Brand Update : Sparx adds Akshay Kumar to its Life

Sparx, the shoe brand from Relaxo has replaced the brand ambassador Neil Nitin Mukesh with the Action Superstar Akshay Kumar. 

Relaxo Footwear Ltd , the owner of the brand is on a roll these days. The company is seriously in to celebrity driven branding and has roped in stars like Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif to endorse its brands Hawaii and Flite respectively.

For the sports shoe brand Sparx, the brand chose to rope in a new brand ambassador - Akshay Kumar. The brand is running its print campaign now featuring the new celebrity.

As far as the brand's personality and positioning is concerned, Akshhay fits the bill perfectly. Akshay is the most atheletic Bollywood star and is the ideal pick for a sports brand. How ever, the celebrity is highly stereotyped by the ad campaigns and his stunt-oriented ad campaigns have lost the wow factor due to this stereotyping . Brands have failed to exploit his personal characteristics and is lured by the obvious athleticism and martial art stunts.

Sparx also is using the star in the same manner. This also-ran theme does not do any good to the brand except for some amount of attention and a possible recall. Sparx could have gained a lot if it tried to exploit Akshay Kumar's personal qualities like confidence, self-made, hardworking nature etc rather than just those flying kicks.

Akshay would definitely help the brand gain more eyeballs nationally but the way the ad campaigns are executed will define the brand's position in comparison with competitors. With global brands like Nike , Reebok etc have lowered their price points to cover the mass market, Sparx should try to make use of its celebrities much more powerfully rather than just gain brand awareness.

Related Brand

Sparx

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Google Nexus - Move over Kindle

Blogging about technology hasn't really been my thing but I have to admit... if there's one thing I can't enough of, it's technology.  As a Google lover and hater, I couldn't help but notice their latest edition to the Google empire, the Google Nexus.

Maybe it's just me, but this looks like a direct competitor to the Kindle Fire which launched late last year and was heavily promoted this year at the same exact price point.  

Now that data carriers like Verizon and ATT are offering shared data plans, the prospect of individuals upgrading from smart phones seems pretty realistic - especially at a $199 price.

Personally I have more than a dozen different devices from a smartphones, to tablets, to laptops.  So, for me, I don't need yet another device.  However, for those who have been holding off for a while, picking up a Google Nexus, Fire, or Kindle are within reach.  I would definitely like to see less competition and fewer devices in the market because the choices available today have become a bit overwhelming.  

For Google enthusiasts, Android phones and Nexus tablets make the most sense.  For Apple fans, iphones, ipads, and other Apple devices rule the day.  At some point, I believe there will be a merging of technology and we'll move to one type of devices versus our current offering which includes everything from a 3" display models to 10" displays.  None-the-less, each day, more and more of these devices hit the market.

What's your take on all of these devices that essentially do the same thing?  What type of device do you currently use?  Would you buy another?

As consumers we only have so much money and so much time.  Although my curiosity may get the best of me, I don't know that buying a Google Nexus device is going to change my life much.  I think I'd rather spend the money on a good meal and a nice bottle of wine.

How to choose the best Email Service Provider for your business?

Email is one of the most effective tools that a business can use to promote their product or service. With this in mind, it's important that your email service provider, or ESP, is fit for the job you want it to do. There are so many different providers on the Internet that it's hard to know which one is right for your business.

The biggest factor to consider is whether you choose a provider with a public or private IP address. An IP address is a unique code that identifies where data is sent from. If your ESP shares an IP address with a number of users, one of those users could send mail that's seen as spam and have the IP address 'blacklisted'.

This means that any emails you send from your shared IP address could be blocked by spam filters because of someone else's actions and not get delivered to your potential customer. Be in control of your business with a private IP address only you have access to.

Next, look how much storage space the email service provider is giving you. Some will limit the amount of messages you send out a month and the amount of data you receive in your inbox. You need to make sure you won't ever reach your limit or you won't be able to contact your customers. Even worse, you might not be able to receive an email from a customer if your inbox is full. Also think about your options if your business expands. Does the ESP you are with offer upgrades to fit your new needs?

