What is your business card saying about you and your business? Cheap, flimsy or poorly printed business cards do little to create a favourable first impression or promote any confidence in the recipient to work with you in the future.

The humble business card is probably the most underrated form of marketing on the planet – business professionals spend thousands on glossy marketing and well crafted brands only to cut corners on the design and print of the introduction cards they hand out to prospective customers. However dynamic you are at a networking even or business function the only left in the hands of the people you meet is your calling card – how will they remember your encounter a day or so later when they come across your low cost, low impact business card?

So let’s recognise and embrace the power of the humble business card and look at five ways to enhance it’s impact on everyone you meet …

1. Double the impact!

Why print on just one side of business card when you can print on two? Use the back of your card to list your products, services or specialties that way people will be reminded of what you can do long after they’ve met you. There is nothing worse than a future customer telling you that they went to your competitor because they didn’t know you offered that product or service – list it on your card and you’ll never miss a sale again. The best news is that printing on two sides instead of one should cost you only an additional 20 to 30% not double so it makes great economic sense too!

2. Add impact with full colour process.

We live in world of colour – from digital TV to glossy magazines, the internet to high definition photography. Single colour or black and white cards can look bland, boring and somewhat outdated. Add a splash of colour or a picture to your business cards for more impact. 500 full colour cards can be printed these days for as little as $70 or so and look a million dollars. If you want to look slick and corporate and only use a limited palette of one or two colours then work with a designer or quality printer to choose some specialty stock to print on. Recycled stocks are becoming quite popular and can contrast well with their rustic look against a sharp, sophisticated design layout.

3. Book in for a 'design face lift'.

When was the last time your card was professionally designed, when was even the first time? So many business people in today's hectic would opt for cheap online templates, get their printer to design a quick card or even worse, design it themselves using a free Publisher software program. How much business are you actually losing because of an ineffective business card? Your business card should be on brand and compliment your market position. Work with a graphic designer or design agency to develop a complete brand strategy for you where your business card plays a key role in carrying your message to market.

4. Add a professional finish to your card.

What do you do the minute you receive a business card from someone? You touch it, feel it and examine its quality – a flimsy, poorly printed card on cheap stock creates a very clear and often unfavourable first impression of the holder.
Add a professional matt or gloss laminate to your cards on your next print run for around 30% more, try applying some high gloss spot UV to one side, emboss your logo or add full metallic foiling for glittering results.

5. Move with the times – go digital!

Finally, the pinnacle of the humble business card – the all new, multimedia USB business card. Take your business cards to a new level by adding video, audio and pictures with a multimedia digital business cards. You can start simply by adding a ‘QR’ or Quick Response code to your existing cards. When scanned by a smart phone the user is taken instantly and seamlessly to an online web page, video clip or enquiry form – it’s where traditional print meets the online world.

A new USB business card takes things to a whole new level – you card can be attached to a computer or laptop via the USB connection and instantly load and play a personal video greeting from you, launch a web page or direct people to your social media pages.

Enhance the power of your business card and unleash the potential of this underused marketing tool – speak to BrandManager on 1300 55 30 33 or email your current artwork PDF to info@thebrandmanager.com.au for a complete 'facelift' of your business card.

For a bit of fun try to guess in the first few frames what this is made from before you see at the end.

 

 

 

3,604 cups of coffee were used to recreate the Mona Lisa Painting for The Rocks Aroma Festival in Sydney, Australia. Each coffee cup was filled with varying amounts of milk to create the different sepia shades of the painting. 

 

While a fully-fledged NFC may not be right for your business, you definitely need to make sure you at least have a mobile site to provide the opportunity for your customers to view your information online correctly, easily navigate from a mobile device and purchase products through their mobiles. It is crucial to understand that for many people, their Smart Phone, iPad or Tablet replaces their desktop computer, so providing them with increased functionality will definitely make you stand out from your competitors.

Do the BrandManager ‘digital media checklist' and see how your brand performs!

 

Digital Media Checklist

With the ever changing digital marketing environment it is important that your brand ‘moves with the times’. Take the BrandManager Digital Media Checklist and see how you rate (10 points for each positive answer).

 

• Mobile friendly website
- Can my website be easily viewed on mobile devices like an iPad, Tablet, or Smart Phone?
- Do I have a specific mobile optimised version of my website, i.e. mobile.yourdomain.com.au?

• E-commerce
- Does my website accept payments for bookings online?

• Video Content
-Does my website feature a photo or gallery?
-Do I have a YouTube channel?

• Social Media
-Do I have links to Twitter, LinkedIn and/or Facebook clearly visible on my site?

• Blog and Electronic News
-Do I have a Blog on my site?
-Do I communicate with customers regularly via an electronic newsletter?

• Search Engine Optimisation
-Am I engaged in effective SEO to improve my Google search rankings?
-Do I conduct or have I tried Google Adwords as a marketing tool?

• Content Management
-Is my website driven by a user friendly Content Management System so I have control over content?

Add up your score, 10 points for each question you answer ‘Yes’ to and ‘0’ points for a ‘No’. If your score is less than 100 then you might like to consider a digital media briefing session with BrandManager and we’ll prepare for you a budget and strategy to achieve maximum performance online. Contact Daniel at BrandManager on 1300 55 30 33 for more details.

Apple has allowed life to be even simpler in managing your content with the launch of the iCloud. The iCloud stores your music, photos, apps, contacts, calendars, documents and more. Furthermore this free cloud service allows consumers to automatically and wirelessly store content in the iCloud keeping them up to date across all devices without the need for syncing each device (iPhone®, iPad®, iPod touch®, Mac® or PC).

iCloud’s mains features are as follows:

• Automatically downloads new app and book purchases, any previously purchased iTunes content and your ad-free mail account hosted at me.com to all your devices

• Automatically keeps all documents up to date across all your devices

• Efficiently manages your Photo Stream by synchronising your last 1,000 photos to allow for more storage space. In addition any photos taken on one device will automatically appear on your other devices

• Scans the songs in your music library and matches them to more than 20 million songs available on the iTunes store

• Automatically and securely backs up information to iCloud daily over Wi-Fi whenever your iOS device is connected to a power source

• Assists in setting up a new iOS device or restoring the information on devices already owned

• The find my iPhone app can facilitate in locating any of your devices that are missing

• The find my friends app lets you share your location with friends which appear on a map that can be viewed at any time

Furthermore the iCloud is included with iOS 5. iOS 5 provides new and improved features such as iMessage, an innovative way to easily view and manage your messages across all of your devices.

*Images Courtesy of Apple.

Although Your Australian Business can help business all over the world we will be initially assisting  UK based businesses to expand into Australia whilst gaining free trade access to markets such as Asia through a series of ‘turnkey’ packages. Consequently Your Australian Business is conducting a series of free information seminars throughout the UK, Scotland and Ireland from the 22nd of November through to the 1st of December.  Each session will be free and is strictly limited to 50 participants.

 

 

Our 'Business Road Trip' itinerary is as follows: 

Tuesday 22/11:

London - Business After Five
Novotel London City South
5:30pm to 7:30pm

 

Wednesday 23/11:

Southampton - Business After Five
Novotel Southampton
5:30pm to 7:30pm 

 

Friday 25/11:

Dublin - Business Lunch
Dublin Chamber of Commerce
12:30pm to 2:30pm 

 

Monday 28/11:

Edinburgh - Business After Five
Novotel Edinburgh Centre
5:30pm to 7:30pm 

 

Wednesday 30/11:

Manchester - Business After Five
Novotel Manchester Centre
5:30pm to 7:30pm 

 

Thursday 1/12:

Birmingham - Business After Five
Birmingham Chamber of Commerce
5:30pm to 7:30pm

To find out more about how Your Australian Business may benefit you or someone you may know please visit www.youraustralianbusiness.com and stay tuned for updates about our upcoming UK trip through Twitter – click here to follow us.

As new technology breaks onto the scene, BrandManager brings you a sneak peak at the new Parrot Asteroid.


"Parrot, one of the leaders in wireless peripherals for mobile phones, reveals Parrot Asteroid, a new generation of car receiver combining advanced hands-free telephony with – for the first time ever – access to web services. With Asteroid, Parrot is steering the future of internet in the car and offers a solution adapted to aftermarket and OEM." Announced Parrot

Hands free and extendable with android apps, (maps, roadtrip with points of interest, Wikango with speed camera locations, weather forecast information during your entire trip, TextFriendly allows you to compose SMS via voice control and TuneIn provides access to music, sports and news with over 50,000 stations to choose from).

Available from October 2011 - Click here to visit the Parrot Asteroid site.

Whether it is promoting a product, a service or simply creating awareness, QR codes will connect hundreds of customers with your business instantly!

 

Want to increase traffic to your website? Have a new product you want to promote? Maybe you’re offering a new service?

 

Use the cool technology of QR codes to instantly grab the attention of potential customers. It’s much simpler than you think!

 

To give you an idea on how BrandManager is able to assist in growing your business using QR codes, we’ve included some examples of QR success stories from around the globe.

 

Sir Speedy, a printing franchise developed a direct-mail postcard campaign to increase awareness of a condominium building, which needed to be occupied as soon as possible. The postcard contained a QR code which directed users to a website which contained floor plans, photos and other condo information. Together with a toll-free phone number provided, the campaign in resulted a 3.2% response rate (148 rate) and an 18% sale conversion rate!

