Abu Khaulah Zainal Abidin

Dahulu kala manusia harus berenang untuk menyeberangi hanya sebuah sungai. Mereka harus -dan hanya bisa- berlari sekencang-kencangnya untuk tiba segera di tempat yang dituju. Bersusah payah melompat setinggi-tingginya hanya untuk meraih buah yang hendak dipetik.

Kini mereka mampu berlayar bahkan mengarungi samudra. Cukup memacu kendaraannya untuk tiba di tempat dalam sekejap. Terbang bahkan menembus awan dengan pesawat.

Semua itu karena manusia tak henti berupaya; mengatasi tantangan,  mempermudah cara, dan meningkatkan hasil. Berbagai ilmu mereka kembangkan, berbagai cara mereka lakukan, dan berbagai alat mereka ciptakan. Itulah teknologi.

Teknologi…

adalah yang juga hewan telah mengenalnya sejak awal, jauh sebelum istilah itu diciptakan. Hewan memanipulasi dirinya di dalam rangka menghadapi tantangan alam yang mengancam kehidupannya. Mereka berupaya mempermudah cara untuk melanjutkan kehidupannya,  bahkan bersiasat untuk meningkatkan hasil buruannya.

Jadi, teknologi bukan monopoli manusia,  apalagi harus identik dengan moderen. Ya, fitrah makhluq hidup -yang punya keinginan; mengatasi tantangan atau rintangan, mempermudah cara, dan  meningkatkan hasil atau kualitas hidup- itulah yang menjadi sebab mengapa teknologi ada,  sesederhana apapun bentuk dan cara kerjanya.

Manusia berupaya mengatasi tantangan, sehingga  menjadi punya dari sebelumnya tak punya, menjadi bisa dari sebelumnya tak bisa. Setelah itu, manusia berupaya mempermudah berbagai cara, sehingga lebih mudah untuk punya, lebih mudah untuk bisa, serta lebih mudah meraih hasrat dan menyampaikan maksud,. Tidak cukup sampai di situ, kemudian manusia berupaya meningkatkan apa yang telah  dihasilkan atau diperolehnya, sehingga hidupnya menjadi lebih baik;  tidak sekedar punya…, tidak sekedar bisa….

Dan ketika tahap meningkatkan hasil telah manusia lampaui, ia akan menemukan lagi tantangan baru yang harus diatasi, begitu seterusnya. Juga boleh jadi apa yang bagi seseorang sebagai upaya meningkatkan hasil ternyata bagi yang lain sebagai upaya mengatasi tantangan. Ya, karena dunia senantiasa berubah dan manusia berbeda di dalam kesempatan atau kemampuan. Akan tetapi prioritasnya tetap. Mengatasi tantangan, mempermudah cara, -terakhir-, meningkatkan hasil. Inilah yang logis dan berlaku di dalam segala urusan; makan, pakaian, tempat tinggal, pekerjaan, kesehatan, pendidikan, informasi, transportasi, telekomunikasi, dan….

Pasar…

adalah tempat bertemunya pembeli dengan penjual. Pasar hidup karena penawaran bertemu dengan permintaan.  Pasar hidup selagi pembeli dan penjual sama-sama untung.

Persaingan adalah nafas pasar, sedangkan tawar-menawar denyut nadinya. Dan produk-produk teknologi -ketika masuk pasar- juga tidak luput darinya; persaingan dan tawar-menawar.  Tentu saja pada asalnya pembeli menginginkan  produk  yang:

1. Paling Tinggi atau Besar Kemampuannya.

Teknologi yang paling tinggi / besar kemampuannya adalah jawaban untuk mengatasi tantangan, mempermudah cara, dan meningkatkan hasil. Setiap orang menginginkannya dan setiap penjualpun menjanjikannya. Di dalam perkara inilah produk teknologi pertama kali saling bersaing. Tetapi yang menikmati persaingan di tingkat ini hanya segelintir orang yang memang sudah mengerti produk dan sudah waktunya untuk menikmati. Selebihnya, hanya yang terbawa arus  menjadi korban peradaban.

2. Paling Mudah Mengoprasionalkannya.

Paling mudah menggunakannya, ringan, atau praktis menjadi alasan berikutnya. Dan para produsen -setelah sama unggul dalam hal kualitas-  berlomba di dalam hal ini. Yang rumit, berat, lemot, dan ribet akan dicampakkan dan tak akan laku di pasaran. Alasan pembeli di dalam perkara ini sangat logis.

3. Paling Murah Harganya.

Bahwa  lebih banyak  yang  memiliki kendala daya beli dari pada yang tidak itulah asal mula prinsip ini. Kalau bukan karena mantera para pedagang, manusia tak akan mabuk barang-barang mewah dan lupa dengan kemampuan daya belinya. Iklan dan promosi yang menyesatkan telah menyihir mereka sehingga tidak lagi berpikir “murah”, bahkan berpikir “pokoknya mahal”, karena yang mahal itu pasti bagus!

Tetapi tetap saja yang terbanyak adalah para pecinta barang murah. Terbukti, banyak sekali yang gampang terpancing membeli barang “asal murah”, meski mereka belum terlalu -bahkan mungkin tidak- membutuhkannya.  Karena alasan “murah” pula lah terkadang pembeli menjadi tidak terlalu rewel terhadap masalah praktis-tidaknya barang.

4. Paling Aman atau Sedikit Efek Sampingannya

Berpikir tentang efek sampingan bukan monopoli karakter manusia “posmo“. Orang jaman baheula pun punya kearifan itu. Teknologi yang mereka ciptakan, mulai dari rumah sampai ke persenjataan,  menunjukkan hal itu.

Hanya saja “moderenisasi” telah membius manusia menjadi tak lagi peka, Selama lebih dari satu abad manusia moderen sempat dibuat mati rasa oleh slogan ” stronger and faster“. Sampai akhirnya ketika berbagai dampak mulai tampak, dan manusia berpikir, “Ada yang salah dengan moderenisasi selama ini“, kesadaran dan kearifan itu pun pulih.

Mulailah “Back to nature“. Dari makanan, pakaian, rumah, sampai ke teknologi kedokteran dan pengobatan. Orang mulai memilih minum obat-obat herbal sebelum memutuskan untuk ke dokter, mencoba dibekam dulu sebelum menyerahkan diri ke rumah sakit.

Teknologi Ramah Lingkungan pun menjadi pilihan penting. Daun pisang kembali dilirik untuk mengambil alih fungsi Styrofoam sebagai pembungkus makanan, emisi otomotif mulai dipersoalkan, sampai ke alat tulis dan mainan anak-anak menjadi harus yang non-toxin.

Tetapi untuk kebanyakan orang kesadaran ini terlalu mewah dan dianggap mengada-ada, meski samar-samar mereka telah mendengar Borax, Formalin, atau Formaldehyde serta bahayanya.

5. Paling Bagus atau Indah Penampilannya.

Logisnya ini adalah pertimbangan yang terakhir setelah empat prinsip terdahulu. Tetapi kenyataannya malah ini yang sering mendominasi pertimbangan. Wajar saja, karena yang pertama kali dilihat orang adalah penampilan, karena kebanyakan manusia suka bermegah-megah, suka dilihat dan dipuji. Sifat semacam inilah yang dimanfaatkan para produsen dan pedagang.