In email marketing, it's good to know how effective your messages are in making a reader act on what they've read. Choose an ESP that offers statistics to measure the success of your emails and consider any improvements. Your ESP could gather statistics on how many people have opened your email and also how many have clicked on the hyperlinks within that email.

A good bonus feature to look out for is if your ESP allows you to use functions in their emails. Functions allow you to add data personal to your customer from your database into the email. For example, "Hey [user name], check our summer offers", could grab your user's attention as reassure them that it isn't a spam message.

Before you agree to any contract with your ESP, make sure they have a support service that can help you when you have any problems. Make sure you can always be in contact with your customers by choosing an email service provider with a number of different ways to get support. Look for online and phone support as a minimum requirement when choosing your ESP.

Finally see if your email service provider will give you a free trial. With all of these things mentioned above, it's easier to see if the service provider suits your business by giving them a try. 

A Sad Tale: Firing Our PR Firm

Not too long ago a company entered Beta and realized they needed help in “spreading the word”. The goal was to help generate publicity and placements during the Beta period.  The company, LogMyCalls, hired a PR firm to help with both strategy and execution of an aggressive public relations campaign.

The most pressing need was to ramp up coverage during the Beta period in preparation for their hard launch in May 2012. The company researched a variety of PR firms and eventually settled on one that said they track PR with advertising-style metrics. This is appealing for any business managing their budget and seeking a positive return on investment.  

The PR agency came highly recommended and seemed like a sure thing. They assured the company that their strategy was centered around hard metrics, data and results. According to McKay Allen from ContactPoint, the parent company, “We were excited about working with them and so we signed the contract.”

5 months later we fired them.

The public relations firm wasn’t doing anything!  In 5 months they generated zero placements and a few analyst reviews. They were terrible. To save their reputation I won't reveal their name but will reinforce the message.  Just because you hire a vendor, don’t assume they will exceed or even meet your expectations.

Why Did We Fire Them?

We were getting progressively more fed up as weeks without results turned into months without results. Nothing was happening.

Then one day a member of our marketing team decided to take matters into his own hands and support our PR effort. He just started calling editors of major marketing publications and blogs. He asked them if we could produce guest content about marketing topics for them, if he could write articles about LogMyCallsand if they would be interesting in reviewing LogMyCalls.

He called 4 that first day. They all said yes.

Our PR firm either hadn't contacted these people or their pitch sucked.

This was the straw that broke the camel's back (killed the camel actually). We realized that it was silly to continue to pay a PR firm when we could--evidently--do the job significantly better. So we fired them.

Honestly, that was the best thing we ever did.

Since we fired them we've had an average of 4 hard placements a week. That's almost one a day. We write guest blogs. We send out press releases. We do everything and anything we can to generate publicity and buzz.  Now we are generating 4 placements a week that mention LogMyCalls. (We're not counting press release republications and article sharing sites, of course). And so far, it is working. We've had investors contact us, clients reach out, leads generate and deals close, all because of our new and internal PR strategy.

Why Didn’t We Fire Them Sooner?

We were dumb.

They kept saying that we were 'right on the edge' of getting a bunch of placements. 'Next week is the week.’ This continued for months. Next week never was the week. Instead of getting placements we just wasted money and time.

Our PR firm was terrible. No, they were worse than terrible, awful.  If you feel that your PR firm is not producing the results they’re supposed to then fire them – don’t wait.

Conclusion

When we talk about our experience with this PR firm that shall remain nameless, we refer to it as our 'PR firm debacle.' Debacle is a kind word. There are other words that describe our experience more accurately but should not appear on a reputable website like this one.

PR firms aren't bad. They, generally, do a great job. However, you have to seriously consider whether or not you have someone internally who can do a better job. We did. So, eventually we fired our PR firm.

Logmycalls is owned by ContactPoint, focused on revolutionizing the way companies listen and respond to their customers. They deliver the equivalent of bio-feedback for customer interactions, which allows companies to adapt to customer needs with unparalleled speed and agility.

The Politics of Marketing

With the recent announcement about Mitt Romney's running mate, I couldn't help but think about the marketing that both sides (Democrat and Republican) are going to put forth in the next few months.  In fact, every four years culminates in the best marketing strategy and marketing programs the world has ever known.

