Raise funds for your business? 3 blog tips from Cisco & Unbelievable Brands

Raise funds for a Cat Café, Topless Male Waiters..?!!!!

Want to raise funds for a fledgling business idea?  How about crowd-funding?  And the quirkier the better – or maybe not!  The Irish Times here highlights 5 would-be entrepreneurs who are seeking crowd-funding including a café where you can play with cats while you have coffee, a restaurant with topless male waiters in tight shorts and ‘food you will rave about’ and the one I really liked – a drone to help monitor the treatment of animals.  Interestingly, the drone idea has raised the most funds – the others very little to date.  The cat café idea fascinates me – I know they have the cafes elsewhere in the world – but why a Cat Café and not a dog one?  Cats don’t really interact with you unless they feel like it – and/or unless there’s food involved.  As the proud servant of a cat called Millie, I wouldn’t pay €10 to have a coffee and play with her as I’d be hanging around for hours just waiting for her to deign to give me a few minutes’ attention!!  I’m not sure how they got the cats in the pic above to be so co-operative!  Maybe Japanese cats are different?!

http://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/sip-coffee-with-cats-or-have-dinner-served-by-a-man-in-tight-shorts-1.2510906

3 Tips from Cisco on maximising your Blog

Okay we’re not all the size of Cisco or anywhere near it (I’m a SOHO myself – small office, home office) but it’s always interesting to see how the big boys do it – so here they offer 3 tips to having a successful blog.  They recommend – activating your employee base, inviting guest bloggers and experimenting with social media – but not relying on it.  They post an amazing 27 pieces of content to their blog every day – but they only promote about 3.  Interestingly, they say they get more traffic from RSS subscriptions than from social media.

http://bit.ly/1nNed3q

Unbelievable brands

Don’t use “we believe” or “we passionately believe” in your marketing messaging, begs the author of this article in The Guardian.  He cites a few examples of brands with genuine beliefs and values including Ella’s Kitchen and Honda’s Hate Something, Change Something campaign.  Introduce real people behind the brand and, if appropriate, get Moral.  But not all brands have such stories – companies like Unilever with its many sub brands have to take a different tack.  So Walk the Walk he says and rally around a cause that’s worthy of belief, time and effort.  Another example he gives is of Volvo’s commitment to road safety which saw them develop a glow-in-the-dark paint.

http://www.theguardian.com/media-network/2016/jan/22/unbelievable-brands-give-values-bad-name-marketing

www.diypr.ie

2016 sensory marketing trends, luxury brands & experiences & SMEs can afford TV ads

Sensory Marketing Trends for 2016

The “multi-sensory mix” is what it’s all about this year apparently.  Expanding the use of Virtual Reality, combining video and print, 4D cinema taking off (can’t understand why this has taken so long when Disney have been doing this for at least a couple of decades), capitalising on the power of touch with Direct Mail, and using the power of smell to good effect.  An example of the latter was McCain last year wafting out the aroma of baking potatoes at bus shelters and rewarding commuters with vouchers who high-fived the poster if they were having chips for tea!  I’ve said before that Chips for Tea campaign is clever.

http://www.marketingweek.com/2016/01/18/top-sensory-marketing-trends-for-2016/

Successful Luxury Goods Marketing

Luxury branding is all about creating luxury experiences – the store is a Temple where customers experience the brand rather than just buy the product. Luxury brands should advocate beliefs and attract customers whose beliefs align with their own.  Consumption ‘rituals’ should be created which allow the customer to experience the brand.   Exclusivity in admittance to the ‘club’ is key – not just any old customer can join. These are just some of the tips in this article – which is from November 2014 – but still worth a read.  However, I can’t help but think when I read it that a considerable number of what would be considered mass market brands are trying to market their goods in this way?

http://www.theguardian.com/media-network/2014/nov/25/luxury-goods-marketing-ferrari-le-labo

SMEs can afford to advertise on TV

TV Advertising used to be only affordable by the big brands – but no longer, according to this article – it is referring to the UK but would apply to a lesser extent here also.  The author has made and will air his company’s TV ad for £50,000 sterling.  Production costs are lower due to greater choice and you can buy media time in small chunks on channels that are relevant to your brand.  He advises going for a small media buying agency as you will be a more important client than if you were with a larger agency – this makes sense.  Planning, content and evaluation are all key.  And, of course, you can use your ad or parts of it across other platforms.

