Read Between the Ps

A nice perspective on Marketing to Women Online by Holly on How to Lose Sales in two words - the Power of Personalization An answer to " Can you lose sales in two words? " with women ..... two words that would ensure loss of potential customers instantly, and obviate any chances of converting women prospects.. are " Dear Sir " - incorrect addressing to women can turn disastrous for the Salesmen. "The moment she reads it, the deal has gone!". In this world of personalization, every consumer presumes that the salesman knows about him, or at least a bit about him....But if I perceive that the other person does not even recognize my gender, it works against the deal, very much against! This is where online marketing, with virtual transactions and perceived customers , can prove to be risky. There are no tangible impressions , no audible transactions and no visible purchases ....none to identify the gender of the customers! In such cases, it is imperative t...

Found an interesting blog today on Business perspectives and thoughts that impact day-to-day businesses. 800ceoread's blog surely provides an insight into what leaders of today think and do, that makes them what they are! For instance, an entry on the blog "Don't trust, Just Verify" mentions the Golden Rules of a few leaders. Originally covered in Business 2.0 , it talks about the "Golden Rules" that leaders follow in their business. Warren Buffett 's Golden Rule is "There Can't Be Two Yous" "When you get out of bed in the morning and think about what you want to do that day, ask yourself whether you'd like others to read about it on the front page of tomorrow's newspaper. You'll probably do things a little differently if you keep that in mind. " Also, Steven D Levitt , co-author of Freakonomics avers " Don't Trust, Just Verify " "So much of what we hear and what we're taught turns out to b...

Saw a nice contrast in the Ads across Europe and North America . The latest Ad on “ 501 Jeans with Anti-Fit ” in Europe features a mild playing guitarist, with the Anti-fit jeans; winning mutual admiration and awe from his audience, the musical is ‘different’, and a story line has been built around an ice-cream van, in a series of 4 Ads , as part of the campaign. and here are some glimpses from the Ad…. On the other hand, the same brand in North America features a completely different presentation, with a set of 3 vignettes as part of the campaign. This campaign is running across the US and Canada. Catch the Ad tomorrow :-)

Got to know about 2 New books for the Wired Cult , written by Leander Kahney - the Cult of Mac and the Cult of iPod [via the Cult of Mac blog ] I do not know much about the books per se, but I really liked the front covers of the Books. A unique collectible to be paired and put together! :-) A sneak peek of the coming edition of the Cult of iPod can be viewed at the Cult of Mac Blog

Business Standard reported an interesting innovative initiative in the Recycled Goods Category , in its article “ Now Furniture gains currency ”. After many attempts to recycle waste currency notes into eco-friendly manner, an Indore-based company, Rajratan Technique and Technology , has been able to develop innovative methods to use soiled notes for making furniture and doors . Sheets, 32 sq feet in size, of the recycled material would be made and will be very similar to the plywood sheets being used in the industry. The timeline drawn for the development is the end of this financial year, as promised by the company. The concept is not old for the company, and the industry. Rajratan is part of a wider network of recycling specialists and has been working as dealer for its associate company – DRIPL (Deluxe Recycling India Pvt. Ltd.) DRIPL had launched its flagship product – ECOLINK , a few years back. According to its website , "DRIPL is India's first recycled chipboard manuf...

Ogilvy has put up some great work on “ The Economist ”. Found these ads on their website, thanks to a nice lead from Freddy’s Blog . Ogilvy has an excellent pool of creatives posted on their website. Though this set of Ads is not present in its current portfolio, the archives contain the entire set of the print campaign Apart from these Ads, I found another interesting piece by Ogilvy and Mather in the Adverblog archives For this Ad, Ogilvy & Mather Singapore had won a Gold at the One Show 2004. The brief was based on the " Economist Brain " And another one from Agency FAQs Incidentally, the last one, titled "Management Trainee. Aged 42" is a creation of AMV BBDO , and not O & M. Atleast that’s what the website says! Finally, there is another piece to complete the set – ‘the control by Technology’. Though I haven’t uploaded it here, it can be viewed at the Hidden Persuader’s Blog The Ads are of intellectual taste, undoubtedly. For the first timers, an ...

Found an excellent Ad on Panadol , a well-known pain reliever. " Panadol - One is Enough" Not the product, but the Ad, is an instant eye-catcher. Absolutely hilarious, and very well connected with the tagline. The Bush Family probably does not enjoy a big fan club, which was substantiated by Fahrenheit 9/11 , a year back. An indirect mock at them does send indicators to the International Community that we have had enough of him. Rather - them! No wonder the tagline says "One is enough!" Beautifully associated indeed! But there is a small risk in such politically affiliated campaigns. Does this mean that only the Democrats would be loyal to Panadol, and would not be appreciated much by the Republicans ? Or would everyone take it in the right spirits, and take it sportingly? Incidentally, discovered that this very Ad received a bronze at this year's Cannes Festival in the print category :-) Choices do meet somewhere! Panadol is one of the world's leading...

Have a look at this new Ad I got from a New Blog I recently visited - Good Morning Ad Club . The Ad is from VIP Gym and has been brilliantly communicated. Check it out ;-) Just cannot think beyond - " Get up and Run" Next time, make sure you check your seat and sit :-D

Cadbury’s India has coded its website (Flash version) pretty well. Though quite similar to Pepsi International in the look and feel, Cadbury has some unique campaigns and products to offer. The best part of the website is – it is pretty well structured, simple and easy navigable . A small icon from each Ad symbolizes a section on the Site – Chocolates, New Launches, History “Sweet Past” , Advertising, Careers and Current Performance . Good presentation! It is imperative for an impulse product like chocolates to be presented at every step in order to ensure a high recall . Two simple elements used by Cadbury are – Humor and Emotive appeal . I think these are the 2 most effective ways to ensure a high top-of-the-mind recall for Cadbury’s. In each of their Humor-flavored Ads, the positioning is communicated at the end of the Ad, which connects to the Ad and the brand. In the Emotive Ads, the emotions revolve around the brand itself – simple dynamics of Advertising – Sweet, yet ele...

Was wondering what to put on this auspicious occasion of “ Diwali ” – Ads, Posters, Diyas, Crackers, Gods …what not? There is so much in the market customized for this occasion. So many sales attached to this? In this part of the Marketing world, the season in India would be equivalent to the stakes involved during Christmas. With a 4-day vacation and multiple occasions pre- and post- Diwali, there is a lot of air time on offer, during which consumers can be lured. So, what better could I offer than on this Biggest Festival of Hindus, than a sweet box of chocolates ? ;-) Have a box of ' Celebrations ', dance, party… and Enjoy with the entire Family. Have a Great Diwali! Incidentally, the “ sweets ” attraction brought me to one of the best websites I have seen lately, in terms of campaigns and the layout. Let me take it up in the next entry. For now, Shubkaamnaayen (Best wishes) and Happy Diwali.. !