Ya, kira-kira begitulah urutan logis -alasan masyarakat- memilih sebuah produk. Maka jika semua produk bersaing secara sehat, tentu yang laku adalah yang paling canggih, paling praktis, paling murah, paling aman, dan paling indah. Ini artinya kemenangan bagi pembeli.

Akan tetapi, pembeli tidak boleh jadi pemenang. Dan iklan, promosi, serta cara pembayaran telah menjadi perkara yang tidak bisa dipisahkan dari pasar, bahkan sangat menentukan, sehingga mampu mengubah-ubah urutan di atas sesuai dengan kemauan penjual.

Pasar memang -dan selalu- berpihak kepada pembeli, dan pembeli adalah “raja” bagi mereka. Hanya sayang, “raja” ini sering tak berdaya menghadapi kepandirannya sendiri dan kecerdikan (baca: kelicikan) para “pelayannya”, pedagang. Gempuran bertubi-tubi iklan yang memikat dan menyilaukan, bujuk rayu promosi yang menggiurkan -mulai dari diskon, hadiah, sampai ke layanan purna jual-, ditambah lagi dengan kemudahan pembayaran lewat cara-cara angsuran telah membuat “raja” tak lagi mampu berpikir logis dan murni berpihak kepada kebutuhannya sendiri.

Lebih dari itu, para pelayan (baca: pedagang) -yang kelihatannya berseteru dan saling bersaing- ini ternyata punya kepentingan bersama; memaksa “raja” melihat dunia sebagaimana mereka melihatnya. Mereka menjadikan iklan bukan lagi semata alat untuk membuat produk jadi terkenal. Lebih dari itu, mereka menjadikannya alat untuk mempengaruhi sistim nilai sang “raja” dan mengarahkannya kepada gaya hidup tertentu. Maka jadilah “raja” -yang tertawan ini- ibarat pemabuk yang keburu teler sebelum minum. Meski jasadnya masih di tahap “mengatasi tantangan“, namun jiwanya sudah jauh melayang ke tahap “meningkatkan hasil”.

Akhirnya, kualitas, brand image, dan alasan gaya hidup telah membuat “raja” meremehkan harga dan skala prioritas. “Murah dan Praktis” membuat “raja” tak mempedulikan faktor keamanan atau efek sampingan, juga  telah menyihirnya membeli produk yang belum tentu ia butuhkan. Dan sebodoh-bodoh “raja” adalah yang tertipu oleh kemasan. Ya, di dalam budaya pasar semacam inilah kita dibesarkan dan dibiasakan.

Pendidikan…

adalah upaya menjadikan yang dididik bisa berprilaku sesuai dengan harapan terbaik dan cita-cita termulia. Karenanya, pendidikan selalu punya harapan dan keyakinan, bahwa setelah melalui proses pendidikan seseorang akan menjadi lebih baik dari sebelumnya.

Lewat pendidikan manusia berharap bisa mengatasi tantangan, mempermudah, dan meningkatkan kualitas hidupnya. Untuk itu, berbagai ilmu tentangnya dikembangkan, berbagai cara dilakukan, dan berbagai alat diciptakan. Maka lahirlah teknologi pendidikan (-walaupun lebih tepat kalau saya katakan teknologi pengajaran-).

Jadilah kemudian; gedung, kelas, jejeran bangku menghadap papan tulis, termasuk taman bermain dengan ayunan berwarna-warni, juga pakaian seragam. Diadakanlah kemudian sekolah, kursus, seminar, atau pelatihan-pelatihan. Disusunlah kurikulum, dicetaklah buku-buku pegangan, disiapkan alat peraga dan laboraturium, diciptakan berbagai metode pembelajaran, serta dibuat alat pengukur hasil belajarnya.

Dan ketika teknologi pendidikan ini -dalam bentuk perangkat keras dan lunaknya- ditawarkan (baca: dipasarkan) , ia berhadapan dengan harapan-harapan masyarakat -yang sama seperti harapan mereka terhadap produk-produk teknologi lainnya- selama ini: yang paling berkualitas, paling murah, paling mudah, paling aman, dan paling cantik.

Dan lagi-lagi budaya pasar ikut bermain. Bukan pedagang namanya kalau tak punya jurus menaklukkan pembeli. Mulai dari brosur serta pamplet bergambar gedung megah dan suasana belajar yang menyenangkan, bermacam-macam pelayanan, sampai ke janji-janji prestasi dan kemudahan mencari lapangan kerja selepas masa belajar menjadi bagian dari promosi pendidikan. Dan sebagaimana slogan “Kesehatan itu Mahal” telah dijadikan pembenaran filosofis mahalnya berobat, “Pendidikan Itu Mahal” juga dijadikan pembenaran filosofis ; pendidikan adalah komoditi.

Ya, sekarang giliran orang tua murid menjadi “raja”.  Dibujuk untuk melompat jauh dari tahap “mengatasi tantangan” langsung ke tahap “meningkatkan hasil“, padahal belum waktunya. Terhuyung-huyung menapakkan langkahnya di bumi yang baru. Terbius oleh slogan-slogan atau brand image yang membuatnya tak punya pilihan selain menerima gaya hidup yang ditawarkan.

Tanggung Jawab Para Pendidik…

dewasa ini bukan hanya mempersiapkan generasi terpelajar. Para pendidik juga bertanggung jawab membebaskan “raja” dari tawanan para pelayannya (pedagang), bukan malah ikut-ikutan menggiring “raja” masuk ke dalam budaya pasar. Mereka bertanggung jawab; mengajak “raja” kembali menapaki buminya sendiri, memulihkan kesadaran dan rasa percaya dirinya, mengajarinya kembali cara melihat skala prioritas -sebagaimana fitrah telah mengajarinya- agar bisa mengambil keputusan sesuai dengan kebutuhan dan hati nuraninya.

Sesungguhnya budaya pasar ini telah menelan banyak korban; terfitnahnya ketulusan belajar-mengajar, pengharapan yang berlebihan kepada lembaga pendidikan, dan   -yang terparah-  berapa banyak cita-cita telah ditenggelamkan dan bakat-bakat telah dibunuh olehnya. Maka membebaskan pendidikan dari budaya pasar bukan semata bertujuan menghindari komersialisasi pendidikan.  Lebih penting dari itu, membangun budaya tulus di dalam belajar-mengajar, menghilangkan ketergantungan kepada lembaga pendidikan, serta menyelamatkan bakat dan cita-cita generasi masa depan.

Ya, ini adalah tanggung jawab para pendidik. Dan tentu saja masih banyak orang-orang tulus, yang tidak berniat sama sekali menjadikan pendidikan sebagai komoditi. Namun kebanyakan mereka terikat secara sistim, bahkan terbelenggu secara struktural. Apalagi terbukti bahwa tidak ada satupun model lembaga pendidikan dewasa ini yang aman dari sergapan budaya pasar; tidak sekolah, tidak pesantren, tidak juga home schooling, apalagi sekedar lembaga kursus. Karenanya para pendidik juga harus pandai-pandai menjaga jarak dari perangkap pasar. Ya, jika kurang waspada dan tak menjaga jarak, tidak mustahil setiap usaha mulia ini (pendidikan) akan ditangkap oleh para “Impresario” untuk kemudian disulap jadi peluang bisnis.

