For those of you who have looked at Russell’s Dancing Postcards on YouTube – a big thank you. All this helps towards Russell’s competition entry for a very good cause.
If you’re amongst the 286 viewers, it’s worth having a look again next week. We should have additional piece of filming on Russell Ferguson marketing. Watch out for details.
We filmed this last week in candlelight as all the lights in the building fused the moment the camera crew arrived.
Marketeers crave to find ways of communicating to the right audience at the right place and time at a time when customers want to be reached.
Our Welsh colleagues ran a St. David’s day food promotion in Canary Wharf, London. A Canary Wharf newspaper, which is circulated to people working in the area, was used as a traditional form of communication.
The response came from customers walking into store with paper in hand which is unusual to see in the days of apps and media savvy consumers. The product sold out, especially Welsh cakes to an audience of consumers with good disposable income at a time when they wanted to spend it.
St David’s day promotions were also held at John Lewis in central London with superb PR coverage in Metro newspaper.
Exhibition planning time spent on reconnaissance is seldom wasted. Have just spent a few hours with a substantial company attending a major UK and international exhibition who really want to maximise the opportunities in the UK and export. We spent time on working out the preparation beforehand, the stand operation on the days of the show, the meet the buyer pitches and the all-important follow up. All of which are important when interfacing with new and important customers.
Great piece on prime time BBC news yesterday morning. British men’s fashion week is happening in the next month, not a one day event but a weeklong event. According to the head of design at Topman, the British male is becoming fashion conscious, will now wear brighter colours and follows fashion icons such as Robert Pattinson and David Beckham. Prince Charles will open the week, perhaps not a fashion icon but a real support for British business.
It is an industry, just like technology, energy, renewables, IT, food and drink. The component parts of the market launch for British Fashion Week are the same for other industries. Understand the new trends and what customers want to buy, think through your objective, work out your strategy, use TV and PR to build fast awareness, and make sure you implement the strategy.
We mentioned last week that Russell Ferguson was dancing in a competition and that there might be a video. Well here is the link that will try to show the hard work that is going into the practise! Please have your mobile phone at the ready as after the performance, you will see that he needs all the votes he can get. His partner may deserve the sympathy vote.
Russell Ferguson is a tad out of his comfort zone and soon to compete in the Strictly Come Dancing style competition to raise money for the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice in Glasgow on 17th March 2012. He will have to show off his ‘cool moves’ in front of a few hundred at the big event. Just like the TV show, needs to have public votes as well as the judges points for his expertise.
Along with his partner Maria Oakes an ex junior champion (3rd on left next to Russell), he has been working hard on his ‘quickstep’ in preparation for this event. If you are happy to support, text voting opens today– Friday 17 February!!
Watch the YouTube version – you will see in his mind, Russell aspires to be the best with the stature and prowess of John Sargent! It can only and will only get better.
If you operate in a business to business environment, you might like to use this as the start of a checklist:
• Selling additional products to existing customers, – very cost effective;
• Visit key exhibitions and conferences where your target market congregate;
• Fast response to web enquiries (customers do not want to wait!)
• Being in the top page of Google under the right category;
• Cold calling;
• Press coverage about you;
• Press coverage about your customers.
Just a few ideas – for more information and the best way to implement these, contact russ@rfm.co.uk
This bones of article appeared 2 years ago in our newsletter but the message holds good today. We have just completed some awards submission for a large client, polishing their story in line with the requirements of the award, – so hopefully, they will have a win on their hands.
As a business tool, entering and the winning of awards can be a superb endorsement of a brand. For companies that are young or small or niche where their brand is not yet a household name, awards provide a badge of excellence and build recognition.
• Awards can set you apart from the competition.
• They can endorse sales presentations amongst key buyers.
• They can be good for internal produce amongst your internal market.
• They do not take up too much time to enter.
If you have an eye on growth for the business, it is a reasonable route to consider.
The latest innovative communication technique used is by McCains for their new baked potato product. Consumers while waiting for a bus can smell a McCain’s baked potato at the push of a button. Perhaps a bit ‘off the wall’ but just think of the thought process behind it:
Perhaps not so ‘off the wall’ after all but a key way of thinking about your customer base.
We worked with the UK award winning farm shop in Wales. This farmer turned retailer has very defined views on communication and footfall for his retail store. He had previously used press and radio but having seen the return from television advertising is a complete convert. We have often said to clients that television is a big brand builder and the tenet holds true today as it did many years ago. In his case television was correct for the age group and lifestyle of his customer – combined with the social media options of today can be a potent mix.
