Case Study: La Maison website copy and communications strategy
Background: Working with Second Storey Productions, La Maison Sydney, makers and retailers in eclectic furniture and homewares, was looking for a completely new online solution. Unashamedly Creative was brought in to assist with the voice development, copywriting and social media review and planning. Objective: To create a new website with SEO friendly copy that did not lose the beauty and personality of the La Maison range or the lead designer... Read More
5 Ways your website is driving people nutty
Having proved that yes, you do need a website, now let’s look at the ways your website could be driving people nutty and therefore not converting them into customers. Blocking Content When someone is reading on your site and getting to know what you do, stop blocking them with pop up prompts or floating social media that makes it hard to read. It’s like being at a concert, wanting to get into the action and then having some 6 foot 5 behemoth stand... Read More
Roadtesting: No B.S Trust Based Marketing
Taking the opportunity to catch up with some reading during my holidays, I tackled No B.S Trust Based Marketing. I was seeking something that could help the countless startups I have worked with, some information and guidance on how to foster trust with consumers quicker. What started out as promising very rapidly deteriorated into a complete an utter waste of my time. Here’s how: Customers are Irrational “I bought the entire book... Read More
10 Ways to De-stress this Christmas
Got more things to do than a Men’s Shed’s got Dad jokes? Want to do things in a more meaningful and less cash heavy way this silly season? Then have I got the hot tips for you. Check out 10 awesome ways to keep your cool this Christmas with collaborative consumption! Save Money: Christmas takes enough of a slug out of the purse with food, holiday bookings, presents and so on- the last thing you need to do is buy equipment to make Christmas happen.... Read More
Retail Survival Guide: The real reason why online kicks butt
Bricks and mortar retail- hitting a brick wall? The reality is you can still walk into a bricks and mortar store, stand around for ages whilst the staff have a giggle fest, once they finally notice you are there they can’t answer any questions and then you find out the model you want is 3 weeks away, can’t be delivered to your house and doesn’t have extended warranty. As soon as after care is needed, no one is picking up the phone,... Read More
6 Roadblocks That Cost You Customers
Imagine if you had a long deserved holiday planned and you had to travel in the car for a couple of hours to get there. Now imagine if little things beyond your control started making the drive longer, unpredictable and stressful. You’d end up starting your holiday with a poor first impression that may even affect the whole vacation. The same applies to your online experience. Customers are travelling to your site to enjoy your product. That journey... Read More
Customers are People First
In this day and age, where we know that people have access to Google, review sites, social media and word of mouth in order to make an informed purchase decision, it still boggles the mind that some companies and products insist on treating their intended customers like idiots. It might be oddly comforting to think everyone fits into one cookie cutter design, or that we truly are “sheeple” that have no clue what we are buying but attitudes like... Read More
It’s not “Do not buy anything ever” month!
Can you help me defend what is a cracker of an idea? “Buy Nothing New” month is being featured in a poor light in the Daily Telegraph. Take a look at the article here and please make your own determination but… This October, it is planned that two people will be housed in a sustainable pop-up house in Sydney’s CBD. They will have to source all their clothes and all the furniture for the house second hand. It’s promoting... Read More
Crush it- I freakin’ love it!
I did the super uber nerdy reader thing in January and went to one of those “50 Books You Have to Read” for business people. What can I say, I was a little tired of re-reading my current collection and really don’t like snuggling up with a good blog before I go to bed. From that list, beyond the Richard Branson books I already had (being a card carrying Fanson, you know I had to have them!) I chose an unremarkable number of books- 6 to be exact.... Read More
The Empowered Consumer
We hear a lot these days about how we as consumers are the mercy of big corporations, are being dealt a rough hand by paying over inflated prices or are being mislead by advertising more than ever. I have to say, what utter hogwash! It appears to me consumers (and we are all consumers in one way shape or form) are more empowered than we have ever been. Here’s how: We can shop however we want, whenever we want Australia really has come into its own... Read More
Retail and the Multi-Channel, Mobile Australian Consumer
By far the biggest impact on retail seen in the last twelve months has been the maturation and genuine arrival of mobile commerce in Australia. And of course when you get a room of 100 clever, on the ball Product Managers in one room together, brainmates Product Bash 2011 was dominated by the influence of mobile commerce on the retail experience. Our panel of Mark Rowland, Co-founder of online shoe retailer Style Tread, Andrew Rechtman, Product Director... Read More
How to Stay Afloat in a Competitive Retail World
As brainmates continue our exploration of the discussion coming from Product Bash 2011, our panel of Mark Rowland, Co-founder of online shoe retailer Style Tread, Andrew Rechtman, Product Director of PayPal Australia and Daniel Roberts, Head of Online for the Woolworths non-food businesses Dan Murphy’s, Big W and Dick Smith, shared their thoughts on “The Internet Super Mall and the Future of Retail” in relation to how to stay afloat in... Read More
December eMuse
Welcome to the December eMuse for 2011! This edition we wrap up our remainder of Product Bash 2011 articles, uncover the results of a retail survey in our latest whitepaper, check out the Agile Conference, think about the year that was 2011 and push forward to training in 2012. Hold onto your pencils Product Managers, it’s a big one! In this issue: Product Bash 2011 – Continued Retail Survey: A fresh perspective from brainmates Agile... Read More
Product Bash 2011: The Future of Retail and Burning Audience Questions
At Product Bash 2011, brainmates asked their panel of Mark Rowland, Co-founder of online shoe retailer Style Tread, Andrew Rechtman, Product Director of PayPal Australia and Daniel Roberts, Head of Online for the Woolworths non-food businesses Dan Murphy’s, Big W and Dick Smith, to put on their best gypsy garb and take a deep longing gaze into the retail product manager’s crystal ball to give their perspective on the future of retail in relation... Read More
Why Do Australians Pay High Prices in Retail?