I have to say i really really enjoy this new look, but i still have a jaded vision of AOL after all those years of give away cd’s and horrible internet interface…

But i do have to say, the video trials with the logo are super cool.  I hope for them this can help change the way they are looked upon.

FRESH.

AOL today previewed its new brand identity for its future as an independent company committed to creating the world’s most simple and stimulating content and online experiences.

The new AOL brand identity is a simple, confident logotype, revealed by ever-changing images. It’s one consistent logo with countless ways to reveal. The new brand identity will be fully unveiled on December 10, when AOL common stock begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

“Our new identity is uniquely dynamic. Our business is focused on creating world-class experiences for consumers and AOL is centered on creative and talented people — employees, partners, and advertisers. We have a clear strategy that we are passionate about and we plan on standing behind the AOL brand as we take the company into the next decade,” said Tim Armstrong, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AOL.

via Aol. Generation. Next. – Brand New.

The idea of  “BRAND” yourself posts came to me after giving a presentation/ workshop last Saturday named ” Empower Women Seminar” that was sponsored by “NOW: National Organization of Women, the Hollywood chapter”.  My part of the seminar covered the Marketing part discussing the power of  “Brand Yourself” for landing a job or getting a better one.

 A brand is not limited to big companies like BMW, Coca-Cola or to artists like Paris Hilton,  Brad Pitt & Angelina, we all have our own brands either we are aware of it or not.  A brand is how people around us perceive us, what do we transmit as a message to others about us, without even talking.

So let me start by deciphering what is “Brand Yourself” or “Personal Branding”.  Personal/ Self branding is simply positively grabbing someone’s attention by creating a unique unforgettable image.  Personal branding, by definition, is the process by which we market ourselves to others.

Imagine if you go to a store looking for a certain product, one is packaged in fancy colors and the other packaged in a simple white blend box, they both have the same functions and usage, the first one is a bit higher in price than the 2^nd which one would you get? I personally will pick the one that catches my eye i.e. the colorful fancy package, even if I have to pay a bit more.  So Brand Yourself is about “Self packaging” It’s identifying the unique qualities, marketable skills, and organizational knowledge that someone possesses and building a reputation that captures the attention of others (clients, managers, prospects or future employers)

No matter how old we are, what titles we hold, what business we are in, we all need to understand the importance of self-branding, we all are the CEOs, and CMOs of  “Me, LLC.” need to be unique in who we are and how we stand out from the crowd.

 Each one of us needs to develop their own USP “Unique Selling Proposition” to communicate our brand, and develop “Brand Equity” & “Brand Image” exactly as the big corporations do.  Now the question that presents itself is: “How do I brand myself, or how do I find my brand?”

The “My brand” exercise starts by thinking about 3 things you are very passionate about (loving chocolate is not one of them) and 3 things other people think you excel at.

It is a process that has 4 steps: DCCM

• Discover: What is your brand (As described above)
• Create: your USP
• Communicate: Promote your USP
• Maintain: keep adding new content and manage your brand reputation

Your USP should be one concise sentence that best describes you, who you are, how unique are you, your biggest strength and how you can benefit anyone that hires you or your services (Clients or employers).  

For example a USP for a Marketing expert would be:

“I am an experienced Marketing expert strong in creating marketing campaigns and developing new business that have resulted in additional revenues of over $ 2.5M for my last company during the last 2 years.”

This sentence demonstrated who you are, your biggest strength and how you benefited your company.

Branding Yourself is all about leveraging marketing and its famous MIX: The 4 Ps

1-     Product: YOU

2-     Promotion: what to use, which social media networks, which associations etc…

3-     Price: How much are you services worth or how should your salary be

4-     Place: Where to expand

Social Media tools have leveled the playing ground and have enabled us to reach amazing altitudes, at the cost of our time, but the ROI is way worthed.

I will be sharing in my next posts, the personal branding process, so you can think about what face you want to show to the world and how to brand position yourself to achieve your goals, and land your dream job, and how to become the hunted instead of the hunter

Cheers,

Sahar Andrade

www.saharconsulting.com

www.linkedin.com/in/saharandrade

Más que la calidad y la funcionalidad, la percepción que los consumidores tienen de una marca influye mucho sus comportamientos y su propensión de comprar los productos.  Algunas marcas líder basan su estrategia sobre la percepción y gracias a esto alcanzan un éxito considerable.

Es el exemplo de Coca-Cola.  La marca de soft drinks es reconicoda como la marca preferida por una mayoría de consumidores en comparación con Pepsi.  El nivel de las ventas hablan por las empresas: Coca-cola es el líder incontestado.  Sin embargo, algunos estudios mostraron que una gran parte de la población prefieren el gusto de Pepsi aunque dicen que preferien Coca-Cola.  Pepsi lo sabe y lo usa en sus anuncios:

Las pruebas están: entre parecer lo mejor y ser lo mejor, la estrategia la más eficaza es la primera.

Por eso todo, el uso de la red tiene un papel clave.  Primero, permite analisar como la marca es percibida por los clientes.  El web 2.0 dio la luz a nuevas técnicas para hacer estudios de mercado.  Por ejemplo, un sitio internet (www.brandtags.net) propone a las marcas una manera simple de conocer la percepción que sus clientes tienen.  El principe es simple.  Los consumidores entran el sitio internet y dan todos las palabras claves, los tags, que les inspiran las marcas.  Luego, la frecuencia de cada palabra es analizada y las empresas obtienen una imagen espontánea de sus marcas.

Gracias a eso, cuando la empresa sabe claramente como los consumidores perciben sus marcas, la red la permite también influir esta percepción con mensajes repetidos y enviados en propios momentos, adaptados al público.

Fuentes : http://www.novactif.com/2008/12/19/brand-tags-perception-de-marque-et-web-semantique/

http://ch.altermedia.info/gnral/preference-entre-coca-cola-et-pepsi-tout-est-dans-la-tete_955.html

The ‘ 360 paper water bottle’ by Brand Image

The 360 Paper water bottle is the first totally recyclable paper container made from 100% renewable resources. Versatile in its range of consumer applications and made from food-safe and fully recyclable materials, it decreases energy consumed throughout the product life cycle without sacrificing functionality. It is paper packaging that stands up to all liquid categories.

Each day, in the U.S alone  60 million plastic bottles are thrown away. Only 14% actually get recycled— meaning 86% become garbage or litter. Brand Image looked at this as a radical problem requiring an equally radical solution. Their mission was to  design a container that would leverage sustainability, be easy to transport, and enhance the consumer’s drinking experience. Their forward thinking solution was the 360 Paper Bottle.