 

Critics of QR codes have argued that consumers will not go to the trouble to download a QR reader if they do not have one. However a campaign by Australian company, Letterboxes proved otherwise! What Letterboxes did was include a QR code as part of a contest in its catalogue and scanning the QR code made participants eligible to win a laptop. A huge 60% of contestants took the time to download a scanner, with a total of 25% of households entering. These figures prove that not having the app is definitely NOT a barrier for consumers. We think that those critics ought to give 21^st century consumers some more credit!

 

 

Even big names like Mountain Dew and Taco Bell are recognising the potential to connect with consumers via QR codes. The two companies joined up for a promo in which to score free music downloads, customers had to simply scan their drink cups. This campaign generated almost 200,000 QR code scans and helped fill the air with sweet tunes.

 

A really creative way in which a company has successfully implemented QR codes is the Virginian specialty food store, George Bowers Grocery. Their aim was to increase the traffic to their store’s website and to get more people ‘checking in’ through Foursquare and this was successfully achieved by having a display in the downtown Staunton area, at the store and on Facebook. The use of the headline “Welcome to the future” enticed passersby enough resulting in over 300% of increased mobile phone traffic to the store’s website and 25% more Foursquare checkins for that month.

 

Do you have a trade show or another event coming up? Be inspired by GM’s creative use of QR codes at the 2010 South by Southwest event. Showcasing the new Cruze and the electric Volt, GM needed a way to highlight the car’s attributes on the pre-production models, which were on display. They positioned 15 different QR codes on varying positions across the two cars, for example scanning the code on the Volt’s hood directed consumers to a microsite which contained information on battery life. GM estimated that 2% of attendees scanned a QR code and 8.5% of that number scanned codes on multiple cars. The interactivity proved very popular in cyberspace with blog posts, tweets and other media content mentioning Chevy’s use of QR codes at the event racking up 1,680,230 impressions!

 

 

 

Email us today about how we can create a campaign for your business using the interactive technology of QR codes.

Borders, Angus and Robertson, Williams and now the 23 year old, Colorado chain all closing their doors – what is happening to retail in Australia? To survive today’s challenging economic conditions and successfully fight the onslaught of online shopping – bricks and mortar retailers need to re-invent the way they do business.

Times are changing – more Australian’s then ever before are shopping online.
Price comparison site, www.getprice.com.au claims to attract over 1.7 million visitors every month and in a survey of almost 3000 online shoppers found that 47 percent of them utilised their iPad, a mobile phone or another mobile device to visit retail sites. A recent IBISWorld report (March 2011) found that there were only 350 department stores in Australia competing with 3,852 online retailers that were growing at an annual rate of 9.3%.



High street retailers will never be able to compete on price or convenience when it comes to their internet based competitors. Online retailers are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, you can browse the store and purchase product from the comfort of your home, office or anywhere you can get an internet connection and with lower overheads their prices are more attractive.

So how does a traditional retail store compete against such a dominant force?
The answer can be summed up in just one phrase – customer experience.

The internet while dynamic and convenient can also be a cold, dark place – like perhaps having a romantic dinner with a robot. The true personal experience, product association and human interaction is just not there.




So here are five ways retail can win against online …

Good old fashioned customer service – bring it back!

Making the customer feel important and valued is one clear advantage that traditional retailers have over online stores. Think back to the time when every business provided a personalised service – from informative staff to home deliveries, in-store promotions to customer loyalty cards. All of these attractions are difficult to replicate on a digital platform but easy to introduce within a bricks and mortar store.

Sell the experience, not just the price

It’s true that the GFC has made us a nation of bargain hunters and as such more price savvy than ever before. Customers however don’t just buy on price otherwise we’d all be buying everything second hand on E-bay. At the launch of a fashion range or product release invite customers to an exclusive evening (the day before the official launch or sale) to ‘experience’ the new products first hand.


Make it a special evening with wine, cheese and a fashion parade – not only will the experience be remembered by customers who attend, a few sales may be made on the night and the word will be spread to friends and family.


Make your retail store a destination

The new retail experience should be like visiting an art gallery or meeting a friend for coffee. Look at brand leaders like Apple and the launch of their unique Apple stores around the world – every product plugged in and ready for you to try and fun, friendly staff that are there to inform, not to sell. Create ‘lifestyle showrooms’ where the product experience comes to life with interactive displays, intimate coffee lounges, relaxing music and burning incense. In a shop it is possible to stimulate all five human senses whereas online you can only deliver sight and sound.

Communication is key

Staying front of mind with your customers is vital to building a long term relationship and establishing brand loyalty. E-newsletters are easy, low cost and instant but are they really the best strategy for a traditional, high street retailer who is competing with online competitors? Direct mail catalogues, informative product guides and even just a ‘thank you’ card in the post can be far more effective. Think about the ‘law of reciprocity’ where a positive action is responded to with an equal positive reaction. If someone buys you a drink for example at the bar and then has to rush off before you can buy them one back you feel uncomfortable – the balance is out. Most people will feel the need to return the favour and remember to buy the first round as soon as they meet up again. Retail marketing can work the same way – send a free gift to a customer and they will feel the need to give you something back in the form of a purchase or at least a visit to your store.

Avoid discounting!

Discounting a price merely reduces its perceived value and makes it difficult to ever sell that item again at its full original price. To compete, try adding value instead by ‘packaging up’ a product with another item or a bonus gift.
Most of our big department stores nowadays have to run one sale after another, sometimes even multiple sales at the same time to attract customers.
Gone are the days when you had just two major sales a year – new year and stock take.

Technology too is helping bricks and mortar shops to enhance the shopping experience. NCR Corporation in the US is taking even the automated self-checkout system to the next level with a personalised version that analyses your shopping history via your smart phone and populates your shopping list with frequently purchased items.

So while the online world becomes more streamlined and automated there is an opportunity for traditional retail stores to fight back with a true and memorable shopping experience

After four years of dominance as the world’s biggest brand, Google has finally been unseated by Apple.  The value of the Apple brand has grown an amazing 859% since 2006 helped by the popularity of their iPod and iPhone products released around this time.

So what is the secret to the success of the Apple brand and how can we apply that to our own business brands?  At a press conference last year Apple’s leader, Steve Jobs gave his five keys to Apple’s success…

1. Engage your team – the healthiest ideas come from vigorous debate
2. Don’t take short cuts – it’s hard work that produces great products
3. Forget about trying to be ‘the best at everything’ – find your niche and stick to it!
4. Love your customers
5. Focus on long term success instead of short term gains



Some great tips of course that you can easily apply to any size business but the real challenge is how to take the message to market and build your brand. Here’s five ways that Apple did it and how these very same strategies can be applied to your business branding…

Keep it simple and make it fun

It wasn’t that long ago that computers were boring – they looked plain, they were bulky and often needed a degree in rocket science to get past the welcome page.  Apple changed all that from day one by challenging this perception and bringing to market products that were user friendly, colourful and even fashionable.  How easy is it for new customers to understand what your products and services are all about and more importantly the benefits they offer? 

Brand consistency

Apple created and secured the ‘i’ brand then went ahead and tagged all of their products – iMac, iBook, iPod, iPhone and iPad.  Each product has it’s own sub-identity yet stays connected under the master ‘i’ branding – this creates very strong cross-sell amongst the products and encourages the buyer to own the entire product line.  Could your products or services be sub-branded and target marketed in their own right?

Creating demand, delivering value

By having initially a select distribution network of authorized resellers Apple were able to both create demand and manage pricing.  Nowadays their products are available in more retailers as well as Apple’s own megastores yet the pricing remains fairly consistent across the board.  Value your products and services and don’t discount – instead add value by packaging up products or including free extras.

Limited choice

In business it is a common mistake to try and be everything to everyone instead of researching customer needs and then delivering a product that solves this.  Today’s consumers hate making choices – we all say that we want choice but then we’re faced with a wall of plasma and LCD televisions that all look pretty much the same.  Apple’s strategy has been to create a product for each market or function and make it easily available.  From high-end Pro Macs for designers and professionals to the Mac Mini or iMac for first time users.  Do you have too many products, services or packages that instead of making it easy for customers to buy actually confuses them?

Get creative!

Your brand has to move with the times or you’ll get left behind.  Take a look at Apple’s marketing – from slick newspaper ads with big pictures and limited wording to the clever Mac versus PC television commercials where people became the computers, like the one that had the PC guy in a biohazard suit to protect against the threat of new internet viruses.  Like Apple did to the computer industry – maybe it is time for you to challenge your market.  Who said marketing the legal or medical industry couldn’t be a little fun and creative?

Tony Eades

Creative Director

www.thebrandmanager.com.au

Tony Eades is the creative director of the BrandManager, a creative, marketing and communications agency based in Sydney and Perth. He is a business branding expert with more than 20 years experience in design, marketing, advertising and media production.

We are excited to share with you our latest brand to launch this year.

Congratulations to Ideal Foundations™ on their re-branding!

Ideal Foundations™ has been busy showing off its new look along with its fantastic products and services at Trade Shows across Sydney.

They exhibited over three days at DesignBUILD 2011 at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre on the 11th, 12th and 13th of May. DesignBUILD is Australia’s leading trade and professional building expo, showcasing all that’s new, innovative and sustainable in building design, from planning to post construction. Ideal Foundations™ was able to make a great impression on existing and potential customers, following the brand’s recent face-lift. Their presence at the show was met with positive feedback and lots of enquiries over the three days kept their staff busy.