I like to watch the presidential election, not through political glasses, but marketing glasses. What I find so intriguing is that each campaign begins with a well developed strategy and a delicate coordination of marketing resources across various media.  This includes websites, television, public relations, social media, direct marketing, and much, much more.

What's new with political marketing?
A reporter recently asked me what we could expect from this year's marketing muscle... what's going to be new?  Well, the answer is simple - social.  In fact, I've already seen this start to play out.  Just this morning I saw a great Instagram photo on my Facebook timeline of Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney getting off their tour bus. This presidential race has already been integrated into the fabric of our daily lives!  

In addition to photos and updates (tweets) from political parties, people in my Google + circles are starting to post images, updates, and video that share candidate's opposing points of view.  In the past, consumers could choose to just not watch TV or read the paper - and that was enough to shelter them from all this fanfare. Today, there's no escaping it.

Marketing strategy
What's interesting from my point of view is that one thing, which never changes, is having a sound marketing strategy.  It all starts with a clear understanding of the desired outcomes and key messaging that resonates with a target audience while helping to differentiate the brand.

Keep a close watch on what defines each political candidate's brand over the next few month.  I think the differences will be clear and reinforced again and again through multiple touch points.  Regardless of which candidate you support, in just a few short weeks from now, you'll probably be able to recite their key message points verbatim - thanks to radio, tv, social, web, and emarketing.

Use this opportunity to learn from some of the best minds in marketing.  Watch the political race unfold and keep tabs on messaging and medium.  This is going to be an exciting time for anyone involved with marketing!

Marketing Funda : Marketing and Osborne Effect

Osborne effect is a phenomenon where the sales of an existing product gets affected because of the announcement of future products. Osborne Effect's story goes like this :- During 1980s, Osborne computer corporation was a highly successful computer manufacturing firm which marketed the personal computer named Osborne 1. The chairman of the corporation Mr. Adam Osborne during 1983 announced several future models promising consumers highly efficient and fast machines. When he made the announcements, none of these machines were in the pipeline.

The announcement prompted a heavy cancellation of orders of Osborne 1 because consumers and trade expected the arrival of advanced machines. This event have virtually driven the company to bankruptcy ( although many other reasons also contributed to it ). Source : Wiki , Report

The same effect is now played out in the case of Nokia- a brand which is struggling at the onset of competition from Apple and affordable Chinese brands. Nokia in 2011 announced with much fanfare, its tie-up with Microsoft for the mobile O/S. Nokia announced the shift in the OS from Symbian to Windows much before the actual shift. The first shock for existing Symbian users who began to ditch the existing Symbian models in favor of other platforms like Android. 

Then came the much touted Nokia Lumia with the hyped Windows Mango ( 7.5). The well designed Lumia range was expected to lift the fortunes of Nokia in the smartphone category. The company also launched an affordable version of Lumia in the Indian market thus effectively covering various price-points. 

Then came the announcement of Microsoft about the Windows 8 and the shock that the existing Lumia phones will not be upgradable to the new much talked about Windows 8 platform. No wonder, many of the prospective Lumia buyers will be postponing their purchase.

The trouble is not with Nokia alone. Even Android based mobiles also are facing the issue of frequent upgrades and the existing phones not being able to be upgraded to the new platforms. Google has rapidly introduced upgrades from Froyo to Gingerbread to Icecream Sandwich within a short span of time much to the confusion of  consumers and marketers.

One needs to learn from Apple on how to handle this rapid changes in the technology and specifications. Apple has an advantage since it is tightly controlling the eco-system. It makes the entire upgradation process highly secretive and this prevents any shocks on the existing inventory and product line. 

Android based phone marketers have a huge issue since the platform upgrades are beyond their control. So how can a marketer prevent Osborne effect when they do not have control over the platform changes.? The million dollar question is whether the consumer buy a Ginger Bread Android Phone even after the launch of Icecream Sandwich ? 

The only way is to build a powerful brand having value more than the platform. So till now, the Android makers were riding the equity of Google and Android ingredient brand. But to insulate the after-effects of platform changes, one needs to build their own brand showing more value so that consumers doesn't ditch the brand because of future version announcements. 

Another method is to customize the product so that consumers are lured by the customization rather than the platform itself . Amazon has tried to do that in the Kindle Fire where  the version is customized and hence the user experience is owned by Amazon rather than Android.