It is a radical, brilliantly designed   sustainable vision of the future. It is the first totally recyclable paper container made from 100% renewable resources. Versatile in its range of consumer applications and made from food-safe and fully recyclable materials, it decreases energy consumed throughout the product life cycle without sacrificing functionality. It is paper packaging that not only stands up to all liquid categories but also ticks all the boxes in terms of eco-design, functionality and sustainability.

www.brand-image.com

I found this little beauty in last month’s Executive Magazine. I am half certain that I have seen this concept before in some design handbook, but one must admit its interactive and very effective!

After you take off the business card you, the message reads:

“If not you can remain in a business of wasted opportunities where clients complain which will lead to your employees resigning. You won’t get any bonuses. You wide will stop hosting dinner parties. You will sell the Chalet, the sports car and the golf kit. then before you know it your family will be living on discount coupons.“

The only thing that I don’t like is that it does not convey the fact that Terra Biz is part of Terra Net and the services they offer are internet related.

If you’ve seen any of its predecessors , tell me!

Grammar Girl, where are you when we need you? SPOGG (Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar), why do so few appreciate you?

Sometimes it’s the little things that matter. Individually, a misplaced comma or parathetical phrase might be overlooked. But collectively, these emissaries of style spell trouble!

Just as great designers make the end result look spontaneous and effortless, form, punctuation and grammatical style make all the difference between  ho-hum writing and a well-tended image.

Part of my job is maintaining the brand or image of Parents as Teachers. The way we present ourselves, right down to the capital letters and periods may be nuances to some but to others their misuse stands out like overused clichés.

I do my share of proofreading so when I recently corrected some improper capitalization and punctuation on a document sent to me for editing I was taken aback to hear a colleague tell me, “That came from the company’s Web site. I’m not changing it because that’s the way the company wants to present itself.”

Wow. Made me wonder how others perceive Parents as Teachers. How do the little things like grammar, punctuation and writing style contribute to your company’s image? Does anybody care?

Looking to bring more visibility to your brand?

Pioneer Marketers specializes in the field of brand management and enhancing corporate identity. We can:

• Manage your online reputation
• Bring in more online visibility through SEO
• Conduct surveys to find more about your brand image
• Incorporate CRM solutions for better customer relationship management
• Expose you to our quantitative solutions
• Introduce you to Email Communication, one of the most popular strategy of brand promotion
• Develop brand building strategy based on your current brand popularity

Keep your Brand in Front of Your Prospects, Always!

In talking to a few prospects recently, I came to realized how much lower of a priority brochures and print collateral had become as part of  companies’ marketing communications arsenals.

Back in the day, there was no internet as we know it. It was first invented in the late 1960’s as a means for the government to maintain communication in the event of a nuclear strike. (Contrary to what has been claimed, Al Gore DID NOT invent the internet.) The internet did not start to gain functionality as we know it today until the late 1980’s. It probably wasn’t until the mid 1990’s that more companies started developing their first generation websites.

When I was starting out in the biz, there was no email as a common form of communication. No companies had websites. They relied on brochures and print collateral to convey their message and brand image. Print quality, the paper used, coating and varnishing techniques, all added another dimension to a company’s image and aesthetic.

Once the internet and websites started to become more efficient and effective marketing tools, print collateral was destined to become more of a secondary, “must have” form of marketing communications. Pair that with decreased budgets and more elaborate desktop publishing tools – the glorious, well-designed, exquisitely-printed corporate communications had one foot in the grave.

Even just three or four years ago, on any given day, I could say we did about 50% print and 50% web projects. Now, aside from identities (business cards, letterhead, folders, etc.), we’re probably only doing about 25% print material – possibly less. Is this a bad thing? There are two sides of the coin.

Maybe it’s not a bad thing
Consider the cost-savings. For example (and only an example), let’s say it costs $15,000 to design and print 5,000 16-page corporate brochures. Granted, one sale from those brochures might pay for themselves, but what you see is what you get. There’s no updating or changing without reprinting. Not unless the piece had been designed as part of an adaptable collateral package. Without handing these brochures out at a tradeshow, how long will it take to go through them? If your contacting 5,000 new prospects in a quarter or six month period, more power to you. That brings us to the topic of distribution.

It’s much easier to have a brochure designed, but have it exist only as a PDF on your website or distribute through email. (Not to mention the little extra nod for improving search results.) You also need to consider the cost of postage. Even at a bulk rate, which is unlikely, you’re probably looking at close to a dollar a piece – and that’s being optimistic. So, of that $15,000 price tag, you might eliminate $5,000 or so by not printing, and additional hundreds of dollars in postage savings.

So in the example, that’s still $10,000 to produce a corporate brochure?! The fact that desktop publishing software has become so robust and more user-friendly does not make a person using it capable of good design. The software is merely a tool – with creative talent and vision being the key to success. Good communication and design is often replaced by varying degrees of software knowledge and execution. I like to use the analogy that just because a person owns a pneumatic nail gun doesn’t make them capable of building a house.

When you’re talking about a corporate brochure or even an annual report, consider the necessity for high-level vision, concept and messaging. How will that be conveyed and executed properly with the appropriate hierarchy of information? Oftentimes, the importance and value of this vision and expertise is overlooked for the sake of speed and cost. As a colleague so eloquently put it recently, “That 99¢ burger might get you through in a pinch, but at some point, you’re going to need a real meal.”

Maybe it is a bad thing
Think about the last time you were handed someone’s business card, and you couldn’t help but say, “Wow, that’s really nice!” What made you stop and say that? It probably wasn’t just the design. It was the weight of the paper, an emboss, maybe it was even printed using letterpress. Whatever it was, it transcended the norm. It was a small, yet impactful “experience”. Now, imagine the impression a prospect or customer might have when “experiencing” a well-designed and executed, quality-printed brochure from your company. It would be a visual and tactile lasting impression of your brand. Chances are your competition has cut corners with their print collateral making it pale in comparison to  yours.

The internet is very two-dimensional. You’re at the mercy of each individual viewer’s browser capabilities, monitor color calibration, image quality, etc. Because of this, I think the standard of visual quality that people are willing to accept has diminished. With a quality-designed and printed piece, you’re assured it will look AND feel the same for all viewers, as well as raise the bar for your competition.

So, will print eventually die?
I think not. There will always be a need for print collateral. In fact, I’d love to see a rebirth. The brand-savvy companies realize the advantages, and use them to leverage themselves above the competition. With our roots in print, and our expertise with integrated branding campaigns, Acceler8 Creative can help you develop impactful and versatile print collateral packages to convey your story and make a lasting impression with your audience. Contact us today.

Visit Acceler8 Creative’s website.

Phone 847-909-4569

Email Acceler8 Creative.

Whiskas is the most popular cat food brand in Poland.  It has a very consistent and coherent history of advertising in Poland since the early 1990s. Surely, the pet food brands are nice subject of advertising. It’s quite easy to evoke positive emotions in people by just showing a cute puppy or a pair of small kitten.  But Whiskas often employs non-standard media solutions to achieve it. For example, using two adjacent billboards to show the natural mobility of cats… to reach their favourite food.

