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Category Archives: 4Ps
Egg-laying woolly dairy pig
The Germans have an expression for something that tries to do everything, ‘eierlegende Wollmilchsau’, which I have loosely translated in the title of this post. Many brands fall into the trap of trying to be everything to everyone. It’s a kind of ‘throw in the kitchen sink and toilet as well’ philosophy to make sure every possible benefit is covered … Continue reading
An e-problem in e-commerce
A company slogan should say everything it can about the positioning of the brand, ideally even something about the USP. What makes you different? What quick yet memorable statement would you like to make in a catchy way that summarises what you stand for, who you are, or why to buy you? So when the time to go online came … Continue reading
Green Coke
Well it’s been around for a while in some countries (all right, months), so I was wondering when it would hit the shelves in Germany. But despite articles in trade magazines and speculation about the advent of Coke Life here, nothing doing. Not seen nuffin. Until it popped up in Switzerland.
Cut above the rest
I’ve already introduced a wine on this blog that tries to shout out on shelves by looking different. Its bent bottleneck could be seen as a USP. As I explained at the time, this doesn’t necessarily have to be something more, something better, or even something immediately adding a benefit. But it provides you with a unique identity, allowing people … Continue reading
Posted in 4Ps
Posters for all people
Posters are perhaps one of the most public forms of advertising. You can buy individual poster sites or whole packages matched exactly to your target group, from mothers shopping at superstores to hip city dwellers foraging for fashion – but also even B2B audiences making their way from the airport to the trade fair. So when you’re planning the M … Continue reading
Posted in Promotion
Flavour of the month
This year, the hey-be-cool food and beverages trend in Germany has to have been elderberry. It actually got underway in 2012, if not earlier, but in 2013 I think the product life cycle really gathered momentum. Holunder – German for elderberry/elderflower – first caught a wider audience’s imagination in trendy bars with a drink called Hugo, a sparkling wine or … Continue reading
Maybe it’s over
Continuing the recent theme regarding the English prefix Mc and its use in German brands, let’s zap to England. I’m not sure how, but the German prefix über (‘over’, as in Übermensch, the etymological root of superman) crept into English a couple of years ago. Its use is the same. So a person can be uber-cool, uber-careful, etc. Pronounce it … Continue reading
Posted in Product
McWhat?
I noticed a long time ago that the Germans like to poke fun at the Scots for being thrifty and tight with money. It seems to be acceptable here, more so than mocking the Swabians. But when it comes to the use of “Mc” in some brand names here, it took a lot longer for me to feel what the … Continue reading
Gaining coverage
One way to attract interest and get people liking your brand is to talk about something that occupies their thoughts. With mobile users, being available and (these days) having good and fast data access is important. So what better way to attack your competitor than expose their weakness: bad coverage. I like this example because it’s showing that German companies … Continue reading
Crumbs, free publicity
Bahlsen – once only a German brand but in the meantime tapping into international markets after making it to No1 here – got a lot of free publicity earlier this year when its famous golden biscuit, which had hung over the street near its offices, was kidnapped and held to ransom by mysterious cookie monsters. Only recently it emerged why … Continue reading
I swear it’s effing good
Fucking Hell. Not the sort of thing you’d say to order drinks. When I first found a German alcohol brand using the F word, albeit in German (Ficken), I did wonder at the time why brands have to deliberately shock the buyer. At least the first example used the German word, and it was legitimate, in the same way FCUK … Continue reading