A table of the millimetre measurements of the standard paper sizes…
A0 - 840 X 1 189
A1 - 594 X 841
A2 - 420 X 592
A3 - 297 X 420
A4 - 210 X 297
A5 - 148 X 210
A6 - 105 X 148
A7 - 74 X 105
Roots of Youth rocks!
By Ann Williams | August 28, 2008
Hey. I got a query from a neighbourhood (and not so local) rock band. And, along with loads of the younger generation, I really dig their music (so maybe there’s life is this old girl yet!) Their query was: “We are a punk/pop band that stands for the youth. Our name is Roots of Youth and we want to become a noted brand. Any ideas on how we can support youth charities and get maximum exposure in the process?”
Well, let’s start with a bit of an overview of some of your marketing that I’ve seen and throw in some ideas as we go along….
The first thing I was to comment on is the band itself. Your voices match well and you have smooth support with the instrumentation which gives a great overall performance. That you sing in both Afrikaans and English is a decided plus for progress in the South African market. I think you have a winning formula for becoming a noted SA pop group. Keep doing what you are doing….
The Roots of Youth website
Then on to your website (www.r-o-y.co.za). Fantastic. I am sitting with your songs playing in the background now. It’s neat and concise while still giving the visitor a good feel of where you are coming from. Two suggestions and a gripe about it:
1. Make the writing one size bigger. All of the content is in size 1, which tends to put people off of reading it. (It’s one way to get a teenager reaching for their granny’s glasses!) This is a common web designer’s practice to try and fit more into the space but it is not best practice.
2. You had a CD cut in June - but when I got to the ‘Shop’ section there is nothing there. (Is the CD ready yet?) Hey. Come on, your fans want to buy your stuff and give you some money…! Make it easy for us. If you want to get easy e-commerce (and you don’t even need to have a credit card facility) without paying an arm and a leg, then have a look at MyGate.
And then my big bone of contention here is…. You are not just a copycat bunch of musos that plays only other people’s stuff in the same old way. You have original songs that sound great and that you wrote yourselves. Come on guys, one little mention on your website that Christoff does song-writing just doesn’t do you justice. Please tell your fans more about this part of your music journey. Have a look at my previous posting about Colbie Caillat and how she emphasises that she writes her own stuff, as well as the processes that she goes through when writing.
Facebook club
Which brings me on to my next point; telling people about yourselves. You have a super group on Facebook with quite a nice fan following. But what I don’t see is regular updates from you guys and dolls. You need to recognise that you while you may not be Paris Hilton (yet), that you already have a strong fan following - and they want to know more about you. Give them more info and make yourselves accessible to them.
I see that on your site that have a section for fans to send you mail. Do you send replies back to them? (Have a look at former 007 actor, Roger Moore’s, site for a good example of this.) You could give some more of this type of personal feedback on your Facebook group. This is a great way of interacting with your target market in this age group. Work these media.
And then a last note to close…
If you want to do gigs for charitable causes I would suggest that you approach some of the social investment foundations that a number of our country’s major corporations run. (Such as the banks.) Have a look on their websites or just phone their head offices.
I can also suggest that you look at the GreaterGood SA website (www.myggsa.co.za) as this will give you a really good idea of what the major charities and charitable sponsors are doing in South Africa and you could pick up some valuable leads.
Needless to say, there are still loads of other things that can be done to market you further, but this post is starting to read like a novel. As you are in my area I would suggest that if you would like to take this a little further, that you consider coming in for a short consult.
Good luck and keep rocking!
Topics: Communications, Mini Case Studies, publicity | 2 Comments »
Television advertising rate cards
By Ann Williams | August 26, 2008
This is the response I gave to a query on www.TheForumSA.co.za recently, where the member asked how to find out about television advertising rates.