A subtle sense of humour is also one of the ingredients that make many Whiskas’ adverts more appealing – just like in the below magazine lay-out with cats contemplating pop-art paintings

Headline: Cats know fine arts

A simple magazine advertising can attract much more attention if it’s intelligently spread out over two pages.

Headline page #1: It will stimulate your cat's senses / Headline page#2: Whiskas with delicious pies

A cat can be depicted in advertising in so many different and surprising ways.  A close-up of cat’s muzzle may hint at the type of Whiskas food which the cat has just eaten – like in a series of below cute ads.

Whiskas: in souce

Whiskas: jelly

Whiskas: cream

A package of Whiskas food can also inspire interesting advertising solutions – like this billboard with the outstanding 3D element that certainly draws more attention than a standard flat billboard.

New Whiskas Supreme with whole pieces of fish

The most recent outdoor campaign of Whiskas again employs non-standard 2-dimension billboards with the figure of the cat sitting upon the billboard and reaching for the new Whiskas’ liver pies…

Whiskas with liver pies

… as well as innovative citylight posters at bus shelters where the cat is made to look as if it broke the glass to reach the Whiskas delicacy.

Whiskas with liver pies

Advertising agency:  TBWA\ Warsaw, Poland

Die-Mate Corporation manufactures industrial semiconductor hardware, metal stampings, impact and extruded copper, aluminum and industrial coining metal, high-speed steels, nickel-based super alloys, and titanium-based super alloys for various OEM markets.

Having evolved from being a small manufacturer of stamping and small parts serving the Chicago-area, Die-Mate Corporation is now a global company serving customers in Canada, Mexico and China. Die-Mate chose to use Acceler8 Creative to refreshen up their 40-year old logo, and to help their brand image become more representative of the company they are today.

The new logo still maintains the essence of the original, but is enhanced with its stamped, metallic look – indicative of the copper and other metals used for their parts manufacturing. The multi-level dimensionality represents the depth of their capabilities and reinforces the company’s strength in their market as a global entity.

Visit Acceler8 Creative’s website.

Phone 847-909-4569

Email Acceler8 Creative.

I like practical branding advice for entrepreneurs so when I read this list, I knew I had to share.  I don’t quite agree with #9…and not quite sure about #1 either, but we’ll discuss that later.

1. The design of your logo really doesn’t matter.
2. Have a professional website.
3. Blogs are good.
4. Blogs are good, but they’re just one tool.
5. Prepare a one page corporate overview.
6. Participate in local business events.
7. Do what you say you’re going to do.
8. Stand for something.
9. Realize that you’re not in control of your brand.
10. Branding is as much about your people as anything else.

 Read the entire article here:  http://www.smallbusinessbranding.com/655/branding-tips-small-business/

 My only concern about tip#1 is that while a logo does not have to cost a fortune, it can’t just be a mess.  It can’t support your “anti-brand.”  It HAS to be consistent with your brand…which is why your image should not be completed until you know who you are fundamentally as a brand first.

 So, why don’t I agree with #9?  Because I am a firm believer that you do own your brand.  Yes, you create it and set it in the right direction.  Yes, it will grow and it is organic.  But your audience does not control your brand…you do.  You have to learn to manage their perception…AND you have to go beyond that to actually manage their expectations as well.  The best gift you can give your clients and your audience is the gift of expectation.  Let them know your brand CAN work.  Let them know your brand WANTS to work for them.  Finally let them know your brand WILL work for them.

 If you want to know more, contact us at www.limitlesse.com for more information about branding for entrepreneurs and small businesses.

Especially in today’s challenging economy, brand image plays a key role in building both awareness and customer loyalty.  Marketing firms like ours are asked to do more with less budget, and find more creative ways to build brands through multiple channels – especially social media.  But the key to our team’s success often lies beyond budgetary constraints to focus on the core values and relevancy of the brand itself.

How do we help our clients position themselves as a “gotta-have-it” brand?  There’s no single key to success, but one important element is building a library of images that can be used across all channels – including television, print campaigns, direct mail, tradeshows and key social networks.

The right photographs, graphics and illustrations have always been a key feature of any brand’s success.  In today’s economy, however, building a library of images for any brand has often been put aside as an “extra” that isn’t required at this time – and that’s a mistake that doesn’t need to be made.  Here are a few considerations you might think about when building a library of images for your business or product:

1. Make sure the images you choose support your brand’s positioning. If you’re not precisely clear on what the position is in your customer’s thoughts, take the time to find out before you buy or design any images for your campaign.  Once you’ve discovered how your brand is percieved, selecting the right photographs, or better yet – having them shot specificially for your needs, is a wise investment to build a library you can work with throughout the year.

2. Work constantly to build your library of images. Keeping your messaging fresh and interesting is key to staying relevant in this current economy.  Consider incorporating images that convey a bit of humor, hope and humanity.  Connecting with your customer’s sense of struggle to buy your product may just be the thing that motivates them to make the purchase.

3. Target your images to specific markets. Not all images will work for all audiences – and you need to consider what will resonate with every specific target market.  Don’t assume that one campaign will catch the attention of different market segments.

4. Invest in custom imagery – it’s worth it. So many clients assume that custom photography is going to be too expensive. Far from it – great photography can be acquired today at very reasonable prices from a pool of incredibly talented photographers.  And once you’ve secured the rights to your photos with your provider, you can rest assured that your using them won’t require additional licensing fees as with many stock photography sources.  More importantly, you’ll be sure your images are yours alone – and won’t be used by your competitor.

As b-to-b marketers make the case for spending money on custom photography, they should consider the history of the brand. It is important for all companies, large and small alike, to carve out the best imagery for their brand. It’s even more important that well-known brands rich in history, such as AT&T, Nike, or American Express, rely on custom versus stock imagery to create the right connections. These companies simply have more to lose by making a poor decision around photography.

5. Once you’ve built your library – keep it organized and secure. Be sure to create back-up copies of all your images, and catalog them in a way that helps you find what your looking for with key search words.

Certainly, every brand is struggling to maintain existing customers while connecting to new prospects.  With a bit of planning, you can build the kind of brand resonance to do both today – and one cost effective way to do that is by building and organizing your digital assets.

What have you done that’s been successful in this area?  What challenges have you faced in building your digital assets that could be a help to others trying to do the same?

I’m a little late to this one but I’d like to share some thoughts all the same.

Last March, Eric Clemons, who is a professor at the Wharton School, one of America’s top business schools, wrote a post on TechCrunch entitled “Why Advertising Is Failing On The Internet.” It caused quite a stir.  Professor Clemons’s key thesis is that online advertising will ultimately fail.  There will be less of it in future because in today’s interconnected world, people don’t want, need or trust ads.

While the piece’s title refers to online advertising, Professor Clemons goes further:

“… simple commercial messages, pushed through whatever medium, in order to reach a potential customer who is in the middle of doing something else, will fail.  It’s not that we no longer need information to initiate or to complete a transaction; rather, we will no longer need advertising to obtain that information.  We will see the information we want, when we want it, from sources that we trust more than paid advertising.  We will find out what we need to know, when we want to make a commercial transaction of any kind.”

Earlier in the post he asserts that “the ultimate failure of broadcast media advertising is likewise becoming clear.”  So he is not talking about the eventual demise of online advertising only, but of advertising in general.

