  • Get a clear overview of your Twitter stats using Twitter Count. Track statistics of more than 100 million Twitter users, using this free and easy tool.
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Top Monthly Marketing Tips

1. When designing a website or simply putting together an email campaign, it is important what colours you use and place together. SwatchSpot is a simple and useful online tool that can help you by generating random colour swatches so that you can check the combination and see if the colours look good together.
2. Like many, the team here at TLC Business can be hit by the dreaded writers block. Why not try One Word, the idea is to put your free writing to the test and get your spontaneous thoughts out there. Your sentences are also put on display. Take a look at the responses from other writers and you will see that everyone has their own take on what a word means to them.

3. How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer tries to answer two questions, how does the human mind make decisions? And how can we make those decisions better? From Firemen to CEOs, Lehrer shows you how people are taking advantage of this new science to make better television programs, win more football games and improve sales.

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The Holidays Are Coming

For many, Christmas is an important landmark in the calendar. For some, it’s the culmination of a year-long planning process, and for others, it’s a last minute shopping trip to grab the Christmas essentials.
Whilst, we were all enjoying the BBQs, beach trips and summer activities this August, the people at the prestigious British department store Selfridges, were busy preparing their Christmas department; a whopping 145 days early; the earliest it has ever opened. Displaying decorations, Christmas trees and tinsel, the festive shop opened as an extravaganza of everything Christmas.  Is this too early to start Christmas marketing, or is it an example of great marketing planning, attracting customers early?  Well, according to Selfridges, you can never be too early. Last year their festive shop sold 1,000 baubles in the first week alone, simply down to tourists looking for a small memento to take home.

Here at TLC Business, whilst we were enjoying the summer evenings this August, Christmas wasn’t far from our minds. We believe that it is essential for companies to prepare and plan for the festive season, months ahead of time.  It should be part of your yearly marketing plan. We don’t necessarily believe you need to get your Christmas products on the shelves at the height of summer, but having a plan of action for the year’s last quarter is a must.

It is not just retail businesses that benefit from this advanced planning. Many B2B organisations view Christmas as an unwelcome distraction that disrupts their business. Advanced marketing planning for the festive period is not just relevant for consumer-focused businesses. The period will impact on business of all sizes and across the majority of sectors. You need to be in tune with the needs of your specific customers. In our opinion, it’s never too early for companies to start preparing for this potentially lucrative season, to ensure they maximise the marketing opportunities that surround it.

This is especially relevant for online retailers.  Adding new features and festive graphics to your website will be appealing to the eye; however, don’t neglect less obvious areas, such as ensuring your site is prepared for the surge in festive traffic. Online retailers should be reshaping their email, SEO and pay per click campaigns to benefit from the Christmas boom period. Now is the time to ensure that your site is robust enough to deal with Christmas demand, in order to satisfy your customers, instead of damaging your brand value with a poor performing site.

With consumer lifestyles changing, more and more people are turning to the web for their Christmas gifts.  With more brands then ever competing for business online, it is important that SMEs establish their Christmas marketing ideas early and incorporate them within their yearly marketing plan, ready for implementation months in advance.

Christmas may be a holiday for most people, but to many businesses it’s a prime opportunity to increase turnover and meet your financial objectives for the year. You may not be a big business like Selfridges, serving consumers, but that is no excuse to avoid planning your festive season’s marketing early, to maximise sales and get the results you require.

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Top Marketing Tips For November

  • Save the Words, a clever new Website from Oxford University Press. The makers of the Oxford English Dictionary have developed the site based on the simple idea that a word won’t die if it gets used often enough. Each year hundreds of words are dropped from the dictionary, make a change and adopt a word today.
  • Guerrilla Marketing on the Internet: The Definitive Guide from the Father of Guerrilla Marketing. Jay Conrad Levinson changed marketing forever when he unleashed his marketing tactics for surviving the advertising jungle on a budget. Learn how to use the internet Guerrilla style.
  • GroupTweet, is a website where you can create a community that privately shares tweets. Think of it as an ongoing Twitter conference call, a great way to keep in touch with people working on the same projects.  
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Is it a bird, is it a plane? No it’s an SME

The last few weeks’ headlines have been dominated by talk of deficits and cuts. So we thought we’d take a look at how the Private Sector will help overcome these measures and ride to the rescue of the economy.
With the Public Sector now being forced to make many of the cost cutting measures we in the private sector have been implementing for the last few years, the future of our economy rests in the hands of the Private Sector.  Whilst Cameron and his coalition may be courting the advances of the bosses of big industry, but it is not the big corporates that hold the key to economic success, and the government appears to recognize that.  David Cameron’s championing of the ‘big businesses of tomorrow’, is founded on the belief that with help from banks and government-backed enterprises, small business will thrive and boost economic growth in the UK.

