arrogance and how to achieve it

At the risk of sounding pompous and for those that know me well, I guess I am, I wanted to share a few observations and requirements for authority, our rates and fees...
If you seek to show the world your vision and aspirations and get them accepted by those that should know better but don’t, you must always be perceived as being in the know. A leading Authority.
The critics and I have more than my fair share of them, accuse those who aspire and espouse authority, with spouting platitudes and other rubbish.
But the critics are like eunuchs in a harem. They know how it’s done; they see it done everyday but are unable to do it themselves. Which is why they become critics?

No, being forthright, confident in your articulation and communication, you can show the world what your values, aspirations, passions are.
Creating and designing is difficult to explain because it’s easy to understand. Bit like pornography really- you can’t define it but you know it when you see it. Great media, films, web sites, logos brands and adverts are constructed to render invisibility. That’s the nature of the medium.
Our media is constructed through the skillful use of visuals and linguistic elements manipulated to arrest the human intelligence long enough for it to respond positively to your business objectives.
The challenge of course is to dismantle the totality of it all and interpret how it was out together. Media, read, comprehended and works sometimes is observed no longer than a few moments but may have taken a few weeks to create and produce. Which is why you get the people who know how. You get on with what you do best.

Remember that great visionaries leave burnt trails and certainly do not appear to follow the well trodden pathways that lead to the comfortable mediocrity we are so used to these days.
Importantly, be seen to stand for something higher. Good enough should never be good enough for you because it’s dull boring and expected. Stand for achievements of real value worth, as being worth more than just money. Standing for Honesty, Integrity Contributing to humankind and its World.
Be the one who when boring people they think it’s their fault.
We have no intention of retiring from this fabulous life, for just when we think things can’t get any better – we open another bottle of celebratory Bollinger.
So when you decide to negotiate with us about our high prices remember, a company will go to the ends of the Earth to employ the right people of which our fee is about 10%. So our fee may seem high but we have calculated carefully what it takes to create and produce media that achieves its objectives and places you and your company in the finest light. . It is what it is and the successful companies that have paid our excessively high fees are more that happy with the extraordinary results. If you want a Bentley don’t expect to pay Skoda prices.
Having got that off our chests what can we do for you?

Don't crowd your branding

Whether you have a growing business or are well-established, do not make the mistake of working against the Law of Physics;
two objects cannot occupy the same space at the same time. (With the exception of the mile high club on the new Airbus 380-
and why wouldn't you try?)
Having established a fantastic brand and are now known for what you have established, why on Earth attempt to include the
incongruous?
Great examples of companies reaching beyond and sometimes below, their brand are plentiful and here are a few indicators
why riding lesser products on your established branding does not work.
Mention Kraft and people think cheese. This amazing association with cheese should keep Kraft laughing all the way to the
bank for years!
But Kraft, figuring they had a great brand name, decided to apply it to a whole range of food. Suddenly they had a range of jam,
jelly, mayonnaise and other food stuff. We are after all in the food business!
The Bean Counters and share holders might not see it that way.
Smuckers have garnered 35% share of the Jam and Jelly market. Kraft has 9%!
Hellmans garnered 42% of the Mayonnaise market. Kraft has 18%!
Despite being a major cheese company, Kraft, surprisingly, isn't hitting the top of the charts with its other food products.
The only outstanding winner it has is called not Kraft, but a cream cheese called Philadelphia, (now the generic!) which has 75% market
share. By trying to be all things to all people, Kraft (and many others) has ended up with a great brand name, but few real
winning products!
Why you may ask? Its all in the mind and getting the punters mind right is the name of the game. Get known for what you do
best and stick with it!
Think of your family ( God bless 'em). Your cousin Fred, bone idle. Your brother Jason, so industrious. Sarah, the artist of the family.
You grew up with a mental image alongside a name, the characteristics of that person stick with you for life. One name- one
characteristic.
Punters think the same way. Mention Honda in Japan and most people conjure up a great motorcycle company. Honda in most other
countries means cars.
The punters don't make the change at all. Once your product/service has a fixed characteristic it's embedded. Whatever
you try- it does not get re-invented at least not for a long time and after many expensive media campaigns.
So, how do the successful go forward and stay there?
Everyone knows Barbie and Ken ( the great all American image. God bless 'em also) even if you dislike what they stand for. They've seen the Ninja Turtles, the Cabbage Patch dolls and every
other toy off. There is no doubt they will continue to do so. Because Barbie and Ken stand for dolls with interchangeable
clothes. Nothing more, nothing less. You know what you get and what to expect.
That's successful businesses! Occupy a niche and retain it and know how to retain it. (Retention of client we'll cover elsewhere).
Publishers, now these are my favourite people. Find a niche, create a magazine and call it Vogue. Bring out another and another one and yet
another. Each has a different name and a clearly different demographic. Have a look at the magazines. None of them are all things to all people. Each one has a
specific positioning, name and target audience.
It can be expensive launching a new brand. Most CEO's MD's take the well known tried and tested safe route,
(probably 'cause they are bean counters and not marketing people, went to same school of management and haven't a creative bone in their bodies), to extend their line.
It's not as if line extension doesn't work. It works fantastically well. Then it splutters, chokes and dies slowly. This is
because when brands are first extended, people are eager to try out new products. However, they soon tire of it and go back to
the brand that defines clearly what they're after.

