Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Branding Personality
I say "Great branding is about having a personality". Question is, what's yours?
Friday, March 27, 2009
KL Design week
This weekend I'll be attending the KL design week. I'm excited and yet at the same time wondering if this will prove to be a thought provoking event or a disappointing one.
On my last trip to the Singapore design week 2 years ago the turn out for that event was also mediocre.
I wonder indeed how well this event with fair. Well, its off to the design week conference and I'll let you know how well the event went.
On my last trip to the Singapore design week 2 years ago the turn out for that event was also mediocre.
I wonder indeed how well this event with fair. Well, its off to the design week conference and I'll let you know how well the event went.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Is FujiFilm on the Right Track?
I read a very interesting article this morning on the business times site, It mentioned that Fujifilm (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd intends to sell 80,000 units of digital cameras this year.
In the article, the Senior Executive Director of Fujifilm Mr. Paul Ho mentioned this quote
"We believe that quality products matched by a strong advertising campaign will help us to achieve our sales target." (article)
Its my personal opinion this statement is inaccurate. First of, quality products. Everybody expects a product to be of quality before they would even consider buying it. So that statement of having quality products is not a strong differentiating statement. Having a strong advertising campaign would probably buy you some buzz time but in my opinion, the payback from the ad campaign might not translate to sales.
Its true that advertising is an integral part of any marketing process but herein lies the difference, it is an integral part and not the whole process.
My belief is that Fujifilm suffers from a very basic branding problem, being its name itself... FujiFilm. Fujifilm has built up its name in the consumers mind as being a camera film producing company. No one today uses films anymore in their cameras and Fujifilm has not been trying to rebrand themselves by moving away from the perception they are great at producing films to being great at producing digital cameras. So its obvious why this is a problem.
I believe that if Fujifilm does not address this problem, no matter how much advertising they spend its not going to help them gain market share.
But on the bright side, its good to know that with everyone else cutting back on advertising & promotion, Fujifilm intends to spend. That is a bold marketing move so it just remains to be seen whether or not they are spending their marketing budget correctly and on the right medium. An interesting case to follow...
In the article, the Senior Executive Director of Fujifilm Mr. Paul Ho mentioned this quote
"We believe that quality products matched by a strong advertising campaign will help us to achieve our sales target." (article)
Its my personal opinion this statement is inaccurate. First of, quality products. Everybody expects a product to be of quality before they would even consider buying it. So that statement of having quality products is not a strong differentiating statement. Having a strong advertising campaign would probably buy you some buzz time but in my opinion, the payback from the ad campaign might not translate to sales.
Its true that advertising is an integral part of any marketing process but herein lies the difference, it is an integral part and not the whole process.
My belief is that Fujifilm suffers from a very basic branding problem, being its name itself... FujiFilm. Fujifilm has built up its name in the consumers mind as being a camera film producing company. No one today uses films anymore in their cameras and Fujifilm has not been trying to rebrand themselves by moving away from the perception they are great at producing films to being great at producing digital cameras. So its obvious why this is a problem.
I believe that if Fujifilm does not address this problem, no matter how much advertising they spend its not going to help them gain market share.
But on the bright side, its good to know that with everyone else cutting back on advertising & promotion, Fujifilm intends to spend. That is a bold marketing move so it just remains to be seen whether or not they are spending their marketing budget correctly and on the right medium. An interesting case to follow...
Friday, March 13, 2009
Monday, February 2, 2009
Email Marketing Campaign
For all my Malaysian Readers... First of I'd like to mention... GONG XI FA CAI or a Happy Chinese New Year! Yes, its the celebration of a new lunar year for us Chinese in Malaysia... Just fresh of the heels of my break I would like to bring you a few thoughts on email marketing campaigns. First, this posting was based on Seth Godin's recent posting on his blog. You can find the whole posting here.
There are a few do's and don't when it comes to email marketing:
Do:
1) Ask permission - Consumers will hit that delete / unsubscribe button faster than you can shout stop if the sense that they are being sold to. Get their permission to communicate with them before you send them your newsletter or HTML Ad.
2) Be Personal - There is a saying, if you can't take the time to be personal, I won't take the time to read your newsletter or mail. Don't cc everyone your newsletter or blog insert. Take the time to address each one of them personally. I know it takes time... but such consistency which ultimately lead to trust.
3) Consumer Rights - Yes, if you believe that you have a right to email all the addresses in your contact list, You're Right! But remember, your consumers also have rights... the RIght to IGNORE you and HIT DELETE when they receive you mail.
Don't:
1) Mass Mail - Dn't mass mail your newsletters out... Nothing stinks worst than companies that mass mail their newsletters out... you're not speaking to a company. Well technically, yes you are but behind each company receiving your mail is an individual and trust me that person is busy enough already with his/her own life. There probably not interested in your newsletter what's worst and mass mailed newsletter.
2) Mailers list - you have your own contact list, do not ever sell this list or rent this list out to anyone or any company. Once your consumers find out that you sold their contact details away, whatever trust you have gained with your consumers will be lost... FOREVER!
Taking the time to build an e-mail marketing campaign that works and is effective takes time and of course patience. An honest SPAM campaign may seem like a great idea in the short run but will hurt your brand in the long term. Till next time, market effectively & responsibly.