Would you like to…

• See your brand as fresh and tech-savvy?
• Drive more traffic to your website?
• Engage your consumers by giving them instant access to what they want?

Talk to Brand Manager about how to achieve all that and more using this cool, interactive technology called QR codes.




What is a QR code you ask?

Scan your smart phone on the secret code above to find out more (You may need to first download the free reader app.)

A QR code is a specially coded 2D barcode, which is readable by a smart phone (iPhone, Android or Blackberry). All that is needed is to install one of the many free QR reader apps and a whole lot of information becomes instantly accessible with a simple scan of your phone.

We’re all familiar with barcodes and essentially that’s what a QR code is. However the biggest difference with these fancier barcodes is that they can direct your consumers to a world of information. A QR code is a specially coded 2D barcode, which is readable by a smart phone (iPhone, Android or Blackberry). All that is needed is to install one of the many free QR reader apps and a whole lot of information becomes instantly accessible with a simple scan of your phone.

The cool thing about these barcodes is that they can do a lot of different things, they can activate a number of phone functions, link to digital content on the web, send customers to any website or give your customers the option to instantly contact your company via email or phone. A QR code can hold thousands of alphanumeric characters of information and can be coded with your company’s website, your Facebook page, your blog, your twitter account, YouTube Channel etc. The options are endless!



Businesses in Japan, South Korea and the Netherlands have been using QR codes for a while now, with Western countries slowly starting to recognise the usefulness of these strange-looking barcodes. Businesses in Australia are now beginning to acknowledge the benefits of utilising such a tool and QR codes are starting to pop up on window displays, posters and coupons around the country.

QR codes allow you to measure response rates with a high level of accuracy, in turn allowing you to clearly calculate your return on investment, making them ideal for small businesses.

If you would like to offer your customers a innovative and interactive way of connecting with your business, why not let us show you how to best incorporate QR codes into your marketing campaign? Get in touch with Brand Manager today and let us devise a plan to engage your consumers using the technology of QR codes.

Call 1300 55 30 33 or email info@thebrandmanager.com.au to talk to us about marketing your brand using QR codes.

Google is teaming up with NASA to give you the chance to connect directly with an astronaut in space.  
 
On the morning of May 3 (EST) - after the crew of space shuttle STS-134 launch into space for the final mission of Space Shuttle Endeavour - NASA Commander Mark Kelly and his crew will be taking your questions live from space on YouTube.
 
PBS NewsHour will live stream the interview from their channel, with veteran space reporter Miles O’Brien curating and asking the public’s questions to the crew. Now is your readers’ chance to connect with a space mission the entire world will be watching.
 
Key Times:

•   Live-stream of shuttle takeoff:
    Saturday April 30: 5:47 am EST
•   Live interview with Mark Kelly and Shuttle crew:
    Tuesday May 3: 4am EST

Starting today, you can visit http://www.youtube.com/pbsnewshour to submit a video or written question for the crew of STS-134 to be used in the live interview and vote for your favourite questions. You can also submit questions on Twitter with the hashtag #utalk2endeavour.



To get the full experience of STS-134, you can also watch a live stream of the shuttle launch on Saturday April 29 starting at 5:47am EST on http://www.youtube.com/pbsnewshour . Both the launch and the interview will be available for archived viewing.

Your Business Bucket List for 2011

 

In the 2007 movie The Bucket List, corporate billionaire Edward Cole and working class mechanic Carter Chambers meet in hospital and decide to do the things they’ve always wanted to do before they die.   So why not take the same approach to your business and prepare your ‘Business Bucket List’? 

How many times have you heard people saying, “I’ll wait for the economy to pick-up” or “I’m getting ready for the next big wave”.  If you only had a year to improve your business and make a lot of money would you sit and wait for the economy to pick up?  So why not make your ‘Business Bucket List’ now and see what you can achieve in 2011?

Let’s get started with five items for business growth and survival that definitely should be on your Business Bucket List…

Create a brand not a business

Understanding the term ‘branding’ is the first step to successfully building a brand.  Search Google for ‘brand terms’ and get an impressive list of 13,400,000 results, from which you probably only need six …

• Brand Promise – your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) and the benefits you deliver
• Brand Identity – the mark/s that visually present your brand
• Brand Image – the set of beliefs around what your brand stands for
• Brand Strategy – how you promote and build a positive perception in your customer’s mind
• Brand Positioning – how your brand stands against others
• Brand Management – maintaining consistency with your brand

Make sure you have all the elements of a strong brand and not just a pretty logo – it’s really one of the best investments you’ll make.

Own your slice of the market

Imagine the power of owning your product name in the marketplace – like Kleenex is to tissues.  On a local level own your space so that when people need your product or service they immediately find your business.

Invest in an online business platform instead of just a smart looking website, it’s what’s under the hood that counts!  It should include a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, an e-newsletter and Blog platform that links to Twitter, Facebook and other social media marketing platforms and effective search engine optimisation.

Create a memorable customer experience

Successful marketing is about attracting and retaining customers with a total experience that stimulates all the five senses every time they come into contact with your business.

 

Introduce soft background music in your office or shop and provide mints or chocolates at reception.  Make your signage and marketing collateral visually appealing.   Do you have a fresh newly cleaned office smell? If not you could burn some relaxing incense.

 

Create a total customer experience and you’ll have them coming back for more – it really does make a lot of ‘sense’.

 

Get more bang for your buck

Get a bigger bang for your marketing dollar by cutting out wasted, non-effective marketing activities. To do this however you need to measure what works and what doesn’t.

 

Sophisticated online and social media marketing can give you real-time results like who has received your e-newsletter, who opened it and where they went next.  Once you know what’s working you can put more of your budget towards that and take it away from activities that are producing mediocre results.

  

Reinvent the wheel

Just because everyone in your industry is doing things a certain way, that doesn’t mean you have to follow suit.  Get creative, be innovative and demand to be noticed for doing things differently.

 

Bring in your team for a ‘creative brainstorm’, research your customers’ needs or bring in a creative marketing expert who will see your business from the ‘outside’ and therefore start you thinking ‘outside’ of the square.

  

Refresh your brand, create your unique selling point and switch on your marketing with a ‘Creative Brainstorm’ Power Hour with Creative Director, Tony Eades and Niche Creator, Amanda Rose.

 

Exclusive offer $395 (Normally $695) for bookings by 31st March 2011.

Click here to book you 'Creative Brainstorm' today!

 

We are excited to share with you our latest client brands to launch for this year. Congratulations to Penny Webb, Wayfield Group, Airaway and The College of Nursing's Emerging Nurse Leader Program.

Sony Computer Entertainment Announces its Next Generation Portable Entertainment System

Ultimate Portable Entertainment System Makes its Debut this Year,

Further Expanding the PlayStation® Business in the Portable Gaming Market

Sony recently announced its next generation portable entertainment system (codename: NGP), which delivers the ultimate portable entertainment experience. NGP will make its debut at the end of 2011 but here's your sneak preview.

NGP is designed to offer unparalleled interactive entertainment that is only possible on PlayStation®. This new system offers a revolutionary combination of rich gaming and social connectivity within a real world context, made possible by leveraging SCE’s experience from both PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) and PlayStation®3 (PS3®) entertainment systems.

Deep and immersive gaming is at the core of PlayStation’s DNA, and NGP is the latest embodiment of this vision. By having both Wi-Fi and 3G network connectivity, together with various applications, NGP will enable infinite possibilities for users to “encounter,” “connect,” “discover,” “share” and “play” with friends wherever they are. Within the device are a range of features that provide a genuinely cutting-edge, next generation ultimate portable entertainment experience.

 

Stunning OLED and Revolutionary User Interface

NGP incorporates a beautiful multi-touch 5-inch organic light emitting display (OLED) as the front display. A high-performance CPU / GPU combined with OLED enables rich, visually striking graphics never seen before on a portable entertainment system, for both games and other digital entertainment content. The new system also incorporates a unique multi-touch pad on the rear, and together with the front touch display, NGP offers new game play allowing users to interact directly with games in three dimension-like motion, through “touch, grab, trace, push and pull” moves of the fingers.

 

Super Oval Design and Dual Analog Sticks

 

While succeeding the basic design philosophy of PSP, NGP adopts the Super Oval Design form factor, created to fit comfortably in the users’ hands. For the first time, a portable entertainment system will feature two analog sticks, which enable a wider range of game genres to be brought into the portable experience.

 

LiveArea™

Every game title for NGP will be provided with a space called “LiveArea™” where users can share the fun and excitement with other players. Users will have access to the latest information of games provided from SCE and 3rd party developers and publishers through the PlayStation®Network. Additionally, NGP users will be able to view an “Activity” log that is constantly updated with accomplishments from users who are playing the same game, which in turn can trigger active real-time communication among users.

 

Near

SCE will also provide location-based services on NGP as part of the basic features utilizing PlayStation Network. The new application called “Near,” developed specifically for this service and the network, will be pre-installed in the system to let users find out what their friends in the vicinity are playing now or what they were playing recently. Users can meet their friends and new players virtually, regardless of what games they are playing, simply by sharing their game information across different dimensions of time and distance.