There is much in Professor Clemons’s post with which I agree, as well as some excellent perspectives that really got me to stretch my mind.   Especially thought provoking is his description of paid search as “misdirection,” because it sends consumers to pages that are not necessarily the most valuable to them, but rather to the sites of companies that cough up the most money.  (For this reason he believes Google’s business model is probably unsustainable.) Anyone who knows this blog also knows that I not only recognize, but am inspired by the changes web 2.0 and social media are bringing to fundamentals of marketing, communications and brand-consumer relationships.

Still, I am not convinced by the good professor’s thesis that advertising’s role in the marketing mix — online or otherwise — is necessarily doomed to oblivion.  The reason is that Mr. Clemons has a very info-centric view of advertising, as you can see by the previous quote and in the definition of advertising below that he offers in his post (passages in bold are mine):

“Advertising is using sponsored commercial messages to build a brand and paying to locate these messages where they will be observed by potential customers performing other activities; these messages describe a product or service, its price or fundamental attributes, where it can be found, its explicit advantages, or the implicit benefits from its use.”

The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated

If you believe that the only role of advertising is to provide information about a product or brand, or for that matter, that a person’s rational evaluation of a particular brand’s attributes and benefits is the only basis for the choice of that brand over another,  than his thesis makes perfect sense.  But of course we all know that human beings are not especially rationale creatures, especially in their brand choices, and that advertising in many categories plays a role beyond simply conveying product benefits.  It may be out of style to say it, but the truth is that even in an online world where we have easy access to all sorts of information about brands, people are still influenced by other factors in their brand choices than a simple assessment of the benefits received relative to the price paid.

We all know that brands have dimensions beyond the attributes and benefits they offer.  Brands can represent an idea, connect us with a feeling, signify a particular attitude toward life, or express a value with which we personally identify.  Advertising plays a role in shaping those dimensions in our minds, and when the product attributes and quality of two brands are more or less equal, it can be primarily those emotional qualities that determine whether someone chooses one brand over another.

I doubt this will ever change.  It’s in the nature of who we are as human beings.  I remember reading somewhere that it is in our psyche to ascribe human characteristics to inanimate objects.  That’s what’s at the heart of our propensity to ascribe emotional and image dimensions to brands.  It’s through those associations that brands are one of the ways we define who we are to ourselves and to others.  And that’ something else I see no sign of changing.

This doesn’t deny that a brand’s image today is driven much more  than in the past by the thoughts, opinions and impressions that people can now share with thousands of others on line.  But even though online conversations play a bigger role than ever in shaping the collective perception of rational and emotional brand dimensions, this doesn’t mean that brand communications, created by marketers, no longer have any influence at all.  Brand perception is shaped by a myriad of sources — online conversations, ratings and reviews, personal experience, comments from others when we use the brand, our perception of others who use it, and — yes — brand communications.  Just because that last factor plays a smaller role than it did when we lived in a marketing world dominated by one-way messaging from marketer to consumer, it doesn’t mean it plays no role at all today or will play no role in future.

But even if you come from the information angle, I think there is still a role for advertising.  Just because I’m not actively looking for information about a particular product or category, doesn’t mean I wouldn’t want information to find its way to me.  I’m a Mac fan.  I’m happy to get “uninvited” messages about a new Mac product or an upgrade to my current one.  Or even to hear about a new flavor of my favorite tooth paste brand.  (I’m a flavored tooth paste junkie.)

One of Mr. Clemons’s arguments is that advertising will fail because people don’t feel it is a trustworthy source of information.  But in future, it’s quite possible that advertising will gain in credibility because marketers will be forced to provide a higher level of truthfulness and integrity in their messages and claims, precisely because in a web 2.o world, any inaccuracies or attempts at deception will be quickly exposed and shared mercilessly.

There seem to be a whole bunch of people making extremely black-and-white statements about the future of marketing and communications these days, about whether advertising as we know it (or knew it) will fail or succeed, evolve or be doomed to oblivion.  No one really  knows, but certainly a lot of people seem to act like they do.  Rather than channeling all this energy into debate on these questions, which is a bit of a tempest in teapot, we should focus more on exploring and sharing what’s working, what’s not working, and how old and new media potentially work together.  And then see what happens.

Does that mean that this is the last time I’ll ever raise my voice in the debate?

Probably not.

Fast food is so ubiquitous that advertisements for a thick, juicy Whopper or a crunchy Taco Supreme fade into the back of our minds like the wallpaper in our living rooms. The television commercials, giant billboards, and glossy restaurant fronts are certainly an ever present part of our environment, but how often do we actually notice them? They tend to blend into the background serenading us occasionally with whispers of melted cheese, crisp fries, and sugary-sweet sodas. But what if the mega-watt signs, star-pimping commercials, and shiny packaging disappeared? Would fast food retain its appeal in our minds? What would we do if we were presented with burgers and fries in their most natural state? How would we react to “naked” fast food?

That’s a question New York photographer Jon Feinstein wasn’t afraid to ask. His answer lies in a series of photos titled “Fast Food” where star menu items (think chicken nuggets, quarter-pounders, and personal pizzas) are ripped from their papery cocoons to bare their undressed parts to the world. The series is part art, part gross out reality, and, in turn, a huge commentary on the almighty power of branding and brand image. By exposing the naked parts of fast food, Feinstein erases our engineered perceptions of how “tasty and quick” cheap eats really are. Feinstein emphasizes the absence of the glitzy marketing and big-budget advertisements to show us the naked truth. And from the looks of the patties and wings pictured in these photos, we are not lovin’ McDonald’s anymore and Wendy’s doesn’t exactly look waaay better. This food is so unsexy that I daresay even the appearance of one of Carl’s Jr.’s burger babes couldn’t make it appetizing. For a full dose of naked fast food view Feinstein’s entire collection here and the next time you sink your teeth into a quarter-pounder with cheese thank the marketing and advertising team that “dressed up” your burger for you.

Sorry To Break It To You Sears, But Putting Brett Favre In Your Commercials Would Have Been A Better Idea 4 Years Ago

A Proven & Long Standing Method of Branding has been to align your brand with a celebrity. An icon whose image you aspire to emulate or whose image you’d like consumers to associate with your brand.

I could mention a few examples, but there are so many I wouldn’t know how to choose. Athletes, Hollywood Stars & Starlets, Models, Musicians…Even Lindsay Lohan in the crux of her fall from grace, found her way into a Fornarina Spot (Whatever Fornarina is).

Bottom line – Iconic, Celebrity Spokespeople can do wonders for selling you brand and your product. But choosing the right person to endorse your business – Identifying the persona to which your target audience will relate & figuring out who you want associated with your brand – Therein Lies the Difficulty…Apparently…

It doesn’t seem like such a tough thing to do. I didn’t think it was. But Sears has proved me wrong. This past Sunday – Amidst My 8 Hours of Football Fandom (Jets HUUUGE Win over the Pats & The Terrible Cowboys Loss to the Giants) I saw, several times, as Sears’ Electronic Blue Crew (terrible name, IMHO) attempts to sell a one, Mr. Brett Favre, Legendary, Record Holding QB, Formerly of the Green Bay Packers, Formerly of the New York Jets, And Now Of the Minnesota Vikings, a new TV.