Brands can also insulate itself by building a comprehensive package of features and attributes rather than just depending on one single platform.

In the new fight over the platforms, the key to success is the user experience. Firms are now forgetting this and running after platforms. Although platforms are important, it will be the unique user experience that will be luring your customers to your product

5 Marketing Strategies for Effective B2B Marketing

Event marketing is the best way to promote your company, launch a new product, and attract new customers. But just like any other marketing campaign, you need to make sure you have all the pieces of the puzzle. Fit them all together, and you have a completed image that screams success.

The key to any successful B2B marketing campaign is to get into your customers’ mind. What are they looking for, and what are their deal breakers? Essentially, you need to know what makes them tick. Marketing at a trade show is no different. Here we look at five strategies for effective B2B marketing:

Pre-Show Marketing

Pre-show marketing is an essential part of any strategy. Having a well designed and memorable exhibition stand is important of course. But if you’ve not done the ground work, how will your clients and customers know where to find you? How will they know if you’re there?

1. Social Media

Free and easy to use, social media is one of the best marketing strategies to implement before attending a trade show. And with so many sites available, the possibilities are endless. Firstly, with Twitter you can use a particular hashtag to find people who are attending a join in conversations. Holding a twitter chat is also a great way to network before the event, and build a buzz around your brand.

You should also join Facebook and LinkedIn groups, relevant to your niche and the event. Promote the show, as well as your attendance. A great way to add some mystique and allure to your brand is to upload a YouTube teaser advert. Make sure it is interesting. Make people want to visit your stand to see what you’re launching or promoting.

2. Direct Mail

As well as reaching out to prospective clients, don’t forget about past and present ones. Open up your mailing list and send postcards or flyers to the people who have already brought from you. In B2B marketing, building relationships is vital. By keeping these connections alive, you can often secure a repeat purchase.

Make sure your mail shots are personalized and feature your corporate branding. You don’t want your marketing efforts mistaken for spam or junk mail. If your budget doesn't stretch to direct mail, implementing an email marketing strategy is just as effective. Some companies may wish to do both.

On-the-Day Marketing

On the day of the trade show, you still need to be in marketing mode. Just because you've attracted a crowd, you shouldn't feel like your work is done. By integrating the following marketing strategies, you can boost your B2B trade show success:

3. Face-to-Face Networking

We’ve mentioned the importance of relationships in B2B marketing, and this is where you need to put them into action. Take the time to visit other stands at the exhibition, and hand out business cards. If you’re interested in others, they will reciprocate and see what you have to offer.

Make sure you have a private meeting space to discuss sales with your customers. They’ll appreciate the chance to talk away from the busy event, and are much likely to sign on the dotted line. Have in place everything they may need, to make the decision quick and easy for them.

4. Freebies and Giveaways

B2B companies are always looking for something that makes day-to-day proceeding quicker and easier. One of the best ways to show customers what you can do for them is to give it away for free. Have you written an eBook or whitepaper? Giving visitors access to them for free at your stand is a great marketing technique.

You should also consider offering a free service for people who attended your stand. Whether this is a free audit or something similar; businesses will appreciate the gesture. If you can show what you can do, and give them something for nothing, customers are much more likely to pay for further services.

Post-Show Marketing

The final part of your B2B marketing strategy needs to take place post show. Converting leads to sales is perhaps the most important part of your marketing campaign. But are you following up in the best ways?

5. Following Up

Integrate all of the methods you have previously implemented to seal the deal with ‘on-the-fence’ consumers. The key though, is timing. Don’t chase up the very next day as email inboxes will be full and messages will get lost. Don’t leave it too long, otherwise you’ll be forgotten.

Extend the offer on your giveaways to entice fellow businesses to check you out online, and make them want to work with you. By following up enquires post event, you can increase your chances of making a sale. Not everyone will buy on the day, but this is a great marketing strategy to encourage them to work with you in the end.

Special thanks to RB Design & Displays for today's guest post.  RB knows that the key to trade show success is a great exhibition stand. Visit the website to find out more about custom built exhibition stands for your business.

