Alex Woodruff Biz Buzz

I’ve seen many examples of products stretching their way across the Ansoff matrix into new customer groups or markets (market development strategy), but let me introduce you to one of my favourites. Vaseline for … But before I do, allow me to show you how Vaseline did a similar thing after years in the consumer [...]

What better way to involve the potential target than tune into a current news item or talk about something that interests the audience. This is what discount airline Ryanair did during the invasion of Iraq. They took a topical character and splashed him into the press advertising (for free – no need to pay any [...]

In times of email and other major threats to postal companies, it’s good to see a company innovating through the very medium that threatens them most. If you can’t beat them, join them. This example came in a parcel from the States. It also gained a nomination from Business Week magazine for 2005 Product of [...]

I hate the term guerilla marketing. According to the book written in 1984 it is “an unconventional system of promotions on a very low budget”, but these days it seems to be anything that isn’t classic media. A creative way of doing something different by throwing people off buildings, slapping stickers on people’s foreheads, whatever.Would [...]

Over the past 40 or 50 years, the amount of information in advertising has dropped significantly. We don’t have time to read long explanations. We already have to cope with up to 1500 advertising messages a day, so sitting and absorbing information has become a luxury few of us can afford – these days capturing [...]

When you’re launching a new international brand, there are so many things to think about that, inevitably, something has to slip through the net. In this case the internet. Blackberry pulled off a sneaky coup in Germany, and registered the website http://iphone.de/. Just to rub salt into the wounds, they then slapped, “Don’t let anyone [...]

The best ideas are so simple that when you see them you think, “Why didn’t someone invent this before?” With this one, someone did, but they charged money for it and called it ERP or Office Solutions or some other drivel marketing name. Not any more. Now you can coordinate, poll and more online at [...]

To attract your audience, you have to talk the same language. This is where the I for interest and then D for desire in AIDA are important – plus understanding customer behaviour and the things that make them tick. Siemens does this well. Their campaigns may cover similar phones with similar benefits, but they work [...]

When your pricing strategy is like Aldi’s – low price, always low price, but good reliable quality – you’ll be pigeon-holed as a “discounter”. There’s nothing wrong with this strategy, as long as you sell products in high volumes. Which is precisely what Aldi does – it’s the No1 in Germany apparently (though it would [...]

Spending above the line (ATL – classic advertising) is not common in many areas of business to business. Relationship marketing is more important and customers are simply not looking at the media with BtB buying in mind. It’s also very expensive. More money goes into personal selling, brochures, websites and especially trade fairs. So it’s [...]