For those who’ve been living in an igloo up in Siberia for the last few years, Brett Favre has retired and unretired from the NFL what feels like 2 dozen times in the last few years (hyperbole acknowledged). Yes, I get that they’re playing off this fact in the spot by having Mr. Favre act a bit wishy-washy on his decision to purchase the TV and ending with a “No Regrets” Line”

I think that line of thinking is topical, relevant, and creative. The only problem is that when I see Brett Favre, I no longer think of someone who I respect and admire. I see Indecisive, Fickle, Desperately-Trying-To-Stay Relevant Douchebaggery.

Even Vikings Fans don’t seem to like Favre These Days (Feel Free To Correct Me If I’m Wrong). The Man Is A Legend Who Has Spent The Last Couple Of Years Tarnishing His Own Reputation With Ongoing Capriciousness. These ARE NOT QUALITIES I WOULD WANT TO REPRESENT MY BRAND.

Maybe you disagree…maybe you see the sears commercial and say, “Oh Brett Favre Wants to Buy From Sears…Oh, The Sears Blue Appliance Crew is Helping Ol’ Fickle Here Make Up His Mind…I’ll Buy From Sears.

But For Me – I see Brett Favre, and it evokes frustration, disappointment, even a bit of anger & lost respect. Now, I associate these emotions with Sears…

So where do you stand? Bad Play Calling By Sears to Star(t) Favre? Or Will Consumers Look Past His New-found Personality Flaws To His Glory Days – Making This A Win For Sears?

Más de 200.000 llaves electrónicas y cuatro meses de trabajo han sido necesarios para la construcción de esta réplica de 40 metros cuadrados que en total pesa unos 1.800 kilogramos.

La británica InterContinental Group, la mayor cadena hotelera del mundo, celebrará así la renovación de 1.200 de los hoteles de su marca de más éxito, como parte de una iniciativa general que incluye la modernización de todos sus establecimientos y que requerirá una inversión cercana al millón de dólares.

“Es el mayor relanzamiento de la historia en el sector de la hostelería internacional, con la renovación de un total de 3.300 hoteles”, aseguró hoy en un comunicado Holiday Inn, que prevé haber completado el proceso al final de 2010.

El vicepresidente senior de Gestión de Marcas de Holiday Inn, Kevin Kowalski, explicó que el “Key Card Hotel” es para la cadena “una forma divertida de dar a conocer los cambios que están teniendo lugar en nuestros hoteles”.

“Además, es la única estructura de este tipo jamás promovida por una marca hotelera”, añadió Kowalski en un comunicado sobre este “hotel” levantado por Bryan Berg, quien ostenta el récord mundial de construcción de castillos de naipes.  Vean la nueva imagen de “Holiday Inn” en la siguiente imagen.

<< 17 września w Nowym Jorku, dla uczczenia otwarcia 1200. hotelu sieci Holiday Inn, zaprezentowano niezwykły “hotel” zbudowany w całości z kart hotelowych (elektronicznych kluczy). Konstrukcja powstała z 200.000 kart, ma powierzchnię 37 m² i waży 1800 kg. >>

fuente: Agencia EFE

I recently went shopping for pots for my garden at some local nurseries. What struck me was some of the major differences between three nurseries all within a short driving distance of each other.

All three were quite large, established for many years, widely known and advertise regularly on radio and in local newspapers.

In terms of price all three were fairly similar.  The difference for me was the way the products were presented.

At one, the large range of pots had moss growing on them, were dirty and many were chipped.  It was not hard to see why the price had been reduced. Sure the price was low but I would need to spend a lot of time cleaning them up before I could use them.

Another had such a small range that I could not find what I wanted.

The final nursery had a large range, was well laid out and all of the stock and display furniture was clean and well looked after.

It wasn’t a hard decision to make.  I chose to buy from the nursery that:

• Had a good range
• Was well laid out
• Product was clean and well maintained
• Product was not damaged.

Businesses spend a lot of time and money on advertising and marketing.  It takes a lot of work to establish a brand image and reputation.

All of that time and money will be wasted if what you deliver is not consistent with the image you are trying to establish through your marketing activities.

If the product or service you deliver does not meet your customer’s expectations, you have reduced the chances of making future sales to that customer.

Action point:
Take a quick walk around your shop, office or workplace and try to view it as if you were one of your customers. Ask yourself these questions:

1. If this was someone else’s store would the presentation and cleanliness assist or prevent me from making a purchase?
2. Does it look like I take pride in my business and look after my customers?
3. What are 3 small things I could do to present better to my customers (e.g. dust and remove cobwebs; remove damaged stock from display; clean up and organize my office etc.)

Paul Sweeney is a Chartered Accountant who specialises in providing business development and consulting advice to small and medium enterprises focusing on creating business value and unlocking a business profit improvement potential.

               นอกเหนือจากบรรจุภัณฑ์ที่มีหน้าที่หลักในการเก็บสินค้าแล้ว ยังมีหน้าที่อื่นๆ อีกหลายหลากของบรรจุภัณฑ์ซึ่ง ณ เวลานี้หน้าที่ที่สำคัญที่สุดคงหนีไม่พ้น การใช้บรรจุภัณฑ์ในการสร้างภาพลักษณ์ หรือ Brand Image ให้กับบริษัทนั้นเองครับ สินค้าที่มีการต่อสู้กันอย่างมากในเรื่องบรรจุภัณฑ์คงหนีไม่พ้นกลุ่มสินค้า FMCG(Fast Moving Consumer Goods) ที่มีการแข่งขันกันอย่างสูง เพื่อให้บรรจุภัณฑ์ของบริษัทมีความโดดเด่นดึงผู้ซื้ออย่างเราๆ ให้หันมามอง (จากงาน วิจัยหลายแห่งพบว่า บรรจุภัณฑ์ในซูเปอร์มาร์เก็ตมีเวลาน้อยกว่า 3 วินาทีในการดึงความสนใจจากผู้บริโภค)

               งานออกแบบบรรจุภัณฑ์ในปัจจุบันได้มีการพัฒนาทั้งด้านรูปแบบ วัสดุ รวมทั้งกรรมวิธีการผลิต ซึ่งนอกจากจะทำหน้าที่หลังในการรักษาสินค้าภายใน ได้อย่างดียิ่งแล้ว ยังได้ทำหน้าที่หลักในการสร้างแบรนด์เนมให้กับผู้ผลิตได้เป็นอย่างดี บทความจาก Design Council จากประเทศอังกฤษในเรื่องบรรจุภัณฑ์ ได้กล่าวไว้อย่างน่าสนใจว่า