Now, you may be thinking ‘how could my small business help the economic recovery?’  Government statistics show that in 2009, 83% of businesses in the UK employed less than 10 people. Only 1.5% of UK businesses employed over 100 employees. With SMEs representing the vast majority of UK businesses, it is clear that we are going to have a massive role to play in filling the gap left in our economy, when the budget cuts start to bite.

Dave Sumner Smith, Programme Director of The SME Hub states that SMEs account for 99.9% of British businesses, 59.8% of Private Sector employment and 49% of Private Sector turnover. In 2009, 82% of UK businesses had a turnover of £500,000 or under.

So how does this translate for SMEs based in Hampshire?

As a Hampshire based SME, we were interested in seeing how the numbers stacked up for the Hampshire region. Government statistics show that Hampshire businesses follow the national trend. The vast majority of businesses are SMEs, with 98% of businesses employing less than 10 members of staff.  The same is true for turnover. Indeed, in 2009 there were only 565 businesses in Hampshire that have a turnover in excess of £5 million.

All the evidence points to the fact that SMEs hold the key to the UK’s future economic success and without us, our country’s finances would hang by a thread.

So with growth so important, how does an SME begin to grow?  We believe a key component of growth is improving the performance of your marketing. Don’t leave it to chance. Like the budget cuts, important decisions need to be planned in advance. Investing in proper marketing preparation and planning can help today’s SMEs become tomorrow’s Corporates.

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How interested are SMEs in Sustainability?

Sustainability and green business practices are topics that provoke much debate amongst larger corporates but how interested are SMEs in this area?
If you asked SME business owners where sustainable business practices sit on their list of business priorities, what level of importance would you expect them to attribute to it?

The Environment Agency states that since the recession, many SMEs have abandoned ‘Green Business Practices’ in an effort to stay afloat.

The Green Business Blog highlights the Environmental Agency’s study of 7,000 companies, which found a 75% drop in those operating “a basic formal environmental management system (EMS)”.  Indeed, over 50% of businesses surveyed claimed that an EMS or environmental policy was of “no use” to them in the current economic climate.

One of the key arguments used to persuade SMEs to move towards more environmentally sustainable business practices is the cost savings that typically come hand in hand with these measures. The above study’s findings suggest that these savings are either not recognised or valued by SMEs, but why is this?

The Carbon Trust claims British businesses waste in excess of £7 million a day and EON estimate the average office wastes £6000 per year through ‘sloppy practices’.

These are sums that are surely significant to smaller businesses, so why are we not taking more notice? It seems to us that ‘greener’ business practices are a win-win for the SME, society and the environment.

So how can we get SMEs to move the ‘Green agenda’ higher up their priority list?

One place to start is with changing company culture. EON argue part of the problem resides in staff attitudes. They found up to 80% of those surveyed did not apply the energy saving practices that they undertake at home, in their workplace.

There are compelling business cases around cost cutting and one should not forget compliance. As the government strives to meet strict EU targets, they will surely look to SMEs to help reduce their waste across their business. Whether they resort to the carrot or stick approach remains to be seen, however, larger energy users are already obliged contribute to the government’s compulsory carbon trading scheme and are open to fines for not presenting valid Energy performance Certificates (EPC) when moving or altering their premises.

Neither should one forget the marketing opportunities that a credible, genuine and meaningful ‘environmental policy’ and ‘Green’ ethos can generate.

Whilst it is important to avoid ‘Green wash’ – superficial ‘green’ actions and communications that merely pay lip service to sustainability and act as a cynical attempt to manipulate customers ‘green’ sensibilities, implementing genuine ‘Green’ and sustainable business practices can give you a means of competitive differentiation.

Allied to that is the increasing body of evidence that shows that consumers are more inclined to ‘trust’ brands that are perceived as practicing sustainable business practices. After Kraft added the Rainforest Alliance logo on its Kenco coffee brand, its market share increased 8%.

We’d argue that implementing sustainable business practices is not only beneficial but necessary for any business to thrive in the future. Incorporating this ethos into your brand and marketing will undoubtedly prove beneficial to your bottom line. But make sure that these measures are consistent across every aspect of your business. Consumers are quick to spot cheap, superficial gimmicks and will not take kindly to your attempts to mislead them.

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Novembers Top Marketing Tips

  1. Free email marketing software – send 500 emails a month free.
  2. Don’t want to send Christmas cards this year and are looking for something different – how about a festive video Christmas message from you and your team. From only £67 + VAT, it is a bargain.
  3. Want to organise your tweeting, send scheduled tweets and get organised on twitter? Take a look at Socialoomph
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