There is no secret that even as Australia experiences a strong dollar against the US currency, our prices seem extremely high, especially when compared to what we can choose to pay if we shop online from overseas. So why is this the case and how can local retailers manage to compete? The Product Bash panel of Mark Rowland, Co-founder of online shoe retailer Style Tread, Andrew Rechtman, Product Director of PayPal Australia and Daniel Roberts, Head... Read More
Make the customer the centre of your retail experiences
brainmates saw 100 passionate and hungry Product Managers join us at the beautiful Gaffa Gallery in Sydney on the 10th of November, 2011 for the end of year wrap up, Product Bash. This year we tackled the affect of the growth of mobile and online commerce on more traditional forms of retail under the topic heading “The Internet Super Mall and the Future of Retail.” We were very pleased to have join us Mark Rowland, Co-founder of online shoe retailer Style... Read More
Calling all freelancers!
Are you tired of auction sites trying to get you to work for $2 a 500 word article or deploy a whole website for $200? Have you had to mop up after countless el cheapie projects for your clients after things have gone drastically south? Do you sometimes wonder why employment agencies or digital/ad agencies pay you 30% of what they bill you out for? Are you working at places that don’t allow you to stretch yourself as much as you would like? Do you... Read More
Seriously sales girl, calm the $X#@ down!
I am completely and utterly allergic to “in ya face” sales techniques. In order not to increase my own blood pressure or worse still, be court ordered to pay for some poor unsuspecting retail shop assist’s counselling for Post Meeting-Angry-Bek Syndrome, I have given myself the following limitations: I have completely abandoned shopping at major department stores due to an overwhelming desire to head butt staff who seem to not watch what I... Read More
Crank it up, Aus start up style!
People who occasionally travel past my website may have seen a distinct change in content in the last couple of weeks. This is because like any good business, I am growing to meet the needs of my client base. I realized there is a new wave of business coming to Australia- and that wave is a drastically different one to what we have known before. It is the world of the ethical digital start up. Nope, I haven’t swallowed a bunch of buzz words, I am... Read More
Be careful, you could plan yourself out of the game
A Saturday morning breakfast meeting in North Sydney saw me swapping stories with a friend who, like me has done their fair share of working for other people as well as working as a consultant, and who ambles through the creative world as well. We both work hard, he being the far more successful (and far more likely to say “I can see you for 45 minutes at the taxi rank for a lemonade” as a catch up due to his busy timetable) and know our way around... Read More
Is that a Groupon in your pocket (or are you just happy to fleece me?)
Is that a Groupon in your pocket (or are you just happy to fleece me)? Australia certainly has seen a boom in growth for the online group buying schemes in the last 12 to 24 months. Along with it, the mixed reviews of just how much of a bargain the group coupon experience can be. So why is group buying so appealing and what can we do to make sure what we buy is the value item we are looking for? Let’s pick up the group buying phase and gives... Read More
It’s not easy being Green
Kermit the Frog really did have it right when he uttered the immortal words “it’s not easy being green” but I am not sure the world’s current eco crush was what he had in mind at the time. As I trawl through another day of the online world and I see more and more people purporting the green message, I sometimes wonder just how well informed the well intended eco consumers of today are. Something doesn’t seem quite right with this equation... Read More
All you can ever be is yourself
I recently had an incredibly delightful client of mine during a persona discussion lay something on me that a lot of us here in marketing land forget- all you can ever be is yourself and if you are trying to be something else, people can spot it. So what do we risk when we are caught up in our own concepts and perceptions? A lot… and here’s why. My firm belief is every single product ever created has a market, an audience. The reason it exists... Read More
My morning as a Luddite
As I sit here looking at the one blinking eye on my wireless internet modem after a trying week of having my old laptop decide it is a lavalamp before its motor finally stopping and crossing over on the new laptop to Windows 7, arguably the worst release in the history of operating systems for “known problems” and “software conflicts”, I am acutely aware of just how much my business is at the mercy of technology. But this is not just because... Read More
Why are retailers crying foul of online sales?
With the recent outbreak of apparent foot and mouth disease from Harvey Norman’s Gerry Harvey, online shopping has hit the headlines and controversy regarding whether it is OK or not to allow online retailers sell their products without tax. But as online shopping grows as a local and international choice, what other reasons could retailers have for being so upset about the envisaged unfair take over? Beyond offering lower overheads to businesses... Read More
The rise and rise of Swap Creative
Now that the holidays are out of the way, the Unashamedly Creative office has come back with a lot of bang and buzz for 2011- with the majority of interest being generated from Swap Creative. Swap Creative came about through wanting to satiate the desire to assist small businesses, most of whom usually lack budget to do major marketing activity, as well as regain some of the “niceties” lost after moving away from a steady salary towards working... Read More
Why truth in marketing?
Why truth in marketing? Doing a little bit of on-site tidy up of content yesterday made me think about an article I have left out that is so important to what I do- why truth in marketing? Having worked on both sides of the fence in terms of being the marketing person who works with a consultant or agency and being that agency who services the marketing person, I have realised there is one common problem- not understanding there is a place for truth... Read More
The Swap Creative Application Form
Unashamedly Creative is proud to present a new way of looking at your marketing budget with Swap Creative. In order to keep myself and my Labrador in the style we were previously accustomed to, and also help fellow small businesses get that all important word out, I will be taking applications for businesses who are interested in being my exclusive Swap Creative clients. I am looking to hear from any business that may think we could have an ongoing... Read More