If you have established a market for NEO's and other premium punters, are known and respected as having premium products and service then DON'T make the
mistake of pitching the budget market with your premium brand name.
Be known as THE PEOPLE in your niche and stay there!




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how to get the minds right for business

Polls are next to meaningless unless you know the exact wording of the question. Getting your prospects mind right is not subliminal mind control of the type you often find in films but assisting your prospects decision making process.
The idea of the subliminal message is cool. Learn to speak another language while you sleep! Control people's minds by inserting inaudible dialogue or very quick pictures into the background! Wicked, I wish!
To my knowledge, that type of subliminal message, a hidden, language-based message doesn't have any scientific support. On the other hand, should you have evidence to the contrary please let me know.
Influencing another's actions can be fairly easy. There are well-documented ways to manipulate others and I am not advocating Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” or Mao’s “Little Red book” although well worth a read for other reasons. But let’s focus on getting the answers you want.
It’s all down to how you phrase your questions.
Mori Poll participants were given two options for combating a plague, projected to kill 600 people. Plan A, would save 200 people. Plan B, had a 30% probability of saving 600. The rest would die.
78% of participants took the safe option, plan A. Rephrasing the question in terms of deaths, 400 guaranteed under Plan a, 33% survive and 66% probability of 600 under Plan B, reversed the result: 78% of participants chose plan B. This is because humans are risk-prone when dealing with losses ("let's hope for the best") but risk-averse when dealing with gains ("let's keep what we have").
In another study, by Mori, they found that if you offer a shopper a "one time only" sale on a product, a Sony CD player say, most, 66% will buy it, happy to avoid further shopping. If you offer them two different products, one by Sony, one by Aiwa, both on sale, 46% will continue shopping rather than buy either. Choice makes people less likely to make a decision.
This confirms our strategy when writing and showcasing product and services. Know who you are writing/creating for and make the buying decision easy for your punters with just one clear and compelling message.
Read more on this at the baldchemist official site, copywriters.

The growth of the green brand

Don't bother with green at your peril. Former American vice-president Al Gore has been putting a great spin on global warming with the Cannes Film Festival award winning, An Inconvenient Truth. He and loads of others have really missed the biggest of problems for the World; - the population doubling in ever decreasing time scales, but that is for another time.

This groundswell of awareness has led consumers to favour brands that have a green element in their culture and products.

According to WPP, American and British consumers perceive the top green brands to be; Toyota, Honda, Ikea, Body Shop, Aveda, Sub Zero. There is no real reason to suppose that these brands are seen any differently in other countries as the trends tend to be similar.

So how are these brands seen as being green? Consumers associate green brands with environmental conservation and sustainable business practices. They appeal to consumers who are more and more aware of the need to protect the environment.

Green brands boost sales and corporate image and are a point of attraction to clients and prospects.

You must however, act on the promise to be green. The increased awareness of Global warming means that
the punters are more likely to support a green company.

Corporations can no longer just say they offer fuel efficiency, organic foods, or energy efficient
products – it is now a cost of entry in many industries and corporations need to start thinking and planning strategies ahead.

Marketers must consider the next level of greenness such as ensuring their overall business practices are sustainable or that the products and services represents greenness in the bringing of items to the marketplace.

Strangely enough a study by the Hartman group indicates that the average greenie has no brand awareness! So companies that have spent years developing consumer confidence have the most to gain from the trend away from the mass market. As a result many companies not associated with the organic lifestyle have managed to capitalise on this new consumer base through product development and the acquisition of small wellness companies appearing under company banners.

Consumers believe that these are the things required for them to feel better. It's about choice- a real culture shift. We marketers need to be well aware that who makes the product- with what- and how are all questions that compete for consumer attention.