Links to the various rates for television advertising as below:
SABC 1, 2 & 3: http://www.sabc.co.za/portal/site/sa…2eb68a24daeb9/
MNet and DStv advertising is done by Oracle Airtime sales which can be found here: http://www.oats.co.za/
Etv: http://www.etv.co.za/rates Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Television | 2 Comments »
Wasting their time with their telemarketing
By Ann Williams | August 25, 2008
It’s Saturday late afternoon; we’re visting. Our hostess answers the telephone three times within twenty minutes, each time to hear an electronic message marketing timeshare…
Let’s start with the timing of the calls…. Many South Africans who can afford to buy timeshare, also follow SA rugby. So when the ‘bokka’ are playing an international match, its not very likely that potential customers are going to be focused on any sales message that the company had come up with. So right from the start, they are wasting their money (and even at something like 30c a call, they probably spent many thousands of rands). Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Telemarketing | 1 Comment »
Maxidor tv advert does them an injustice
By admin | August 21, 2008
It looks as if security gate provider, Maxidor’s, latest television advert where they make an offer to replace any of their products that has been broken through, is coming back to bite them badly. This is a good example of how focusing on a ‘negative feature’ can damage a brand.
Have a look at this in comparison to Trellidor’s great branding. Trellidor’s website is well structured to assist the viewer to do business with them; they have educational articles; a good publicity campaign, and have made an effort to assist the community. I also think that their television advert (see this page for a link to this advert) is particularly good. Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Branding, Television | No Comments »
To blog or not to blog
By Ann Williams | July 14, 2008
As a business owner you may be asking the question: “Should I be blogging?” My answer would be that it depends not on what type of business you are running, but rather on what effort you are willing to put into a blog.
Types of business best suited to blogging
The nature of a blog would lend itself very well to service businesses, particularly where there may already be an educational element. Examples of this would be a spa, a dietician, an accountant or even a garden service. However, any business where there is at least one blog ‘champion’ (ie. a keen sucker), can find topics to write a good blog about, and attract a steady, loyal readership. Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Electronic marketing | No Comments »
Colbie Caillat - a social networking star
By Ann Williams | July 9, 2008
The marketing of Colbie Caillat has been as gentle and steady as her lovely music. This is what her blog has to say about how she has become an online singing sensation…
As befits the organic style of her music, Caillat’s fan base has grown by word of mouth, one person at a time. Last year, she began posting her songs on her myspace.com; tunes like “Bubbly,” a delightful confection about romance, and “Tailor Made,” Caillat’s joyful message to her sister over seeing her sibling find the perfect mate. Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Electronic marketing | No Comments »
Paper sizes
By Ann Williams | July 8, 2008
Topics: Materials, Print media | No Comments »
Become a crew member at CTFM
By Ann Williams | July 7, 2008
Our first visit at the newly opened Cape Town Fish Market (CTFM) in a local shopping centre included an eager waiter asking us if we would like to sign-up for their loyalty card….
Loyalty cards are a great way to get to know your customers better. They can be costly to run, so if you run any kind of loyalty scheme you need to think very carefully about what information you would like to get from them and how you are going to record it.
If you can keep track of what your customers spend on you will then be able to get a good idea of what products are selling best, and what general and personal preferences are. You will need to be able to collate the data that you get for this though, so a system that can uniquely identify the client - such as the CTFM’s Accrue loyalty card - is needed.
Then there is the ability to market to your known customers, both generally as well as very specifically if your data storage and retrieval system is set-up well. Even something as simple as personalisation of communications with these customers puts you a step closer to getting more sales, which is much cheaper than getting new customers.
To read more articles on loyalty cards…
© Ann Williams
Topics: Business practice, CRM, Communications, Customer Service | No Comments »
USP help for a writer
By Ann Williams | July 2, 2008
A colleague of mine from MyGenius posted a message asking for help with her Unique Selling Proposition or Point (USP). This was her USP so far: “My name is XXXX and I write and edit copy in order to communicate the client’s intended message in a clear and effective manner. I genuinely care about my clients, adhere to deadlines and ensure that my passion for my work shows in everything I do. Should you be interested in letting me help you get your message across, please contact me.” (Please note that this USP was the result of a marketing program found on the internet that assisted people in putting their USP together with a slight tweak by the writer who is still looking at knocking her USP into shape. It is NOT an example of her finished writing.)
Following are some of the ideas I gave in response for her to consider what her main strengths are: Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Branding, Corporate Identity, Strategy | No Comments »
It’s in the name…
By Ann Williams | June 26, 2008
Does your business or product name always say what you really want it to?
For some ideas on how to find a name for your business / product that will help with your marketing, read our article here…
Topics: Corporate Identity, Humorous | No Comments »