 

New Game Medium

NGP adopts a new game medium, a small flash memory based card, dedicated for NGP software titles. Taking advantage of the flash memory feature, this innovative card can store the full software titles plus add-on game content or the game save data directly on to the card. By adopting flash memory based card, SCE will be able to provide game cards with higher capacity in the future, allowing developers to store more game data to deliver rich and immersive games.

NGP will also come equipped with two cameras on its front and rear, as well as three motion sensors, gyroscope, accelerometer and electronic compass, all of which are designed to enable users to enjoy the world of entertainment that is linked with real life experiences.

PlayStation®Suite (PS Suite), announced today, will also closely coordinate with NGP. The newly developed and released game content for Android™ based portable devices can also be enjoyed on NGP. As a result, users will have access to not only the most leading-edge content, but also some of the more casual experiences that typify the mobile market place.

To help your direct mail campaign cut through the overload of promotional material, catalogues, brochures and free samples that we are bombarded with everyday you need to get a little creative. So here’s five easy steps to creating a more effective direct mail campaign.

1. You talkin’ to me!
The first step is to determine exactly who you are talking to when your direct mail piece hits someone’s desk. Whether you are purchasing a database or building it from scratch you need to decide who is your most probable customer – the person most likely to buy from you. Then make sure that you have their name (spelt correctly of course), their title, postal address and contact number. Nowadays you can purchase a targeted database tailored to industry, business size, location and number of employees from around one dollar a name.

2. Get creative
The US Environmental Protection Agency found that 44 percent of direct marketing mail is binned even before it is opened so it is vital that your promotional material stands out from the crowd. So think outside of the square when you are designing your campaign – include a product sample, send a glossy postcard instead of a cheap flyer or at least make it bright and colourful so it jumps out of the letterbox.



3. Keep it informative
Believe it or not there are a lot of people who actually love receiving junk mail. A study by The Australian Institute found that in 2005 $428 million was spent on unaddressed promotions and an amazing $1.54 billion on addressed direct mail. Make sure your marketing message includes some interesting information about your product or service and a ‘to the home or business owner’ exclusive offer.

4. Hit the phones!
Direct mail as a marketing strategy generally achieves a take–up rate, if you are lucky, of around one to three percent. This low response rate however improves substantially when you follow-up your direct mail with a telemarketing campaign. By using a current and correctly populated database you should have both mailing and phone data for all of your prospects. Wait a few days after sending out your marketing piece and then call up each contact to follow-up. Start each conversation by checking that they received your leaflet and then ask them what they thought of your promotional offer – this approach makes the call sound less like a sales pitch.

5. Measure and massage
Every marketing strategy needs constant improvement to ensure that you are achieving the optimum results you can. Measure the effective of your direct mail campaigns and make adjustments as needed. For example, try your telemarketing script with the first ten call backs and gauge the response, then if necessary try a different approach for the next ten and compare the results.

Finally, remember that this really is a great time to start doing junk mail promotion. With the rise in popularity of the internet there’s now even less competition in the mailbox.

Email us to discuss how we can help you with your next direct marketing campaign.

Follow the adventures of Dippy Duck in this new story book promotion from Royal Life Saving.


Design, illustrations and yes, even the story, by BrandManager.

The concept of personal branding has been discussed widely across the net yet many people think that it is confined to the celebrity set like Paris Hilton or Justin Timberlake. By definition, personal branding is ‘the process whereby people and their careers are marked as brands’. Today the idea of ‘self-packaging’ is becoming more of a necessity than a desire due to the rise in popularity of social media technology.

Social media tools have levelled the playing ground and thus enabled us to reach incredible heights where the cost to entry is only really our time. Plus, in an amazingly short space of time we can achieve as much presence as most startups and mid-size companies or products.

So what face do you want to show to the world and how will you position yourself for success? To help you decide, here are five steps to ‘the art of personal branding’ …

Discover your niche
The first step in the personal branding process is to discover and select your niche so that you can become the master of your domain. Take an inventory of your skill set and determine what it is that you can be seen as a specialist in – this will become your ‘online domain’. Start by registering your ‘name as a domain’ for example, www.johnsmith.com so that you can own your slice of the world wide web.

Your personal branding ‘tool kit’
Your personal branding ‘tool kit’ consists of the elements that you need to highlight your brand and communicate your niche. In your kit you will need a business card – both printed and online versions. To create and distribute your online business card use a free site like www.businesscard2.com.
Next you will need a professional resume – online resources like www.theresumebuilder.com can assist here. This is important not just for job hunting but also to include when promoting your business to new clients. Last but not least, you will need a visual portfolio that will consist of a professional studio-shot of yourself, a CD or DVD of your work and a short profile video of yourself that can be posted to You Tube.



Create your online profile
An online profile across the social media platforms of Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter is where people will probably find you first. Here’s a snapshot of the power and reach of this popular phenomenon …

LinkedIn – around 700,000 users across Australia increasing by 23% in just the last eight months. Now with 60 million users worldwide.

Facebook – around five million users across Australia and an amazing 500 million worldwide in 2010

Twitter – around 250,000 users across Australia growing by a staggering 1,067%. Today we are seeing around 50 million tweets being posted per day – that’s an average of 600 tweets per second.

Facebook alone has over 160 million personal profiles, but almost none of them have branded themselves properly using this medium. Make sure that your ‘personal brand’ is reflected consistently across all these mediums and that you manage it well, for example select the privacy options available that disable the ability for people to tag you in external pictures and videos.

Establish a blog
If you are going to carve a niche in the market and become know as an ‘online specialist’ in your field then you will need a blog. A blog allows you to post articles you have written, add links, pictures and work examples as well as being featured on your personal domain website. Moreover, those who blog will create a stronger asset than those who don’t because blogs rank higher in search engines and therefore make it easier for people to search and view your expertise and interest areas over time.



Communicating your personal brand
Your personal style is tangible and is extremely important for standing out from the crowd. Invest in training to improve your presentation skills and select clothing that best represents you and enhances your ‘brand message’. Remember that it will be this look and presentation that will be viewable through your pictures/avatars and video clips online, as well as when you meet people in reality.

Now the work really begins - don’t be fooled by the myth that if you build it, they will come. To create and establish your ‘personal brand’ you will have to actively communicate everything that you have created to others and the world. Have you ever hear the term, "it’s not what you know, it’s who you know?" Well, nowadays it’s not so much of even who you know but more importantly ‘who knows you.

Get in early and let BrandManager help you prepare high quality, personalised Christmas cards for your customers and business contacts.

With a minimum order of only 50 cards, you can select the size, design and finish that suits your requirements and your budget – they will even be delivered free of charge to you within 10 working days! No need to worry about anything!

This offer includes:

• Free design templates for Standard and Blingfoil cards (metalic look for that real Christmas sparkle!)
• DL or Postcard size (tent cards)
• 310gsm Artboard with gloss laminated front
• Matching plain envelopes
• Pre-printed Christmas message with free variable data
• As mentioned above, free delivery anywhere in Australia and completed within 10 working days!

Standard Postcard Size (150mmx 100mm)

Price: $2.35 + GST per card (includes envelope)

Blingfoil Postcard Size (150mmx 100mm)

Price: $2.95 + GST per card (includes envelope)

Standard DL Size (210mmx 99mm)

Price: $3.45 + GST per card (includes envelope)

Blingfoil DL Size (210mmx 99mm)

Price: $3.95 + GST per card (includes envelope)

Chinese fashion label, Pacific Poly chose Sydney for the location of their recent photoshoot for their new 2010 children’s wear collection. BrandManager selected models from local talent agency, Bettina and directed the photoshoot with Dien Tran in North West Sydney.



The photos were then used to develop the new catalogue and brochure together with some creative Bus Sides for an upcoming outdoor media campaign. The final result was welcomed by the client...

"Thanks again for the wonderful help extended to us, without your patience and support we wouldn't have experienced such a smooth process." – Helen, Pacific Poly

The brochure is currently being translated and printed in China.

The Hills Shire Business Achiever Awards has nominated BrandManager as one of the finalists from 30 categories on offer - in the area of Business Services. The highlight of the program is the awards presentation dinner on October 6th at Castle Hills RSL. The presentation dinner is an opportunity for finalists to let their hair down and celebrate with other local businesses, dignitaries, special guests, family and friends. Checkout the Cocktails for Finalists feature from the Hills Shire Times and the full 2010 Business Achiever Awards feature in the Hills Shire Times



We are also excited to be named as finalists in the 2010 Suncorp Western Sydney Awards for Business Excellence - the awards will be announced at a Gala Dinner event at the Grand Pavilion STC Function Centre, Rosehill Gardens on Tuesday September 14th.

To begin we need to first understand what the term ‘marketing’ really means, so let’s look at marketing in simple dating terms:

You see an attractive girl at a function. You go up to 
her and say: “I am very rich. Would you like to have dinner with me?”

That’s Direct Marketing.

Or perhaps you go up to
 the same girl and say: “I am very rich. Would you like to have dinner with me!” She then gives you a nice hard slap on your face.

That’s Customer Feedback.

Or one of your friends goes up to her and pointing at you says: “He’s very rich – have dinner with him.”

That’s Advertising.

Or you go up to 
her, get her phone number – then you call the next day and say: “Hi, I’m very rich – will you have dinner with me?
That’s Telemarketing.

Or you get up
and straighten your suit, you walk up to her and pour
her a drink, you open the door and then politely ask her to dinner”

That’s Public Relations.

