Now we are actually sitting in 2012, it almost seems surreal as everyone had been talking about this particular year for so long.  It was way back in 2005, when IOC president Jacques Rogge made the announcement that the Olympics would be held in Britain, for the first time since 1948.

As we approach the summer the inevitable marketing of pretty much everything we buy and do will think to feature some reference to the Olympics.  However as a business there are some pretty stringent rules to adhere to before you start sticking the Olympic rings on your marketing collateral.  IPC media have recently sent a very informative email about the restrictions, given that they have had to reject adverts submitted to them featuring references to the Games.

Below I have included their links to the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG) website pdfs so that you can read all about it in detail if you need to.

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The Facts from IPC Media:

It is important to be aware that explicit or implied reference to the Olympic Games or the athletes is governed by specially enacted laws and regulations that are very restrictive to anyone but official sponsors. These Olympic Association laws go well beyond and are much stricter than what would otherwise be permitted by the CAP code  (Committee of Advertising Practice) or any other relevant advertising law.

The London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG) have indicated that they will be very vigilant in enforcing violations of the Olympic association laws particularly as the games approach. A basic summary of how these laws may affect your business can be found here:

http://www.london2012.com/documents/brand-guidelines/guidelines-for-business-use.pdf

More detailed guidance here:

http://www.london2012.com/documents/brand-guidelines/statutory-marketing-rights.pdf

And for those companies that have supplied the Olympics, Team GB or any other official British team competing in these games the supplier protocol must be adhered to – this effectively prevents suppliers from making references to the fact that they are a supplier in their ad copy:

http://www.london2012.com/documents/oda-publications/no-marketing-rights-suppliers-protocol-dec-2007.pdf

In accordance with the Olympic Symbol Protection Act and the London Olympic and Paralympic Games Act, any ad promoting an item of Olympic erchandise must feature an officially licensed product approved by LOCOG and must carry the official merchandise hologram.

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Happy reading!

If you’re planning to do any print or online advertising in 2012, you’d be wise to plan ahead.  By creating a media plan for the year you can reap the financial benefits of block booking as well as being able to negotiate best positions in the publications and potentially getting them to agree to place your editorial as part of the deal.

To give you an example, I created a media plan for one of my clients with their annual advertising budget of £20,000. From the initial rate card costs of £21,700 I managed to negotiate a reduction over all the publications of nearly £9,000 allowing them to increase their exposure with additional advertising in their chosen publications as well as adding some new ones to the mix.  I also managed to secure regular editorial coverage as they could see we were
committed advertisers.

Whilst there is a lot to be said for a great last minute space deal, you are subject to the restrictions of fitting into the particular ‘space’ they have for your
advert and perhaps being persuaded by price, rather than logical thinking and planning around your target market.

A girl in search of a kiss-ass outfit for a series of important forthcoming meetings, shopping alone save for a restless 13 month old baby who would rather be anywhere but her buggy is a special breed. This was me on Saturday!

So, there I was, a little on the fraught side, but ready to attack the mission at hand. What I needed was a helpful steer in the right direction, then efficient service as I had a limited window of opportunity before the task became mission:impossible (I refer you back to the buggy comment above).

One of my mantras at Mzuri is to treat all clients as individuals and each project as unique so we can tailor a bespoke solution that achieves the very best outcome for our clients’ needs. This is a philosophy that the shop assistant at LK Bennett who served me on Saturday could have usefully taken on board.

She did so many things brilliantly, that if she had dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s it would have made for a sublime shopping experience, but a few basic errors in my customer experience let it down. It led me to think about how it is the small things that can make all the difference to our experience of and perception of the companies that we patronise, so thought I’d jot down my top tips resulting from this less than perfect shopping experience:

1) Ask the right questions and listen to the answers. I wanted a dress and possibly a coat. I didn’t want persistent attempts to be upsold a bag, scarf, jacket, shoes and boots. One gentle introduction of these options would have been fine (I want to know the options available to me that would enhance my basic objective!), but she was a woman on a mission and it put me off.

2) Don’t change the keenness of your approach when you realise the customer only wants the dress may be persuaded on the coat, but it’s an absolute no on the other stuff. Engage my interest, show your skill at combining other elements of an outfit and respect my clear signals that I’m not here to break the bank by buying it all; exceed my expectations by not taking the traditional ‘I’m gonna sell you as much as I can’ approach and you’ll win more of my respect. And probably have me saving up my pennies to rush back and get the boots when I can afford them, and telling my friends how great the shop is (instead I’m blogging about the fact that it irritated me!).