There are a few do's and don't when it comes to email marketing:
Do:
1) Ask permission - Consumers will hit that delete / unsubscribe button faster than you can shout stop if the sense that they are being sold to. Get their permission to communicate with them before you send them your newsletter or HTML Ad.
2) Be Personal - There is a saying, if you can't take the time to be personal, I won't take the time to read your newsletter or mail. Don't cc everyone your newsletter or blog insert. Take the time to address each one of them personally. I know it takes time... but such consistency which ultimately lead to trust.
3) Consumer Rights - Yes, if you believe that you have a right to email all the addresses in your contact list, You're Right! But remember, your consumers also have rights... the RIght to IGNORE you and HIT DELETE when they receive you mail.
Don't:
1) Mass Mail - Dn't mass mail your newsletters out... Nothing stinks worst than companies that mass mail their newsletters out... you're not speaking to a company. Well technically, yes you are but behind each company receiving your mail is an individual and trust me that person is busy enough already with his/her own life. There probably not interested in your newsletter what's worst and mass mailed newsletter.
2) Mailers list - you have your own contact list, do not ever sell this list or rent this list out to anyone or any company. Once your consumers find out that you sold their contact details away, whatever trust you have gained with your consumers will be lost... FOREVER!
Taking the time to build an e-mail marketing campaign that works and is effective takes time and of course patience. An honest SPAM campaign may seem like a great idea in the short run but will hurt your brand in the long term. Till next time, market effectively & responsibly.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
branding 101
Been thinking about all this branding hype that's been going around lately. And the branding issue is something which I think is clearly misunderstood.
For me, branding or brand building is made out of 2 components... your products / services and your users. First is of course your product... you go out and hire a fancy branding specialist and he develops a identity for your product / service by giving your product / service a savvy new name, new packaging design, some clever designed brochures and does a PR launch and then tells you.. YOU NOW HAVE A BRAND!
So what's next? Well the part that I think most brand specialist do not focus on is the part of your consumers.... The point is that, you can develop a new look for your product or service with some fancy PR and claim you have a brand but you don't really have a brand until and unless your consumers acknowledge it!
What do I mean? Think about it? would Mac really be considered a branded product if nobody talked about it? Would Dockers or Levi's be a hit if the people who wore them didn't acknowledge that they did?
So in essence, my opinion is that the crucial part of branding is not the new look or identity but its about gaining consumer recognition or your product or service. An example of a company who has done this brilliantly is Apple.... Think about it, the Ipod is just a MP3 player. Do other brands like Sony or Creative not have MP3 players? Why the Ipod?
Well, its a case of great branding. Its about getting your consumers and turning them into fans which Apple has done an incredible job... In essence its getting consumers to talk about your products/services, rave about it and ultimately if possible swear by them!
As such, don't be deceived by people who mention great branding is about just building an identity for your product / service. There is a 2nd part and the most important part, getting consumers to acknowledge and ultimately live your brand.
.
For me, branding or brand building is made out of 2 components... your products / services and your users. First is of course your product... you go out and hire a fancy branding specialist and he develops a identity for your product / service by giving your product / service a savvy new name, new packaging design, some clever designed brochures and does a PR launch and then tells you.. YOU NOW HAVE A BRAND!
So what's next? Well the part that I think most brand specialist do not focus on is the part of your consumers.... The point is that, you can develop a new look for your product or service with some fancy PR and claim you have a brand but you don't really have a brand until and unless your consumers acknowledge it!
What do I mean? Think about it? would Mac really be considered a branded product if nobody talked about it? Would Dockers or Levi's be a hit if the people who wore them didn't acknowledge that they did?
So in essence, my opinion is that the crucial part of branding is not the new look or identity but its about gaining consumer recognition or your product or service. An example of a company who has done this brilliantly is Apple.... Think about it, the Ipod is just a MP3 player. Do other brands like Sony or Creative not have MP3 players? Why the Ipod?
Well, its a case of great branding. Its about getting your consumers and turning them into fans which Apple has done an incredible job... In essence its getting consumers to talk about your products/services, rave about it and ultimately if possible swear by them!
As such, don't be deceived by people who mention great branding is about just building an identity for your product / service. There is a 2nd part and the most important part, getting consumers to acknowledge and ultimately live your brand.
.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
A New Beginning
First of A Happy New Year to you! A new year in many aspects represents a new beginning. So what is your New Year's resolution? Could it be to take your company's brand more seriously?
There's no better time to do that than in the year 2009! As markets become harder and more difficult and as recession effects become more apparent, its clear that the companies with a good brand base would find it easier to survive.
If you have spent time building your brand, you will already have a consumer base or fan base with which to roll out your branding activities for 2009. If not again I urge you there would be no better time than to start now.
So, 2009 should be a great opportunity to build brands the only question remains is are you ready to do it?
There's no better time to do that than in the year 2009! As markets become harder and more difficult and as recession effects become more apparent, its clear that the companies with a good brand base would find it easier to survive.
If you have spent time building your brand, you will already have a consumer base or fan base with which to roll out your branding activities for 2009. If not again I urge you there would be no better time than to start now.
So, 2009 should be a great opportunity to build brands the only question remains is are you ready to do it?
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