http://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2016/jan/13/tv-advertising-growing-businesses-cheaper-budget

www.diyPR.ie

why journalists ignore press releases, brands that got it right & wrong in 2015 & teamwork on bullying

Why journalists ignore press releases

Written by a UK journalist, this features 7 reasons why journalists might be ignoring your emails.  And it’s always worth repeating!  Some of the reasons include – that the email is basically a sales pitch, that the journalist has to look too hard to find the most interesting i.e. newsworthy piece (they won’t, they don’t have time), that the email/press release is too long and more – take a look…...

http://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2016/jan/11/why-journalists-are-ignoring-your-press-releases

Brands that got it right – and wrong – in 2015

In this article from Gerard Tannam of Islandbridge Brand Development, he looks at brands that got it right and wrong last year.  The brands Gerard covers include Virgin Media, eir, Supervalu, FIFA, Irish Water, Brand Ireland, Panti Bliss, The Abbey Theatre, Donald Trump and Volkswagen.  Gerard also presents “Kickstart Your Business” with George Hook every Thursday evening on Newstalk.  (Disclosure, Ger is a client of mine – but don’t hold that against him!).

http://openheartbranding.blogspot.ie/2016/01/brandwidth-2015-year-in-review.html

Teamwork on anti-bullying

It’s great to read about creative teamwork that produces a solution to a social problem and to work on something which must be so satisfying.  In this instance, it’s bullying.  Ad agency Boys and Girls were approached by the Solas Project charity to work with schoolkids on a problem experienced in their daily lives.  The purpose of the project was to instil confidence in the kids and how to interact with people – something that would serve them well in their future lives as well.  So between them all, they eventually decided on an anti-bullying wristband, a prototype of which is currently being trialled.  Have a read…

http://www.independent.ie/business/small-business/when-the-ad-man-got-mad-at-bullying-34349097.html

www.diypr.ie

(Image: Wikipedia)

Interested in delish Fish Starters this Xmas?

Wouldn’t a Seafood Centre Piece like this be an impressive start to the most anticipated meal of the year?!  George Stephens - the recently crowned BIM Young Fishmonger of the Year 2016 - certainly thinks so!  George (left) is pictured with Bruno Gauvain, a man who knows all there is to know about producing platters which look as good as they taste!

George is a qualified seafood chef and fishmonger and owns The Fish Market, which has branches in Blanchardstown, Dublin, Maynooth, Co. Kildare and Mullingar, Co. Westmeath.

Before opening his first shop in Mullingar in 2008, he worked with Derry Clarke of L’Ecrivain, Terry McCoy of The Red Bank and at Sheen Falls Lodge.

Fish Starters

Other exciting starter recommendations from George include Spicy Asian Prawns, Stuffed Avocado with Prawns & Salsa or Salmon Roulade.  Of course, these can also be served as the main course to any guest who prefers not to eat meat. George’s recipes can be found here - 

Delicious Christmas Fish Starters

BIM.ie 

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Rain-triggered Ad, Lidl V M&S & ads from last century

Rain-triggered Ad

ActionAid has developed a very innovative new ad which launches this week in advance of the London People’s Climate March which takes place on Sunday. Their rain-triggered ad aims to highlight the impact of climate change.  According to Marketing Week, “Using real-time data, the system registers rainfall in the local area and consequently triggers a reaction in the software, which sees the existing ad schedule at Piccadilly Circus disrupted to reveal a tailored message depending on level of precipitation – drizzle, light rain or heavy rain.”  This format would work particularly well in Ireland, one would think?!!

http://www.marketingweek.com/2015/11/24/actionaid-launches-first-ever-rain-triggered-ad-to-stop-people-in-their-tracks/

Lidl v M&S

It’s always interesting when devout supporters of a brand swap and try a competing brand – but if you’re expecting any Lidl or M&S bashing here, there is very little – in fact both shoppers were pleasantly surprised by the other retailer!  The M&S shopper was struck by the Lidl own De Luxe brand – but even more so by the ski-wear – while the Lidl shopper was shocked to find food that’s cheaper in M&S than it is elsewhere!  This Irish Times feature doesn’t do either retailer any harm at all!  For the record, I’m fans of both!  I also shop at SuperValu, Tesco, Aldi and occasionally Dunnes!  Often it’s the need for the moggy’s cat food that decides for me – Tesco always have it, not so the others!

http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/food-and-drink/swap-shop-a-lidl-shopper-and-an-m-s-fan-switch-stores-for-a-week-1.2437997