3) Make sure you ‘hold the baton’ until the transaction is complete. Don’t dump my clothes (that you handled so carefully and presented so beautifully in the changing rooms) on the counter then rush off to serve another customer while I stand at the checkout with an irate child and I just want to pay and get on the move. I stood for 5 minutes waiting to pay for the goods. If I hadn’t needed the dress for a specific meeting, I would have left.

4) If you offer a discount (20% off splashed across the windows), then make sure this is applied at the till without having to be reminded (when I’d realised half way down the high street!) then having to wait another 5 minutes while you get the store manager to come and process my refund.

I left feeling slightly let down that I’d gone from feeling a million dollars in the changing room in the lovely dress, to feeling a bit annoyed at having been ‘processed’ in a horrible salesy way.

In telling this little tale of my shopping adventure, I have concluded that customer service is a bit like an essay – it has to have a beginning, a middle and an end to be great. And if you neglect one element, the whole thing is much less persuasive and doesn’t leave the lasting impression that it could have.

We’ve all seen them – those ‘site under construction’ holding page with some clip art of a yellow hazard cone. Often unbranded, without contact information or even a sugestion as to what the site will be for. Not a crime I hear you say, when you are starting out and not promoting your website yet. True enough.

But with the huge list of ‘things to do’ that all new business start ups have to contend with, it’s not uncommon for the website to be promoted before its ready. Business cards handed out at networking: check. Emails with jazzy email footers linking to website and social media: check. Free business listings online: check. You see what I’m getting at. The website’s on the agenda, but you’ve got lots of high priority tasks and in some cases getting some money flowing in by doing what you do is higher up the list.

That’s when a more extensive ‘holding page’ can be an inexpensive and valuable tool for new businesses. As with the example below for EnViva Care you can express your company propostion and values and include all important contact information, dressed as appropriate with graphics and images. And not forgetting the lovely new logo you’ve decided on. This approach doesn’t help for search engine optimisation (SEO) for all manner of reasons – but that’s not the intention here. Your main site is where you will be concerned about keyword density, live content, meta descriptions, H1 tags and all that SEO jazz that we get so excited about (but then we’re a bit geeky like that). But at least a more considered holding page like this provide a professional and useful interim measure while you get the full site ready to rock.  See it here www.envivacare.com

Well obviously the answer is to brand…need I say more?

Yes, of course I do and am happy to, because this is a subject close to my heart (and that of my lovely colleagues as well I know).

We all know that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover but in conflict with that little saying is the one about first impressions…confusing huh? Well the truth is that, moral or not, people do make snap judgements based on their first look. So guess what, more often than not potential clients who don’t already know you, will take one look at your logo/brand and make the decision (consciously or sub-consciously) on whether or not to do business with you.

You may well still be thinking, ‘come on Zoë, it really is just a logo’, but consider this, it is estimated that 96% of the value of Coca Cola is attributable solely to its brand. That’s the equivalent of $150bn.

When I talk about brand I’m not just referring to your logo, it’s much more than that. It relates to everything from how your phones are answered to the style of writing you employ right up to you business objectives, values and mission and the stakeholder’s perception of the business. Your brand should reflect your business aspirations, the type of experience you would like your clients/customers to have with you and the relationships you have with your employees. Now take an objective look at your brand, which is essentially your business’s face. What do you see?

Consider some of your favourite brands, how do they express the vision of the company and you’ll see what I mean? You’d never mistake the purpose and function of Waitrose for Asda for example.

A re-brand needn’t be a painful process, in fact it should be liberating and positive. There are several very good reasons to rebrand. They include:

• To stay sharp, competitive and in tune with your market(s)
• To bring the internal and external parts of the company in line with each other for a more cohesive and effective offering
• As a result of mergers or acquisitions
• To accommodate changes within the business
• To accommodate more effective business practices and streamlining
• To allow for effective application and presence across a range of appropriate media including online.

In conclusion, you have a brand for a reason, it should be a summation of everything your company believes and promises, its style and personality. That’s what your customers initially buy into and that’s what they expect, anything else will be a disappointment.