Category Archives: marketing

Marketing strategies

There are several ways small and large businesses can  entice prospective clients. One of the simplest and most effective is by running a competition. Here is an example below:

Veronica Henry

To celebrate Valentine’s Day and the publication of Tweetie Pie – a little book of romantic tweets – I thought I would set you a little literary challenge. For the chance to win a box of sublime Prestat chocolates and a selection of Valentine reads – including Postcards from the Heart by the divine Ella Griffin – send me a Valentine story in 140 words. The best one wins – it’s that simple.
Whizz your entry off to competitions@orionbooks.co.uk with the subject line ‘Tweetie Pie’.
Here is a link to the terms and conditions

Marketing = Art

“I have begun to think about printing again. The image above is of the first two colors of a woodcut I have started to do. I have decided to walk away from the computer, with its prescriptive software and universal tools, I’m going to move back to the hands on skills I was taught over 30 years ago.”
Peter Bright
An object or thing never has the same functionality as its name or image…. I think Magritte said something like this 80 or so years ago.
A bit of an odd statement but if you think about it it is very true. An inert object (or landscape) can’t tell you what it is, we rely on our experiences through out our lives to explain what we see. If we see a checkered hillside we know that the boundaries (if they are green) are most likely to be hedges and the whiteish blobs are probably sheep contained within the fields. We can estimate the feel of the landscape: warm, cold, steep, flat etc.
Which is why, when building websites it is important to explain what you are selling in language that people can understand and more importantly, can relate to.
Conceptual Art tried to destroy the art object but failed – thought and the idea is the object. The primary aims of Conceptual Art in the 1960?s was to carry out a theoretical examination of ‘art’ and through understanding propose ‘concepts as art’. Two and three-dimensional art was in the doldrums, the essence of creating was the new Holy Grail. This was considered to be a bold step, proposing an idea as a work of art left the Artist with very little to exhibit or sell, the written word was usually all that was physically evident….The written word is a powerful tool.

Strategic alliances = business growth

Creating strategic alliances between companies and/or individuals enables common goals to be achieved for mutual benefit. You don’t have to be a massive organization to benefit from cooperation, sometimes a big fish needs a smaller fish to develop ideas and strategies – get out there find a partner!
Strategic alliances are critical  for companies who are trying to compete globally. Customers require integrated products and this need is forcing companies to work together to create packages (eg car hire combined with hotel accommodation and air travel).  Well organized, networked alliances create new products and accelerate mutual growth. 
During the Summer of 2009, Windows and ReverbNation created a strategic alliance that enabled independent musicians and artists to give away their music for free – but be paid by sponsorship of these songs. This was a radical ‘win win’ business proposal – the sponsor, Windows, were able to embed advertising into the graphic (cover artwork) of the downloadable mp3 and the artist was paid. The payment per download to the artist was low in comparison to iTunes, Amazon etc. but the value in exposure, reaching a larger market, was generous compensation. These participating artists have been given the opportunity to let their ‘Sponsored Song’ continue as a free download in a new archive as part of a new initiative called “Playlist 7” Read more…

Promotion – Marketing success?

What is in a brand name and what do they mean? Are you a Brand?  Do you simply sell a product, or can your clients relate to your product and product philosophy?
Clients need to have confidence in you and like to know that your company has a passion or belief – above all they need to know you are not simply in the game to make a quick profit and then disappear. Building a brand loyalty is paramount to continuing success.
A brand relies on continuity – customer support, email marketing, your company website – consumers expect service that is consistent across the board, from the tea boy to the CEO (you might be all of them) it is important everybody lives the brand.

First impressions mean everything and presenting a positive image is the top priority, you need to divulge as much information about your company as you can  – to make your clients feel at ease – as though they are your ‘friend’.

Free everyting has to be free!

This%20WindowQuantcast

People are constantly looking for free promotions from businesses and are no longer prepared to pay a fare price for things. We have appeared to embraced the ‘something for nothing’ culture  and are consequently (probably) destroying the fundamental laws of capitalism. If you can get everything for free then how do we make money?
Something for nothing is a part of marketing, a way to trap your client into a product, a culture or a brand, to entice them or convince them to buy your related products. Read more…
The music industry has been destroyed by this something for nothing culture, with albums being given away free. It can be argued that this has made the music industry more democratic, enabling individual musicians and artist to compete in the free download market. However, this surge for free content has diluted the industry, the purse is getting empty so artists are not getting paid a fair return for their efforts. It gets worse – websites that delivered free content (and some paid) are now disappearing as the general public now only downloaded the free stuff and not the paid tracks.  With the demise of the 7digital indiestore service shutting down on in September 2010 an avenue for the democratic production of paid for and free downloads by independent artists has closed. There are dozens of  other viable alternatives for free mp3 downloads out there but for how long?

Try this one out M4tr Productions. Fill in your email address into the form and you will receive ‘A Moment Longer‘ by This Window.
If you can recommend another free download site we will give it a try – leave your comment and recommendations below.