Finally the girl walks
up to you and says: ”You are very rich – will you have dinner with me?”

Now that’s Brand Recognition.



We should all strive for brand recognition in our businesses but to do this especially during tough economic times we have to stay front of mind with our target market. An interesting statistic is that brands that continued to advertise throughout the second world war eventually became the market leaders in their field when the war was over. In an economic downturn don’t cut or worse still eliminate your marketing budget – instead, just get a little smarter with it. To help, here’s part one outlining “5 creative strategies for marketing your business and retaining your brand recognition during tough economic times”.

First up, how to stand out from your competitors. In tough times we need to first get ‘back to the basics’.  We need to focus on one core product that we do really well and better than any of our competitors and then do it even better!

It is important to always remain true to our brand. In a Readers Digest poll during 2008 of the world’s most trusted brand revealed that: ‘… the most important thing to a customer is a brand being true to its promise’.
Leading global brands like Coca-Cola remain true to their brand – wherever you go in the world the coke generally tastes the same and the branding remains consistent - and that brand is now worth over $60 billion US.

To remain true to your brand you need to remember what business you are in. Sounds simple but it’s probably not what you think – for example if a baker in the bread making business or Bunnings in the hardware business?
The answer is no – in fact we are all in the same business and that’s the ‘problem solving’ business.


Customers today like they always have, buy on ‘emotion’. We need to identity what that emotion is and then become the ‘panadol’ for their headache. You should always strive to continually educate your customers and prospects to understand, appreciate and desire the benefit of the product or service you sell over that of your competitors. Focus on your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) and make sure everyone knows about it. Make your USP believable and above all, measurable.  FedEx used to have the USP ‘We own our planes’ and almost went out of business – until they come up with ‘Absolutely. Positively. Overnight’.  Now that’s believable and definitely measurable.

Next time we look at how making small changes to your marketing can bring you big results.

Tony Eades
Creative Director
www.thebrandmanager.com.au

What’s a brand refresh?

As markets change, businesses mature and new business trends develop, it is often necessary to ‘refresh’ a brand.

Your positioning in the marketplace has already been established so a totally new look could impact on your
existing brand awareness. What is needed at this time and indeed every three to five years for most brands is a BrandManager ‘Brand Refresh’.

Why change?

Some of the reasons that trigger the need for a ‘Brand Refresh’ include but are not limited to ...

• New directions and reframing of your business directions as your brand grows and matures
• Market trends and consumer demand changes - just look at fashion for example, how much of your current ‘fashionable’ wardrobe of clothes do you wear today that are more than five years old. Like the fashion industry, the business marketplace changes in design, colour and style every few years.
• New competitors enter your ‘space’ creating a need to better differentiate yourself.
• Business growth has reached a plateau and your business image is looking a little tired.
• The time has come to refocus and tailor to a specific market demographic so there is a requirement to bring the brand inline with this new target market.

What’s included?

The ‘Brand Refresh’ process includes ...

• Review of your current positioning and competitors
• Development and/or refinement of your positioning statement
• Graphic upgrade of your current logo in line with market themes and trends
• Design, production and printing of a new corporate stationery package
• Redesign and mockup of your website
• Brand Style Guide including fonts, colours and management of the new brand
• Six month Brand Marketing Strategy

Normally $3,900 ex GST
Subscriber Special for August only
Save $1000  Now $2,900 ex GST

During April to June 2010, Careers That Matter and Pathways That Matter travelled to 13 cities around the country, delivering 15 workshops to over 400 stakeholders on how to use these new online career e-tools.

These resources are unique to the industry and will help anyone interested in the development of their workforce and career opportunities within the community services and health sectors. The roadshow was an amazing success and here is a brief review of the feedback …

And in regards to the new website resources participants said …

• Appreciated access to resources
• These career resources will be very helpful to use in schools
• Excellent presenters and resources - thank you
• Great level of info + showcasing resources
• Excellent resources
• Take away resources appreciated
• Website presentations and knowledge of resources exceeded my expectations
• Keep up this type of resource development
• Enjoyed the new sites, can use without going through NTIS
• Fantastic development of resources - thanks
• Extremely useful e-tools

Take a look at the new careers website for yourself at  http://www.pathwaysthatmatter.com.au/

It’s a fresh new financial year so to give your business a much needed facelift let’s start on the surface with your logo and branding.  Do some research and source your main competitors – online and offline – and print out their logos, take note of their marketing message, their Unique Selling Proposition (USP) and their positioning.  Now compare your logo, brand and USP to that of your competitors – does it clearly stand out, does it feel fresh and modern or old and tired and if you were a potential customer would it be inviting to you?

Now let’s go deeper into your organisation.  If your USP says that you are more ‘innovative’ or ‘reliable’ than your competitors then you need to back this up throughout your business.  Test the effectiveness of your USP across all areas from point of sale to customer service, your brochure copy to the way you answer the phone and down to your ‘elevator pitch' – the 30 second ad that sums up what your business is all about.

Finally you need to be realistic about your makeover budget – how much will you invest in your new look?  An upgrade of your existing branding can cost between five and twenty thousand dollars depending on the size of your company whilst new brand development can cost in excess of thirty thousand dollars and involve market research, new signage across your operation and a re-design of your website.

A business makeover allows you to freshen up your position in the marketplace, re-energise your sales team and shake up the competition.  It strengthens your brand by aligning everything together with a common theme and message together with re-focussing your marketing strategies to achieve better returns and support long term growth.

"Walking the talk", "practicing what we preach" are common clichés in business and in life. Here is a cool story -

A woman approached Gandhi and said, 'Master, tell my boy to stop eating sugar." Gandhi looked at the chubby six-year-old boy and replied, "Bring him to me again in four weeks time." The woman was surprised but did as she was told. Four weeks later, she brought the boy again. Gandhi looked at him forcefully and said, "Stop eating sugar." "Why didn't you tell him that a month ago?" the woman asked. "Because four weeks ago I myself was eating sugar."

If you are a leader or parent or teacher, or coach (anyone who wants to influence or have others follow) etc. then it is important to remember this concept and the story. People follow those they trust and whose behaviour and actions are congruent.

Kids, students, players, employees they notice everything. Especially the things we don't think they will. If we want to influence and to lead then we need to "walk the talk". We've all seen how not doing so can go massively and painfully wrong - sportsmen, politicians, actors or anyone in the public eye that presents themselves in one way and then behaves in another. The fallout is uncomfortable for everybody. The same is true for what we might see as the smallest of inconsistencies - we lose their trust, they rebel or just switch off.

Our thoughts and actions occur within a frame of reference. A frame of reference unique to each of us because it is based on our beliefs, values, experiences, culture etc. Our actions include the things we do (or not) and the language we use as well.

When we make a decision about the advice we want to give or how we want to influence someone or something we do so based on our experience, knowledge and skills i.e. our frame of reference. The recipient of that advice or direction does the same thing in deciding what they will do with what they hear and see from you, only it’s based on their own frame of reference.

Who do you want to be? Do you want to be the person that gives out advice and directions they don’t believe in enough to do it themselves OR do you want to walk your talk and be a role model?

Sometimes it's not easy to do, I remind myself that trust is easy to lose and much harder to regain than it is to retain.

“If language is not correct, then what is said is not what is meant; if what is said is not what is meant, then what must be done remains undone; if this remains undone, morals and art will deteriorate; if justice goes astray, the people will stand about in helpless confusion. Hence there must be no arbitrariness in what is said. This matters above everything.” ~ Confucius

You can follow Therese Wales on Twitter or find out more at Blog Dare and Up To You’s website 

When times get tough we need to become smarter about how and where we spend our marketing dollar.  Imagine if you could double the potential audience for your product or service whilst halving your marketing spend.
Well the good news is you can and it’s a lot easier than you think.

As a business you have core audience or demographic for your product or service – put simply this is merely the type of customer that is more likely to buy from you.  For example, let’s say that you are a trendy menswear retailer and your demographic is 18 to 30 year old males.  Now think of other non-competing businesses who would also share this demographic, like a new fitness club, travel agency, computer shop or a restaurant perhaps.

Interestingly these businesses like you spend their entire marketing budget trying to attract these customers.  So why not approach one of these businesses with an innovative direct mail or print advertising campaign where you share the costs?  For example, you as the menswear store join forces with the fitness club and offer ‘complete new you package’ where you receive a three month fitness membership, personal training session and a new outfit for one great price?  Both businesses share equally in the promotion yet halve their marketing budget.

But wait, there’s more!  Now you have halved your marketing budget it’s time to double your reach.  Your business and that of the non-competing business should have an active database of customers that you communicate with regularly through store promotions, direct mail and e-newsletters.  So why not cross promote?  In the example above the menswear store would offer an introductory, one month free gym membership exclusively to its database and in return the fitness club would offer its members a 20% exclusive discount on any purchase made at the menswear store.

So just by thinking a little smarter you can literally double your potential customer base and at the same time reduce your marketing spend by as much as 50%.

Brand launches – what’s new from our customers?