Racism, Sexism & more from Ad Men

This is a book I want to read – “Beyond Belief” from Charles Saatchi which highlights ads from the last century which were racist, sexist, in very poor taste or made dubious health claims.  For example, “Lucky Strike” cigarettes ran a campaign saying, “20,679 physicians say Luckies are less irritating….” because, wait for it, “It’s toasted. Your throat protection against irritation against cough.”  Talk about stretching it!

http://www.theguardian.com/media/gallery/2015/nov/18/racist-sexist-rude-crude-worst-20th-century-advertising-in-pictures

www.grainnebyrnePR.ie

How to - use CHAOS for content & influencers to expand reach - & Heinken & Urban Consumers

Heineken & Urban Consumers

This is a fascinating account of work done for Heineken Ireland by planning agency MCCP.  Writing about a presentation at the recent Esomar conference in Dublin, Michael Cullen explains that the Heineken work covered a 5 Stage Programme to discover what motivates urban consumers.  This included checking out all cultural happenings and trends in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Belfast and getting urbanites to post experiences in real time to show how they related to their city.  The findings delivered insights into the personality, truths and tensions in each city.

http://www.independent.ie/business/media/marketers-on-prowl-in-the-urban-jungles-34170873.html   (Image from Rothco)

Use CHAOS for your content strategy

How to use CHAOS to improve your content marketing – or indeed to handle any business problem, according to this article from PR Daily. C = Communicate, H = Help, A = Attract, O = Observer/Outfox while S = Share!  Once you’ve applied all these, they advised that the next steps are to monitor your Web traffic and conversions, and make necessary adjustments and improvements.

http://bit.ly/1PNUeMa

How to use Influencers

This is a very comprehensive article from Cision on how to use influencers to expand reach and impact.  When looking for influencer - think Relevance, Reach and Resonance.  It also gives 8 tips to help you reach out to influencers in the right way and 8 tips for relationship management.  This White Paper can be downloaded here: http://bit.ly/1KUfF7M

www.grainnebyrnePR.ie

Real winners in RWC2015? Types of online shoppers & how big brands use Instagram

The real winners in RWC2015?

This very comprehensive article from Jamie Macken of Livewire (part of Core Media) in last Sunday’s Independent is well worth a read.  It looks at the success of RWC2015 from a number of perspective - media viewership, widening appeal of rugby, online trends and sponsor impact.  It’s particularly interesting to see how brands like Three – who were prohibited from associating with RWC due to tournament rights restrictions – got around that.

Few highlights – RWC2015 was a huge success for TV3 - over 60% of the available TV audience tuned in to watch each of Ireland’s matches and this excludes catch up watching on the TV3 Player.  Viewing peaking at 1.4m watching Ireland beat France. The article also tells us that Facebook now far exceeds YouTube as a platform for video content – facilitated by the former’s introduction of video auto play.

From a sponsor point of view - 83% of people associated Heineken as a sponsor of RWC – good news seeing as it’s estimated they spent €27m to become a sponsor and then invested heavily in supporting the sponsorship locally.  39% of people acknowledge Aer Lingus as having a positive impact on the tournament – the most of any IRFU sponsor.

http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/running-the-rule-over-the-rugby-world-cup-34158713.html  (photo courtesy of irishrugby.ie)

Online Shopping Behaviour

AOL recently revealed a segmentation of online shopping behaviour – thanks to Colm Carey of The Research Centre for this info:

Deal browsing - where the person’s aim is to find the best price for an item they know they want;

Problem and solution browsing - as in looking to replace a dead laptop;

Boredom browsing - just passing time because someone is bored at work or trying to avoid tackling an assignment;

Dopamine browsing - looking at things that the person would love to have;

Me browsing - when it’s just about fun and entertainment;

Rabbit hole browsing - when a person ends up on a site but can’t remember how or why they got there!

Expertise browsing - where the aim is to find things that will make the person look like an expert when sharing with friends.

Boredom, Dopamine and Me Time browsing are driven purely by emotional needs and represent about half of all online browsing to shop moments.  AOL emphasise that marketers should be aware that much of online browsing is emotion based.

How big brands succeed on Instagram

This article from PR Daily shares 5 tips gleaned from a study of Interbrand’s Top 100 Brands and their activity on Instagram.  Those tips are: Be Active – Nike with its 7m+ followers posts at least once a day; Keep it Short – no longer than a tweet; Share e.g. tag another Instagram user; Use # but don’t overuse and Tag your Location!

http://bit.ly/1SlQMba

www.grainnebyrnePR.ie