As big Al says and very pertinently may I add; it's time to go green now or risk your brand wilting in an arid wilderness. Nice one Al.

Say what you mean, mean what you say.

In all advertising and media, with the exception of Radio, it is the visuals and graphics that seduce the audience primarily. The attention grabber that leads into the headline and body copy or voice over. It is the copy however that communicates the completeness of the message, with the whole process flowing in line; visual-headline-copy-call to action-tagline.

There are a few exceptions, fashion and luxury ads where the model, product and brand convey a minimalist message. This is an image strategy rather than tactical that works harder at the
"sell".

As a writer every sentence you compose, particularly ad copy which needs to work hard in limited space, should ask yourself; what am I trying to say? Which words will express it? What image or idiom will make it clear? Is the image fresh enough to have impact?

Effective copywriting must use as a matter
of course the right words, the right tone, while working toward a measurable commercial end- a sale. While you are working toward these ends there are four traps to avoid in the quest for copy that transcends the kicking and
screaming of the media.

1. Talking to yourself.

This mistake finds its way into countless corporate ads, with a message that boils
down to: we are so wonderful-established-massive; you should be doing business with us. Right. Despite the fact that advertising is mass communication, you err grievously if you direct your communication to a mass. Your ads must connect with each prospect individually, with benefits that really matter.

2. Changing your message for no good reason.

Advertising is getting your prospects mind right. If you send inconsistent messages, it will take longer to get the results you want. Everyone wants "fresh". But, consistency pays. If it's working, then stick with it.

3. Diluting your message.

Load your ad with everything you can think of and it will become a food mixer of ingredients, the blend of elements which are only as strong as the weakest one. There is a time for in depth discussion of all your products or service benefits and hashing out what is important. That is in the very beginning before you determine the direction of your media placement and ads. Each should have a singular focus.

4. Creating ads and media placement, just to get attention.

Never forget there is a clear distinction between getting attention and getting business. Of course your ads and media placement must command attention they must do so in such a way that opens the door to making the sale.

Copy writing is a highly specialised art. Mess with it at your peril but make sure that you say what you mean and mean what you say in any language to communicate with your target audience.

Ask yourself; do you want fine writing? Do you want masterpieces? Or do you want a sales curve that moves up?

Don't let words get in the way

Writing original, interesting copy that commands attention is a difficult art. Most lazy copywriters tend to use
well worn industry cliches that readers are bored to death with and have no value anymore.

Here are a few tips on how to write for your audience with copy that works.

• Try to leave out the parts that you tend to skip.
  Think about what you skip when reading long thick paragraphs of prose you can see have too many words in them. (I'm guilty of this occasionally but I get reprimanded the editor). Readers however don't hop over dialogue. But even if you're good at it, you don't want descriptions that bring the action, the flow of the story, to a standstill. Keep it succinct, even with a little humour, it works.


• If it sounds like writing, then rewrite it.
  Don't get caught up in what we learned in composition classes in school, disrupting the sound and rhythm of the narrative. If proper use gets in the way- then get rid of it. Just be careful. You need to know what you're doing before you throw them out. Remember, rebellion only goes as far as the mind of the rebel and doesn't make you a good writer.


• Don't get too bogged down with grammatical rules.
  Most of the rules are only "forbidding" things that weak writers use as crutches to try and pass off their written word as real prose. Sure, there are plenty of great writers who break those rules, but there's a reason we call them great, and it has nothing to do with rules. There's a reason we call bad writers bad, too, and it also has nothing to do with rules.


• Read newspapers, magazines, books
  anything by acclaimed authors and journalists, Aldous Huxley, Mark Twain, Summerset Maughme, Paolo Choelo even Daniel Quinn damn it! Leave the stuff written for the Paris Hilton's, the Jordan's and the basketball players alone.


• Use the Thesaurus that's easy enough isn't it?
  Oh, and please be as liberal with the use of; unique, ultimate experience and the like, they are so ubiquitous that they have totally lost their meaning. The other thing of course is that no-one believes them anymore. I mean what's left after "ultimate"?

How to Target and Sell to NEO's.

Last post on this blog, "Are you talking to me?", I wrote about the three most interesting target groups; Evolvers, NEO's (New Economic Order) and Traditionalist's. Lets take a look at the most interesting and lucrative of them all, NEO's.

NEO (New Economic Order)

So, what is a NEO? 60% male 40% female, in the thirties to forties profile, business people with degrees. In marketing jargon- a classic "A"segment.