It’s been a big month for creating new business brands and we are proud to give you a taste of some of the exciting new corporate identities to hit the market …

Corporateyes

Brief:

To assist in the creation of a new business model and brand for leading corporate consultant, Linda Sirol.  Linda’s niche to corporate coaching, executive training and management is her hands-on, personal approach.
We developed the ‘Corporateyes’ brand around this together with the positioning statement, ‘Focusing on your business optimisation’

Solution:

WOW Fleet Consultants
www.wowfleetconsultants.com.au

Brief:

With a 30 year career in fleet management from across Australia, New Zealand and the UK, Keith Cormican was ready to go it alone. His no-nonsense and efficient approach needed a brand that had a point of difference – something that would demand to be noticed.

Solution:

 

Keith’s comment:

“The feedback from the website has been great!”

The Corpsych
www.thecorpsych.com.au

Brief:

After 25 years with same business name and brand, Dr Michelle from Interactive Life Skills was ready for a change.  Having grown from a small psychology practice to a multi-level human resource organisation, she wanted a brand that was both creative and corporate.

Solution:

Dr Michelle’s comment:

“WOW WOW and more WOW.  You continue to wow me Tony!!!
I LOVE this website.  It looks GREAT!”


If you would like to discuss your brand and how we can perhaps a little of the ‘wow’ factor please phone 1300 55 30 33 or email Creative Director, Tony Eades.

The Brief

Brandmanager was approached by a successful fashion business in Europe. They wanted to develop a children’s clothing brand, for boys and girls aged 2 to 8. The clothing was to be designed in Australia and manufactured in China.

 

Our brief was to develop an iconic Australian brand that would be positioned to the mid to upper market. We had six months to develop and launch the new children's wear label.

For the research we went to Fashion Exposed, the premier, bi-annual fashion expo in Melbourne. Here we interviewed and discussed the industry with existing clothing exhibitors to gain an insiders knowledge of the current Australian market.



The Name and Logo

We next brainstormed the brand – with every name we came up with we needed to check its availability in regards to domain name, trademark and business name. To keep with the iconic ‘Australian’ feel we decided on Kangaroo Creek as the main, umbrella brand.

 

The two clothing labels that were to be produced by Kangaroo Creek became Sugar Possum for the girls and Blue Dingo for the boys.

 

Now came the range itself and for this we sourced and hired an experienced Visual Merchandiser. We conducted two Branding Day’s in Sydney to develop the style, theme and unique stories for the summer collection 2010/11. Designs were developed, samples made and swing tags created

The Brand Message 

The message was to be rustic, colonial Australian - a brand identity to compliment the popular surf brands on the market. We booked a stand at Fashion Exposed Sydney for the launch and designed the stand to match the theme.

Next we hired models and chose a venue for our video and photoshoot – a pioneering village in Kalamanda, WA. We then created themed brochures for both labels and made them square and smaller than the standard A4. We also baked some cup cakes, printed bags and added lollipops to add enhance the Expo experience.

 

Finally we developed a web presence for both brands and created an online E-Store with over 100 products. The video was used as a ‘theme enhancer’ on the website to give a ‘behind the scenes’ look at the photoshoot and 'live' at the Expo.

 
The Results

The Expo was a success with all visitors welcoming the fresh, new look.

 

The results achieved included:

• Initial sales of $21K over the 3 day Expo

• Agents in Sydney and Melbourne interested

• Positive feedback from Europe/ for a possible launch in January 2011

 
Tell us what you think of this new children's brand – click on the 'comments' link below.

 

With Rebecca Stalenberg

Growing a business can be a very exciting time but it can also scary at the same time! You might have heard of horror stories of businesses being told to change their name or stop trading. By exploring the benefits of Trade Mark registration, you can see how trade mark can become a business asset, potentially saving you thousands of dollars and NOT letting your brand be stolen.

So how do you protect your “investment”? This is not just the dollars spent in the set up process but also the blood, sweat and tears setting up your brand. How do you stop your rivals and competitors from “ripping off your idea”?  How do you ensure that someone else isn’t going to come along and make you change your name? How do you OWN your brand? 

The only solution is to secure trade mark protection for your brand

What is a Trade Mark?

A trade mark is a sign that is used in trade to help separate your business from other businesses.  This can include your name, logo, tag line or slogan, packaging, colours, shapes, sounds or scents if they are unique to your business. 
  

Trade Mark Registration gives you exclusive rights for your brand in your nominated classes of goods and services for your business (which are broken into 45 categories).  Trade Marks can be obtained in as little as 7.5 months (if no problems are raised) and can be renewed every 10 years once registered – so it is vital to think about protecting your brands before you start your business so others can not steal your name or your branding ideas!

Why do I need a trade mark?

Trade Marks are not compulsory and are often forgotten about when setting up a business but this is the only way that you can get your name protected and stop others from copying your name/brand.

Many businesses are under the misunderstanding that if they are using their own name, or have a registered business, company or domain name that they “own” the name.  This is wrong!  A trade mark is the only way you can get monopoly, proprietary rights to a name and stop others from copying you! Here is an example of a real business affected by trade mark actions:

Katy Perry (Katheryn Hudson) v Katie Perry (July 2009) – the US singer recently tried to tell the Aussie fashion designer to stop using Katie’s own legal name for her clothing range.  Thankfully Katie had lodged a trade mark and it was almost registered which helped defeat the singers claim! The singer’s lawyers were also pressuring Katie to sign away her rights but thankfully Katie got help and fought back and won!  If Katie had not had a trade mark that was almost registered, her case might have turned out differently. In cases like this – it comes down to a fight of “who used it first” or what is happening more and more – who has the more money to fight it out!

I’d recommend a Trade Mark Search at the pre-launch stage of any new business is recommended not just to protect your band but to make sure you are not infringing on anyone else's brand.  If your new name is too close to another traders you not only have to start your business again but this is a mistake that can cost you thousands of dollars.

Trade Marks can save you how much?

You can attempt to lodge your own Trade Mark online for as little as $370 per class although it is always best to leave it to the professionals to make sure you are properly protected.  You could obtain a full registration that is valid for 10 years, in one class for as little as $1,290 (assuming no objections or oppositions were lodged). 

When you weigh up the possible costs incurred if you were sued including the other party’s costs if they are successful, it could cost you up to $200,000 in legal and associated costs.

Trade Mark protection is not just reserved for those multi-national companies, it is for all businesses, small & big – that want to gain an asset and stop others stealing their brand.  

Rebecca Stalenberg, is a Registered Trade Mark Attorney and Solicitor (NSW & Federal Courts) with 10 years experience in the Legal Industry providing practical legal advice without all the “legal jargon”. For more information on Rebecca visit her website at www.markyourterritory.com.au

What are your thoughts? Add a comment below and share your experiences with others. If you would like to look into trade marking your brand, email tony@thebrandmanager.com.au

The Internet can be a frightening place – one day your best friend and another your worst enemy. A school achievement to a business compliant, your footy team photo to a survey you took years ago – it can all be found in a single Google search. Therefore building your profile online is a vital part of your online brand strategy.



Here's five steps to help you get your name in lights when people search for you on Google or one of the other many search engines:

Step One – Correctly Index Your Website

Your website is your address on the web, whether online, brochure or a full retail shop – it’s often the first impression that someone will get about your business. Make sure each page of your site is correctly titled, has relevant and targeted information in the first paragraph and metatags or keywords added to the source code. You as the business owner or key stakeholder need to have a profile page too so that it will come up when people 'Google' your name.

Step Two – Start A Blog

Whether you share news about your day to day business or personal experiences you have, creating your own blog is a great tool towards online brand awareness. Keep your blog posts short, relevant and entertaining – always consider the reader and ask yourself ‘why would they care about this story?’.

Step Three – Create Your Online Network

Social and business network portals like FaceBook, Linked-In and Ecademy allow you to establish links with other people across the web. The power of each individual link is that it opens the door to their business and social links and then the links of the people as well – and so it goes on. In no time at all you can build a network of thousands – and all without leaving your computer or handing out a single business card. Once again you need to spend time on creating your profile for each platform and be sure to provide links to your business website and your blog.

 

Step Four – What’s All The Twitter About?

One of the fastest growing networks is Twitter – the online short text forum where you add your ‘Tweets’ about what’s going on in your world. From popstars to politicians, movie actors to business moguls – Twitter offers the opportunity to tap into someone’s personality. You can choose a style, theme or topic for your Twitter account and then attract followers to you as you add tweets from your laptop, email or even mobile phone.

 

Step Five – Spread The Love

As you build up your content you will start to create a library of articles, stories and interesting tips that can easily be shared with others. Try and get them published in someone else’s newsletter, posted on their blog, featured in an online publication or made available as a download – the more you have the more you reap in credibility over the web. One story in a leading online publication can help push you to the front page of Google on a specific search for you, your business, topic or area of expertise.

When Kristen approached us prior to setting up her new business brand, she was involved in a number of areas, including family and employment law, human resources and training workshops. Through an initial briefings it was decided to create a 'global' brand feel with 'Gower Group' and then under this would feature Gower Legal, Gower HR and Gower Training.

Here is a preview of the new branding and how it has been applied. Best of luck Kristen with your new business in 2010!

Need your printing in a hurry? Now with BrandManager you can order your printing by 10am and have it dispatched to you the very next day at no additional cost.*

Choose from the products below for next day completion. All artwork must be print ready, offer not available on Friday or public holidays and delivery time is additional.