               งานออกแบบบรรจุภํณฑ์ที่ดีนั้นมิใช่มีหน้าที่จบลงหลังจากผู้ซื้อหยิบสินค้าออกจากชั้นวางขาย แต่ Life Cycleของบรรจุภัณฑ์ที่สมบูรณ์เริ่มต้นด้วยหน้าที่หลักในการห่อหุ้มสินค้า จากนั้นมันก็ได้เดินทาง ไปทำหน้าที่ Salesmanบนชั้นวางสินค้า ตามมาด้วยการใช้บรรจุภัณฑ์ของผู้บริโภคหลังจากซื้อกลับบ้าน และท้ายสุดที่ขาดไม่ได้ก็คือการนำกลับมาใช้อีกครั้งในรูปแบบ Recycle-After use

               หน้าที่หลักและสำคัญของการออกแบบบรรจุภัณฑ์ก็คือการทำให้บรรจุภัณฑ์ของเรา นั้นมีความเด่น และดึงดูดความสนใจ (Visual Equities) ซึ่งเป็นเครื่องมืออย่างหนึ่งที่กลุ่มนักออกแบบมักนำมาใช้ในการออกแบบบรรจุภัณฑ์เพื่อให้บรรจุภัณฑ์ของเราโดดเด่น แปลกใหม่ จดจำได้ ซึ่งเคล็ดลับของการสร้าง Visual Equities มีดังนี้นะครับ

               เริ่มจากรูปทรง (Shape) การสร้างรูปทรงที่สอดคล้องกับสินค้าจะมีส่วนสำคัญที่ช่วย ผลักดันให้คุณค่าของสินค้าภายในดีขึ้น ตัวอย่างเช่นขวดน้ำแร่ Perrier ที่ออกแบบโดยใช้รูปทรง ของหยดน้ำมาเป็นรูปแบบ ของขวด ซึ่งถือเป็นการออกแบบที่สอดคล้องกับผลิตภัณฑ์ ที่บ่งบอกถึงน้ำแร่ที่บรรจุอยู่ภายใน

นอกจากรูปทรงแล้ว อีกสิ่งที่จำเป็นต้องนำมาใช้ก็คือ สี (Color) โดยสีนั้นจะมีส่วนสำคัญอย่างสูงในการทำให้ผู้บริโภคจดจำแบรนด์เนมของเราได้เป็นอย่างดี เช่น สีเหลืองได้อยู่คู่กับแบรนด์เนมของชาลิปตันมานานแสนนาน

ถัดจากสีก็เห็นจะเป็น เรื่องของตัวแทนสินค้าหรือ Mascot ที่ปรากฎบนบรรจุภัณฑ์ ซึ่งมีส่วนช่วยอธิบายภาพลักษณ์ของสินค้าแทนคำพูด เช่นภาพเสือบนกล่อง Kellogg’s Cornflake หรือจะเป็นแบรนด์ใหม่ๆอย่างเถ้าแก่น้อย ซึ่งสามารถดึงดูดความสนใจของเด็กและกลุ่มเป้าหมายได้เป็นอย่างดี

ท้ายที่สุดก็จะเป็นรูปแบบของตัวอักษร โลโก้สินค้า ชื่อสินค้า ฯลฯ ที่ปรากฎบนบรรจุภัณฑ์ รูปแบบตัวอักษรนั้นนอกจากจะทำหน้าที่ในการให้รายละเอียดของสินค้าแล้ว ยังทำหน้าที่เสริมสร้างภาพลักษณ์ทางอ้อมได้ด้วย

               ทั้งหมดนี้เป็นเคล็ดที่ไม่ลับของ Visual Equities บนบรรจุภัณฑ์ เป็นข้อมูลพื้นฐานหลักที่ผู้ประกอบการควรจะเรียนรู้ลองหันกลับไปดูและพิจารณาบรรจุภัณฑ์ของท่านที่มีอยู่นะครับ ว่าองค์ประกอบที่ปรากฎช่วยส่งเสริมแบรนด์ และสินค้านั้นเป็นเพียงแค่ไม้ประดับที่ไม่มีความหมายรึเปล่า…?

I started this post by writing about the “fake” World Wildlife Fund Ad “Tsunami” controversy but then I came across this definitive commentary in the New York Times (warning: if you are a human being the ad itself is very disturbing, especially today.)

It’s clear that no more needs to be said so this is a short post. But I felt I needed to pass along to remind anyone who isn’t aware of this mess what happens when the sin of creative award envy is not kept in check. 

For the record, I agree with “Joe” and his comments on the article. What’s getting lost in the controversy is Joe’s point that not only is this ad highly offensive but it also makes no sense. I’ll just add that there’s this old movie with Sidney Greenstreet and Clark Gable called the “Hucksters” in which Sidney Greenstreet spits a big glob on a huge and highly polished conference room table and says something like: “This may disgust you but you will never forget it”. I guess that’s where the creative team learned how to create memorable ads.

The deal pairs a comic book publisher that just recently began to produce its own movies with one of the largest international media companies in the world.

“This is perfect from a strategic perspective,” Disney Chief Executive Robert Iger told CNNMoney.com. “This treasure trove of over 5,000 characters offers Disney the ability to do what we do best.”

On a conference call with investors, Iger said the deal will allow Disney to sell Marvel’s vast array of characters and properties across different media platforms and in many more markets. For instance, Iger said that Disney’s Pixar animation unit was excited about the opportunities that a Marvel acquisition could yield.

“Spider-Man will appear in ‘A Bug’s Life’ sequel,” joked Barclays Capital analyst Anthony DiClemente.

The deal would give Disney some content that appeals more to boys, a market it has been looking to develop, Iger said. Disney XD, a television station and video game unit, already had a deal with Marvel to use some of the comic book company’s action heroes in its content.

Iron Man, Wolverine, Hulk, Thor i cała reszta bohaterów Marvela przeprowadzi się już wkrótce do nowego domu. Dziś The Walt Disney Company ogłosiło, iż zakupiło Marvel Entertainment, Inc. Za niebagatelną kwotę 4 miliardów dolarów.

Zgodnie z umową udziałowcy Marvela otrzymają po 30 dolarów i 0,745 akcji Disney Company za każdą akcję Marvel Entertainment, Inc. Disney przejmie prawa do ponad 5000 bohaterów komiksowych Marvela. Będzie również dystrybutorem filmów realizowanych przez Marvel Studios i Marvel Animation. Jednak nie od razu. Paramount Pictures ma umowę z Marvelem na dystrybucję “Iron Mana 2“, “Iron Mana 3“,“Thora“, “The Avengers” i “Captain America“.

Chociaż Disney przejmie prawa do wszystkich postaci komiksowych, na razie nie będzie posiadać praw do wszystkich marvelowskich postaci w filmie. Wciąż obowiązują bowiem wcześniejsze umowy według których Spiderman należy do Sony Pictures, a Wolverine do 20th Century Fox. Kiedy umowy te wygasną, wtedy prawa przejmie Disney.

Aby zakup doszedł do skutku, umowa musi najpierw zostać zaakceptowana przez akcjonariuszy Marvel Entertainment, Inc.

To kolejna ważna umowa podpisana w ostatnim czasie przez Walt Disney Company. Wcześniej koncern doszedł do porozumienia z DreamWorks na dystrybucję ich filmów. Do umowy doszło po rozstaniu DreamWorks z Paramount Pictures.

fuente: http://www.filmweb.pl/