Froodee

Living. Blogging.

The Great Coat Sale

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It’s that time of the year again, when the leaves are turning yellow, some red… and then falling down to the ground.  A little messy, but hey, that’s part of the magic of fall… which in turn brings us to the marvels of winter.  

And it’s that time of the year too when strip malls and department stores are beefing up it’s coat line.  It’s a really chilly where I am right now, mid-west of the United States.  Temperature here started to go down below 40 degrees Fahrenheit.  Even for the natives, it IS getting chilly, specially during the mornings.  Just today we noticed the first signs of frost in our backyard.

Now’s the best time to shop around for winter apparel.  The stores are having great discounts on coats (!) at 40% even at Burlington’s coat company.  We, in fact, just came from Macy’s and I tell you, their coat racks are full of great options for the gentlemen, the ladies… and the kids.  Check them out!

Blogs as marketing tool for startups

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On the tech front, FON, the Spanish startup firm that envisions to provide free, wide-area wireless Internet access through mesh-type WiFi networks (starting in Spain and also the USA), has been hit with its latest marketing tactics. Several high-profile bloggers have recently written rave reviews on their personal blogs about the service, with disclaimers that they are involved with FON as advisors to the board, and that there is possibility of compensation for their service.

Blogs, or “web logs” are known to be good below-the-line marketing mechanisms, especially for starting companies. Several businesses are known to actively interact with the Internet-reading public through blogs. However, the way the bloggers wrote about the service was questioned, and they were viewed as being paid off by FON to write good reviews. Hence, while the disclaimer of involvement was present, the way the writers made what were seemingly biased reviews was criticized.

This is one lesson in doing public relations thru blogs. First and foremost requirement to be a credible blogger is the honesty and trust. And companies stand to gain with getting trustworthy and honest bloggers on board.

Tips for effective ads (Part 2)

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For business owners, a new communication plan and campaign is a great way to start off the new year. To start you off in the right direction, here are a few other tips that company formation and business solutions experts agree will help you avoid the pitfalls of making a communication plan:

• you need more than one advertising or promotion. Different types have different strengths so you need to mix them up. A short message can be great for radio but a you will need a more in-depth copy if it is for trade journals.
• Advertising and promotion effects is not easy to measure. Some people may not react immediately to your campaign. It is also a good idea to keep records of all of your campaigns so you’ll know what type of campaigns work best for you.

No worries over decline of post-holiday retail levels

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Retail activity has fallen in the second week after the holiday season. According to research group Footfall, UK’s High Streets sales levels for the week ending January 15th fell by 10.9% compared to the previous week, and 5.2% compared to the same period in 2005.

While sales figures were mixed—with some performing well, and some in a slump—the research firm identifies the general slack in consumer spending as a post-holiday slowdown, with people paying off debt incurred in last December’s shopping rush, as well as settling household expenses as 2006’s first bills arrive.

This is traditionally the case after Christmas, as the holiday shopping spree ends, and businesses return to normal activity. The high rate of decline in sales is not what was expected, however. Still, it may be too early to consider this as a slowdown in business, especially since Footfall likewise cites a higher rate of shopper populations in the period compared to last year.

Company formation and business solutions experts are confident that the economy is healthy, and full of good opportunities for new business startups.

Tips for effective ads (Part 1)

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Company formation and business solutions experts agree that badly planned communications is just a waste of money and should be avoided at all costs.

In order to avoid losing money on ineffective ads, you should think about the following things:

• What do you want to achieve? The answer to this is usually sales but you have to determine which market, where and at what margin. If you are trying to raise awareness determine if it is for your company, your products/services, or your brand.
• What kind of benefits do you want to relay? Different customer types will see different benefits for the same product, the central message of your product must therefore communicate a major benefit for each type