Alex Woodruff Biz Buzz

The last time I saw an outlet opening that looked like it was in the wrong place, I was convinced by a fellow Brit that it served a growing need and would survive. Ok, I’m not into manicure and nail painting. But apparently it was all the rage at the time in London. So I [...]

It’s common in business to business for companies to play up their heritage. As any German engineering company will tell you, the label “made in Germany” is an instant door opener to many export markets.

A slice of English heritage?
It can also work in non-BtB markets, as long as you understand the audience. On a recent [...]

Two recent examples of how listening to the much revered customer does not always go right - especially if they take over your marketing for you! And using Web 2.0 and inviting online junkies to define tactics …?

Online geeks hijack P for Product.Source: flickr
We’ll start in Australia. The Land of Plenty. This includes Vegemite, a [...]

Lilac logistics?
How do you market a service that nobody can see, measure or experience until it happens? Tangible products can be shown, in physical terms. Intangible things (like services) can’t.
One solution some companies use is to turn the abstract “process” into something more visual. This company on the right, Müller, has decided to make its [...]

Don’t blink - it’s adiads
Question: Why do the Chinese copy big brands and produce fakes of their own?
Answer: Because they can.
Can in the sense of “are not stopped” - by the authorities, who have obviously not got the situation under control.
Can in the sense of “know how to” - having been trained by western companies.
When [...]

When markets offer so many alternatives already, it’s difficult thinking up new ideas to appeal to the over-targetted, already-satisfied customers.
Apple’s approach is clear: the USP with their latest product launch is stated without hype and over-marketed image: “the world’s thinnest notebook”. The MacBook Air:

So what about this one: Arrogant Bastard Ale. It’s been popping up [...]

If a soup is called low fat, and it’s on-shelf next to a soup for kiddies, you’d expect it to keep its promise.
Not so with these two Knorr soups.
Soup on the left: for kiddies, limited edition Teddy Soup. Soup on the right: low fat.

Knorr confusion
I won’t bore you with the nutritional breakdown, but the [...]

Always read the instructions
I discovered this little gem from Brazil on a table top in Berlin. An MBA had returned with it after discovering its “miracle benefits” while (supposedly) over there for his studies.
Everyone he met said you should take it before and after drinking and the next day you’ll have no hangover.
Now this sounds [...]

During a short stint in Sales, I was told that Mars never price promoted products that could be stocked or “hamstered”. Not sure whether that’s true or not, especially as promotions are a good way to round off the AIDA process - they stimulate customers to act - but that can also do you damage.
Interestingly, [...]

It’s not often a brand succeeds in outpacing others without advertising, but German cut price beer Oettinger seems to have cracked it.

Source: company website screenshot
P for Promotion? Nothing (unless you know otherwise…). P for Product? Nothing beyond brewing a simple Bavarian beer in a small town in a Bavarian backwater town.
P for [...]