Kelloggs is an iconic brand, and a powerful one at that. So powerful that their products are consistently imitated. So, they’ve invented something that will enforce IP ownership even over their cereal flakes.
Explore our historical blog articles for nuggets of wisdom (and random musings) from our crew.
Business name registration in your state is all you need to protect yourself, right? WRONG! This is the attitude of so many businesses, and frankly, it scares me! It scares me because there is limited information out there about IP protection for small businesses and this is where it is so vital – one step wrong and your entire life’s hard work could come tumbling down. I read about devastating IP battles every day, where the little guy always loses out. So I’m here to set the record straight – and it’s up to you to pass this on to every small business owner you know.
When it comes to optimising a website for the best search engine rankings possible, the first assumption we all make (us marketers included) is that it should be maximised for key words aligned to your industry or product. So, because you’re in the industry you assume you know what people are searching for, like ‘Marketing Agency’, or ‘Website Design’. But, key words are not as easy as they seem. For example, instead of searching for ‘Marketing Agency’, people could very well be typing in ‘Marketing Firm’ or ‘Marketing Company’. Whatever it may be, the point I’m making here is that you can’t assume your key words – you need to find out what people are really searching for. And the results are often surprising!
We’re frequently involved with the design of promotional tools for various events which involves the collection and formatting of sometimes more than 20 sponsor logos. It’s a nightmarish task for our creative team; not only is there correct positioning of logos to consider (and all the politics that go with that), there’s also who gets theirs bigger than who, and the worst of all – working with less than ideal logo files and taking the risk that they’ll be pixelated beyond recognition when the items are all printed. This is not me having a whinge about how difficult our jobs can be, but rather me giving every business person a bit of advice when it comes to sponsorship – make sure you have the right logos!
Work experience is one of those necessary evils that everyone seems to dread. I still remember my various experiences, on one occasion de-veining raw prawns for an entire day, with a shudder. On the other end of the scale the ‘baby sitters’ have the same feeling – it always seems to be an inconvenience. Well, I’m here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be unbearable. How does this relate to marketing your business? Read on.
Information can be the key to your customers’ hearts. This concept is something that we have discussed with several clients lately and has introduced them to a different way of thinking – not marketing, but education. It’s about becoming ‘the authority’ on what it is you do, through the simple task of providing information.
Many organisations, big or small, strive throughout their lifetimes to reach such a strong market position that no matter what it did, it would be safe. Well I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this kind of utopia does not exist. It is impossible for any company to achieve such immunity, and for proof let me use the one brand that many perceive as achieving such ‘mistake-proof’ status: Coca-Cola.