Products	Quantity
A4 (1 side)	100/200/300/400/500/1000
A4 (2 sided)	100/200/300/400/500/1000
DL (1 side)	100/200/300/400/500/1000/2000/3000
DL (2 sided)	100/200/300/400/500/1000/2000/3000
A3 (1 side)	100/200/300/400/500
A3 (2 sided)	100/200/300/400/500
A3 Stationery Package	100/200/300/400/500
DL Cards (1 side)	100/200/300/400/500/1000
DL Cards (2 sided)	100/200/300/400/500/1000
Postcards (1 sided)	100/200/300/400/500/1000
Postcards (2 sided)	100/200/300/400/500/1000

* Printing is in full colour digital and delivered. Jobs are printed by 10am the following day after ordering, then dispatched overnight to metropolitan areas only.

Build A Business Exhibition Packages make it easy to hit the ground running and look the part at any event. Whether you require brochures, magnets or a banner display, you will find there’s a package to suit you.

You can choose from Bronze, Silver and Gold Exhibition Packages, ...

Bronze Exhibition Package Our Bronze Exhibition Package for only $795 includes full colour artwork and printing for: • 1000 magnets • 1500 slimline DL flyers Silver Exhibition Package Our Silver Exhibition Package for only $1,995 includes full colour design and artwork plus printing for: • 1000 magnets • 3000 DL flyers • 1 pull-up banner and stand Gold Exhibition Package Our Gold Exhibition Package for the serious exhibitor at just $2,995 includes full colour design and artwork, creative briefing on how to get the best results from your stand and printing for: • 1000 magnets • 1000 DL marketing cards • 1000 A3 folded to A4 brochures • 1 pull up banner display and stand For more information or to book a package email info@thebrandmanager.com.au

Growing IT support and computer solutions company HighPoint chose BrandManager to 'lift their brand' and create some strong marketing collateral for an upcoming IT Business Breakfast event.

In under three weeks the HighPoint logo was enhanced, a USP (Unique Selling Proposition) agreed and a series of four brochures designed, copywritten, produced and printed.

The display table at the event stood out from the other exhibitors with its vibrant, modern new look – backed by a powerpoint display.

This is stage one of a branding strategy that will take HighPoint to the next level – even 'higher' than they were before.

Corporate colours contain hidden, psychological meanings so what are they secretly saying about your business? Choose your primary logo and business theme colours carefully as every colour has a subliminal meaning that should reflect what your style and theme of business.

Here's some examples for you to compare your corporate or even personal colours against their hidden meanings ...

• Blue-Green – wear this colour to get noticed, it causes reactions in both men and woman
• Pale Blue is known to encourage flights of fantasy and is very calming
• Green makes people feel safe and secure (used in hospitals, clinics)
• Brown is a good colour for marriage councillors as it is seen as a symbol of informality and invites people to open up through conversation
•  Yellow elicits the quickest response from potential buyers
•  Gray inspires creativity and symbolises success
•  Black signifies dignity, sophistication and authority
•  Red stirs senses and passion and is associated with power and energy
•  Orange stimulates creativity, ambition and energetic activity

Would you like to charge a little more for your products or services? Then add a little burgundy to your corporate colour palette.  Affluent men and woman are attracted to blue-based red tones whereas it produces uneasy feelings in lower socio-economic groups.

Once you've chosen your colours it's vital that your brand stays true to them – if your corporate colours are young and vibrant make sure that your marketing materials, your staff, the way you answer the phone and your product mix reflect this.

Finally, what good is a well thought through and meaningful colour palette if your colours don't remain consistent.  Look at the world's leading brands like Qantas or Coca Cola - how many shades or variations of their chosen colour do you see around the world or across different media? The answer none – wherever you see their logo it is always displayed in their exact tone of red and so it should be for your brand colours too.  Use spot colour printing for your marketing collateral or at very least have an approved four colour process breakdown for your key colours, especially for print advertising. Make sure your colour remains true online and invest in having a detailed brand style guide for anyone and everyone to follow.

In short – never underestimate the power of colour.

Learn about the ten most common marketing mistakes and how you can avoid them, plus ...

• discover how to halve your marketing budget and double your exposure
• hear how being creative saved one business over $500,000
• receive a one-on-one Brand Assessment (worth $250) for your business

When it comes to growing a business a brandaid breakfast really is the best meal of the day. Reserve your plate now – book 10 from the same business and we’ll also tailor the session to your brand. Simply choose from one of these three great sessions ...

date: Thursday June 4th or Thursday June 18th
when: 7am to 8.45am
where: Level 5, Nexus Building, 4 Columbia Court, Baulkham Hills NSW
cost: $77 per person (includes coffee and breakfast)
bookings: 1300 55 30 33 or info@thebrandmanager.com.au

Hurry, limited to 10 businesses per session. Book now.

Leading franchise group Concrete Taxi came to BrandManager to design and manage a re-branding of the company’s marketing materials. The following designs showcase the new look for Concrete Taxi comprising of a corporate presentation folder, promotional inserts, pricing flyers for each state, franchise enquiry form and information booklet, stationery and DVD business card.

Their new marketing collateral will also be managed through our internet based franchise platform, BrandManager Online which enables franchisees to log-in, access artwork, make changes in realtime and then send them direct to print.

Do some research and source your main competitors – online and offline – and print out their logos, take note of their marketing message, their Unique Selling Preposition (USP) and their positioning. Now compare your logo, brand and USP to that of your competitors – does it clearly stand out, does it feel fresh and modern or old and tired and if you were a potential customer would it be inviting to you?

Now let's go deeper into your organisation. If your USP says that you are more 'innovative' or 'reliable' than your competitors than you need to back this up throughout your business. Test the effecitiveness of your USP across all areas from point of sale to customer service, your brochure copy to the way you answer the phone and down to your 'elevator pitch' – the 30 seconder that sums up what your business is all about.

There is hardly anyone in this day and age who does not use Google or Yahoo or other search engines to find information and suppliers on the web. This means that there are real opportunities if you optimise your website for search engines.

Wikipedia defines Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) as the process of improving the volume or quantity of traffic to a web site from search engines via natural (or organic) search results.

1. Go 3D! 3D or Lenticular Printing just get a whole lot cheaper. This unique style of printing allows you to feature an image that appears to change as you move the card. In studies people preferred a 3D image three times more than a normal 2D image. Get 500 3D Business Cards now for as little as $475 inc GST! Click here to email us for examples, quotes or more information.  2. Add impact with full colour process. Single colour or black and white cards can look bland and boring. Add a splash of colour or a picture to your business cards for more impact. 500 full colour cards can be printed now for as little as $55 including GST and delivery.

Starting a new business but worried about your cash flow in those first few months? You can now get all your start up marketing requirements affordably with our new startup package. Our business startup packages get you underway with all your basic requirements, including logo design, website and stationery, allowing you to focus on launching your business straight away.

Double your reach with half your marketing budget

by Tony Eades  Business Marketing Specialist When times get tough we need to become smarter about how and where we spend our marketing dollar. Imagine if you could double the potential audience for your product or service whilst halving your marketing spend. Well the good news is you can and it’s a lot easier than you think.

Interestingly, these businesses like you spend their entire marketing budget trying to attract their customers. So why not approach one of these businesses with an innovative direct mail or print advertising campaign where you share the costs? For example, you as the menswear store join forces with the fitness club and offer a ‘complete new you package’ where you receive a three month fitness membership, personal training session and a new outfit for one great price? Both businesses share equally in the promotion yet halve their marketing budget.

But wait, there’s more! Now you have halved your marketing budget it’s time to double your reach. Your business and that of the non-competing business should have an active database of customers that you communicate with regularly through store promotions, direct mail and e-newsletters. So why not cross promote? In the example above the menswear store would offer an introductory, one month free gym membership exclusively to its database and in return the fitness club would offer its members a 20% exclusive discount on any purchase made at the menswear store.

So just by thinking a little smarter you can literally double your potential customer base and at the same time reduce your marketing spend by as much as 50%.

Free variable data printing this month

Add up to three fields of information for free, like a name, title and company name or address, to your marketing materials like brochures, flyers or invites. Hurry offer is for April digital print orders only! Here’s a sample of some of the great digital printing specials available …

Full colour printing on 100gsm laser stock, folded to DL or A5 – prices include GST and delivery (artwork supplied) …

What makes a good landing page?

By Tim Hoopmann

Here’s a smart way to build an on-line business

Your logo says it all

By Tony Eades  Business Marketing Specialist

Your logo is one of the most important assets to your business.

Take Coca- Cola for example, their logo could be licensed or sold today for millions of dollars– that’s just the logo not even the company.

Your logo is the pivot point of your business operations, everything comes from it.

Your customers react and interact withit, your marketing materials feature it and your  advertising promotes it. It’s not just a pretty picture – the colours chosen, the typeface  selected and the illustrations you use, all blend together to create a ‘feeling’ for your  business.

Your logo creates that all important ‘first impression’ for your potential customers. 

A logo should be current – if it is more than five years old then you really need to upgrade it. You probably aren’t wearing the same clothes you bought five to ten years ago - fashions and trends changeand your business image needs to reflect this.

Like a creative, modern design colour also adds vibrancy to a brand and delivers a physiological message to your potential customers.

Your logo should be at least two colours and usually no more than four – these  colour combinations create subliminal meanings like friendly, trustworthy,  dependable and so on.  What are your logo colours secretly saying about your  business?

Today’s modern printing methods have made full colour printing more affordable than everbefore so don’t be scared to use bright colours in your design.