Google Webmaster Tools

As someone who's been building and working on websites for more than a decade, I continue to focus on the basics.  In fact, what I consider the basics are still not being used by a large majority of webmaster or individuals who are running online businesses.

Google Webmaster Tools doesn't cost anything yet provides the most valuable information that anyone could ever want to their website or blog.  I recently accessed my account to find a number of messages from Google that indicated various aspects of my web pages that needed to be addressed.

Insider access
To be successful online, you need to analyze and track your website from a number of different perspectives.  Using tools like Google Webmaster Tools is essential for gaining the type of insight required for excelling online.  You see, having Google tell you how they are viewing your website is the most powerful data you can have.  But you have to act on it...

In fact, this weekend I spent a number of hours implementing changes on my site based on the recommendations included in Google Webmaster Tools.  So much so that my fingers hurt!  However, I know without  doubt that implementing changes to resolve so called "errors" will give me lots of points towards optimization the next time that Google crawls my site.

Although many website owners understand the value of implementing  or updating their site based on Google recommendations, it never ceases to amaze me how many don't make the necessary changes to improve their rankings.

Since the Penguin update and even the previous update (Panda), responding to Google's algorithmic changes only continue to grow in importance.  Using the tools provided by Google is a great starting place.

After you've made updates
I'm going to assume that after reading this post you're going to verify your site and review the analysis via Google Webmaster Tools.  Once you do so and make the necessary changes to your site - this could take a number of days, give Google the chance to crawl your site again and update your stats.  Fix any remaining errors and build from there.

Google Webmaster Tools isn't the only game in town.  Once you've made all of the necessary changes, I recommend that you focus on W3C errors and speeding up your website - two essential optimization factors.  Once you've fixed all of the on-page factors, it's time to start your link building campaign.

The concept of link building requires a completely separate post.  However, I will mention that link building must be done steadily over time and you should focus on quantity over quality.  Since the Penguin update it really is important to focus on your anchor text profile and link sources.  

If you haven't accessed Google Webmaster Tools, I encourage you to do so now.  For those who already have an account, check it frequently to see how Google is viewing your website. 

ONN Inners : Keep It On

Brand : ONN
Company : Lux Hosiery

Brand Analysis Count : #514

ONN is the new brand of premium innerwears from the house of Lux Hosiery. The brand is targeting its share in the high growth premium men's innerwear segment. Indian innerwear market is worth around Rs 13000-14000 crores. The market is equally split among organized and unorganized players. The men's inner-wear segment is worth around Rs 5800 crore. According to reports, the premium segment in this market is growing at a scorching pace of around 40%.

It is in this context that the launch of ONN gains significance. Lux Hosiery has been a dominant player in the innerwear market with its Lux brand of inners. Lux gained prominence in the affordable segment with its celebrity endorsements and the famous slogan " Ye ander ki baat hain ". Lux had the brands Lux Cozi and GenX with endorsers like Sunny Deol and Neil Nithin Mukesh.

ONN has gained lot of eyeballs by roping in Shahrukh Khan as its brand ambassador. The brand is running its campaigns across the media

Watch the TVC : ONN with Shahrukh

Just like most of the innerwear brands except Jockey, ONN also is following the celebrity centered brand building route. The saddest part is that there is nothing more to the branding strategy other than the celebrity. 

Here also there is Shahrukh Khan and the brand ONN. The brand owners failed to convey any meaningful message for this brand. For a low priced inner-wear brand, creating brand awareness is the key to success. But for a premium brand, it needs to justify the premium and a mere celebrity endorsement may not work. The task becomes more important when there are international brands like Jockey upping its noise and most of the readymade brands like Vanheusen , Louis Philleppe etc have their own innerwears. 

The quality of the TVC is  much below standards interms of theme and execution.The ad doesn't suit the premium segment but will be ideal for a low priced segment. By choosing a hyperbole around the movie Don and with a stereotyped characters has virtually downgraded the positioning to a lower level brand. The brand's site says that ONN wants to fight Jockey but with this kind of creatives, the dream will be a distant one.

ONN needs to focus more on creating a credible differentiator or atleast position itself on the basis of some important attributes like Fit, Design, Range, Comfort etc. Just having an expensive brand ambassador will not work well in the segment it is in.