NEO's make up around 24% of the population on average around the world with minor variable allowances for certain countries. But, and this is the big but, they account for more than half of the discretionary spending in all economies and across all age barriers.

They are high discretionary choice consumers with the highest spending capacity and earn more than anyone else to fuel their constant consumption.

They have a sense of investment when they buy. They have little confidence that discounts and price offers will deliver the quality they expect.

They are attracted first by the product and the status it will deliver. NEO's focus on price only when they have low involvement with a purchase-when desire is not in play.

Premium lifestyle products are the preference of NEO's- the well designed, high quality product at the very top of the rich heap.

They have a high appetite for all kinds of rich information and rich content. They are willing to try the road least traveled and try something new.

NEO's are attracted to product with authenticity that stands for something rather than to merchandise created with personal commitment and passion.

NEO's are motivated by options- they like to discover something new for themselves and then tell other NEO's about it.

NEO's are individualists with a focus on control-success determined by planning rather than mere luck.

They have a preference for specialist magasines of the type Conde Naste, GM, Vogue etc. that focus on desire, imagination, design, whispered secrets. Future directions and that take a stance.

Their belief- the concept of "learning a living rather than earning a living".

TRADITIONALISTS

I won't go into detail here about Traditionalists other than to say they are occasional consumers motivated by promotional events and make up around 50% of any population. They are attracted to "the deal" and the true and tested. Slow to adapt to new technology and believe life is determined by luck rather than their actions.

The choice is yours, although for my money I know which one I would be targeting with my brand message.

Discover how to interest them, visit The Baldchemist

Are you talking to me?

Is your brand fighting for attention in a very cluttered environment? Have you really recognised who your brand should be talking to? You may well ask and why should you care?

The demographic of 18-35 year olds is quickly losing its spot as the most profitable target market.

New Economic Order and Traditionalists with the means and disposable income have rapidly become the most receptive to premium branding.

Independent research by Ross Honeywill and Verity Blyth of The Neo Group have,over 5 years obtained from 500,000 interviews and data across four continents with more than 2000 variables highlighted the need for a major rethink of brand strategy.

Three consumer groups have been identified; Evolvers, the youngest of the groups. NEOs the most dominant in the 20s, 30s and 40s age groups and finally Traditionalists, the 55+ segment.

A quick review of the groups reveals, NEOs insist on controlling their own lives, whereas Traditionalists prefer someone else to organize their lives for them. Furthermore NEOs represent a significant percentage of consumers who earn more and expect more, no, demand more than any other group. Their spending propensity, capacity and behavior well qualify them as premium consumers. They invest more and use debt to fuel their lifestyle ambitions. They will pay a premium for premium products that put them in control and at the forefront of trends.

NEOs prefer brands that reflect their passion as pioneers for the path less traveled and for creative options. They are after all, premium customers for premium brands and premium experiences and want to be courted as premium.

Understanding and motivating premium customers is the challenge of the decade. To engage their minds sufficiently for them to act.

Back to my opening question; Is your brand fighting for attention in a very cluttered environment?

More importantly, knowing how to address this very important audience and stand alone as empathetic premium producers.

To be continued...or visit The Baldchemist official website for valuable detailed information.

IT The new requirements

Dont make the mistake of thinking that being a technical geek with IT is enough!

Computer World recently examined with the help of three research groups, the most sought after IT skills. The findings gave us at the baldchemist reason to open yet another bottle of Bollinger.

Basic programming and technical support work are disappearing to automation and outsourcing. The opportunities will be for those who understand business processes, can design and execute technology plans that create business value and can cultivate relationships both in and outside an organisation.

These hot in demand skills cross traditional boundaries, combine technical know how with a high demand for business and communications savvy.

Most in demand, those who know how to face clients, design advanced and sophisticated applications customized to add business value in a specific Industry or organisation.

More collaboration, interdisciplinary and much broader skills than the code crunching programmers presently in abundance are called for.

The requirement, solid technical competence combined with fabulous business, organisational knowledge as well as outstanding people and communication skills.

Service skills will become more and more in demand. What is service you may ask? Well any thing that is economic that cannot be dropped on your foot. More precisely service is the application of skill to solve a particular problem. IT service in particular.

Of course there are those who doubt whether these skills can be taught. That they are the results of years of learning and experience. It remains to be seen.

We at the baldchemist are particularly glad that we have, over the years, acquired such skills. Much to the joy of our clients who want to get on with what they do best and leave this type of stuff to us.
Are you talking to me?See www.thebaldcehist.com for more. We'll inform you!