A word of warning though – make sure that the colour chosen works equally as well on a computer screen as it does on a printed letterhead or business card – colour consistency across all mediums is vital to brand building.

How to make the most of a $5000 marketing budget

So you’ve got $5,000 to market your business but what do you  spend it on to get the ‘best bang’ for your buck? Here’s Tony Eades’ TOP FIVE marketing activities (in order of importance) to promote and grow your business with an  investment of only $5000.

 

1.      BUILD YOUR ONLINE BUSINESS

Amazingly, about 60 per cent of SME’s still don’t have a convincing presence online. With millions of consumers searching daily online for products or using the internet to research a business before making a buying decision how can any business afford not to have an online shop front?

A $5,000 budget should buy you a professional 10-page website with necessities like e-news,
e-commerce, blogs, forums and a back-end content management system (CMS) so you can administer 

and edit the site yourself.

2.      DIRECT MAIL CAMPAIGN

Most small to medium businesses find that the majority of their regular customers virtually come from within a 5km radius of their front door. Through your local Australia Post distribution centre you can send ‘unaddressed mail’ to businesses, post office boxes or street addresses in your local area from just 12c an item.

 

Cleverly designed DL size (envelope size) flyers work best if printed on glossy, mid-weight stock – this helps take away the common junk mail feel.

To design, print and deliver 10,000-15,000 flyers should cost you less than $5,000 and achieve instant results.

 

3.      REFRESH YOUR BRAND

If you have had your logo for more than five years your brand is probably looking a little tired.

Let’s face it, how fashionable are your clothes from five years ago?

A modern redesign or upgrade of your logo can virtually re-launch your business in the market place.

A new look gives you and your sales team a reason to revisit all customers, old and new to re-introduce your business and its exciting new brand.

 

4.      TARGETED PRINT ADVERTISING

Most media publications charge a premium for advertising because of their high circulation, however, your target may only account for a small portion of these readers.

Find a trade magazine or publication that directly targets your industry or market and book a full page ad or series of half pages.  For new advertisers larger adverts deliver higher impact and can also give you some bargaining power to receive some complimentary editorial within the publication.

 

5.      HIGHER IMPACT SIGNAGE

Your building signage is like free advertising – promoting your business to passing traffic and potential trade everyday (and if illuminated, night traffic as well).  Like a house for sale with no For Sale sign out the front, poor signage can cost your business severely.

Is your main logo displayed on your building professionally, preferably in 3D, full colour and illuminated at night? Consider window displays printed on banner mesh or one-way vinyl that allows you to see out but display full colour graphics from the outside.  Are your company cars and vans sign written or at least display magnetic decals on the promoting your brand and website?

Then there’s informational signage – do customers know where to park, opening hours of your business, which products you sell or what services you offer?

Marketing is essential for your business survival and growth. It’s vital to get the most “bang” for your marketing buck.  For more marketing ideas on a shoestring budget call your Business Development Team at BrandManager on 1300 55 30 33.

Have you noticed your sales declining, fewer prospects or even more competitors moving into your space?

Your brand is the most important asset in your business – it’s the reason why people buy from you and not your competitors. So, how effective is your brand in today’s marketplace – is it really as powerful as it could be? Compare your logo, brand and USP (your unique selling proposition) to that of your competitors – does it clearly stand out, does it feel fresh and modern or old and tired? If you were a potential customer would you be excited and motivated to buy from your business?

We’ve worked with literally hundreds of businesses like yours, large and small organisations from all over Australia and we have found that when it comes to marketing the same common mistakes are made time and time again.

Working with BrandManager means you will …

• Unlock your true business potential, grow your brand and increase sales by avoiding common marketing mistakes
  
• Tap in to a pool of creative talent to make your marketing more exciting and above all, far more effective
• Save time by working with one company that has the experience you need in print, web, digital media and mainstream advertising
• Save money with discounts of up to 30 percent on Australia’s best wholesale print pricing
• Manage and grow your business with print marketing software, sales training and marketing workshops 

I'm Tony Eades, BrandManager's Creative Director - invest just 30 minutes in a meeting with me and I’ll show you where you are probably going wrong with your marketing and what you should be doing right now to grow your business brand. 

Phone us on 1300 55 30 33, email info@thebrandmanager.com.au or call in for a coffee at level 5, Nexus Building, 4 Columbia Court, Baulkham Hills.

60 seconds with Damian Knight

One size fits all

Using the latest advanced technology and logistics DesignShop can now design and print a full range of products for client’s offices worldwide.

Our future lies with Generation Y

How to increase your energy levels by 300 per cent

By Gabriela Rosa

Special deal on colour brochures

 

DesignShop is offering its valued clients some hugediscounts on A4 size one and two-sided full-colour promotional brochures.

These brochures are custom made to suit your companyneeds.

 

All prices include free DL (standard envelope) or A5 folding for mail-outs or mail-drops. Order NOW and SAVE.

 

The following prices* arefor heavy paper 150gsm full-colour gloss:

 

Quantity	1-sided	2-sided
500	$300	$400
1000	$310	$439
2500	$475	$609
5000	$675	$830

These prices are for 115gsmfull-colour gloss:

Quantity	1-sided	2-sided
5000	$590	$740
10,000	$905	$1,090

Creating a fresh new look

 

Did you know ... Design Shop has a full creative team who can breathe new life into your brand. Our design team can give your company a fresh new look.

Start surfing the web and collect a list of your favourite websites, logos you feel stand out on supermarket shelves or business cards that demand attention. For just $125 an hour our design team can give your business a professional makeover. Or, you can visit our LogoShop where you can create a customised logo in minutes using our easy, flexible and automated system – based on the same process top design firms use.

	No design experience or special software skills required.  Start by selecting from hundreds of professionally designed templates, then modify the design, change the font and select the colours – there's even a selection of various pre-designed colour themes to help you get the colours just right!

LogoShop is your key to creating the most important part of your business marketing – your logo.  Your whole business image, branding and marketing will be built around your logo, company colours and the theme you choose.

When you have completed your logo you will be able to download it in a format that can be used for printing and presentations – plus your new design is saved on our server and automatically imported to each new shop that you visit.

With LogoShop you have the power to create the next big international brand! 

Visit www.designshop.com.au/design - create a log-in, select 'start a new design', click continue, then LogoShop and follow the steps through to 'design it now' where you'll launch DesignShop's free online Design Editor.

Business turns to YouTube

The following edited article by Ed Charles was recently published in The Australian newspaper showing how some smart businesses are using YouTube as a slick marketing tool ...

Marketing fads come and go but YouTube and the internet look as if they are here to stay. YouTube is about rich, interesting content rather than rich video productions.This makes it an ideal medium for small to medium-sized business, according to Sydney-based social media consultant Laurel Papworth.Australia is behind the US in using Web 2.0 applications. 

But small companies are warming to cheaply made YouTube clip.

The article cites examples of Australian companies that have used YouTube to promote their products with amazing results.For example, a Sydney-based boutique beer company posted an eye-catching promotional video on YouTube with a link to its own website.   Some months they now receive a staggering 1 million hits on their site – the lion’s share of which are directly related to the video.

YouTube is one of the most cost-effective ways to host and distribute video on the internet. 

But there are limits to using YouTube. For instance, any single video uploaded has to be under 100MB which, depending on quality, limits lengths to 5-10 minutes.Laurel Papworth says for full effect businesses should spread their message where they have social and business connections.These could include a traditional website, blog, Facebook, MySpace or forums.“You wouldn’t create a video and put it up on your Facebook page and just hope to be discovered,” she says.

Translating English into plain English ...

Website design terminology can be quite confusing for many small business operators. But a basic understanding of technical terminology can help you make some good design decisions.

Look who’s talking ...

Ashleigh Sheehan, Business Development Manager, DesignShop

Your time starts now...

The best night of television is ... Wednesday! I love The Gruen Transfer and The Kathryn Tate Show. Plus I’ve been enjoying Risking It All on SBS. I can’t believe I collect ... paper. I have pads and pads of paper, and exercise books (with the Japanese and Korean covers from Morning Glory) and cute little note books – hundreds of leather bound and sari covered notebooks from India (well, maybe not hundreds but definitely slightly obsessive...)   An artist on my ipod I’m slightly embarrassed about (but I really love) is ... Justin Timberlake. He’s actually cool, right? Oh and Eminem, his lyrics assault my feminist leanings but his beats get under my skin ...

My best chance of representing Australia in the Beijing Olympics would be ... in Basketball. Sport is not my strong suit at all, but I played basketball when I was a kid and I’m pretty tall ...

Before I die I’d love to visit ... Iran. Such incredible history and culture. Maybe they would pretend to be impressed by my smattering of Farsi?

Think inside the box ... Brand Manager In A Box is a one-stop shop for all small business marketing needs. There are special design templates to suit every application. For the licensed club and hospitality sector we offer a wide range of design and print services.  There are dozens of templates to ensure your business stands out from the crowd. Now you can design custom-made flyers for: Cocktail specials  Thursday/Friday drink or food specials Karaoke competitions  Trivia and poker nights  Entertainment – comedy/ band night  You can now even design your own beer coasters! There’s also standard office stationery including: Letterheads Business cards With compliments slips  Or perhaps you need an advertisement to promote your next event. Brand Manager In A Box offers advertisement templates in various sizes for magazines and newspapers. Test drive Brand Manager in a box by calling 1300 55 30 33 or emailing info@designshop.com.au