Friday 23 April 2010

Voice of the Customer

Understanding the customer used to be “easy”. There was a formula and it worked. Then came the internet and the emergence of Web 2.0, bringing with it an explosion of digital touchpoints – emails, blogs, wikis, forums, and an array of collaborative media. Today, customers have a loud and clear voice. They openly share ideas, perceptions, and problems about products and companies. They create trusted communities and powerful, influential constituencies.
  
It’s an information-rich channel with a wealth of untapped customer intelligence. Traditional technologies can’t gain access or decipher the unstructured content that today’s customer conversations and insights are built upon.

Listen to it: http://www.b-eye-network.com/listen/8032 

Read it:

Thursday 1 April 2010

Advertising 101 - Lesson 2 - Like a RED RAG to a reader
















Contrary to popular belief waving a red rag in front of a bull will not make him chase you; locking him up for days on end and then putting him in a big scary arena with thousands of people shouting at him however is enough to send anyone a little nutty.

Unlike the Bull, humans are not colour blind and the hues and shades you use in your advertising are all evoke different emotions, both positive and negative, in the viewer:

Red: excitement, fire, passion, sexuality, food / danger, anger, blood

Blue: Quietness, serenity, truth, dignity, constancy, reliability, power, professionalism, trustworthiness boredom, sadness

Green: Nature, freshness, health, growth, harmony, fertility, money / decay, toxicity, illness, greed,
jealousy

Yellow: Warmth, joy, happiness, intellect, brightness /decay, sickness, jealousy, caution, cowardice

Purple: Wealth, royalty, sophistication, luxury, fantasy,intelligence, creativity, magic / Nightmares, craziness,frustration, doom

Orange: Creativity, fun, youth, enthusiasm, attraction,heat / Lack of quality, cheapness

Black: Sophistication, elegance, power, rebellion, mystery,power, elegance / formality, death, evil, mystery

White: Purity, cleanness, light, goodness, innocence,virginity, spaciousness, perfection / emptiness, loneliness.

Do your research and you'll find many different sources telling you that blue and yellow sell well or that green and purple should never be seen together. In truth you need to first find the colours that go best with your product or service. Just as they say you should never paint a kitchen
blue as there is no naturally blue food, it is equally imprudent to pick a fiery red to advertise your counseling services.

Think of your product, think of your market.

Once you have chosen your main colour theme everything else you choose should compliment it and work well to harmonise together. Try not to include more than 3 main shades in your artwork as the eye can get confused and it there is too much to process your potential customer will soon switch off.

If you need ideas and can't afford to get work professionally done then have a look at magazine ads, billboards and posters that work well and note down what you like about them. Research past successful campaigns in your field and see if you can notice a pattern.


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