Category: Marketing Insight

Tiffany & Co – go for growth & risk brand

Posted on by Steve Sammartino

I took this photo at a random eyewear retailer in Melbourne Central.

The list of darling brands over expanding is long. And invariably it leads to the same place – over exposure, brand erosion and ultimate financial decline. And Tiffany & Co is about to enter the realm of it’s own undoing if the eyewear foray is any indication of future brand plans.

In publicly traded stocks as Tiffany & Co is – management are never satisfied with solid return on investment. They tend to have an unrealistic hope of something different – to outperform the market. Especially when they have done this for a number of years previously. (Tiffany & Co has been a share market darling through the 1990’s and early 2000’s) Management & investors alike soon develop a false sense of infallibility. And so when growth in the brands traditional categories and channels wanes – the brand extension tomfoolery begins.

Irresistible pressure to extend the equity of the brand is omnipresent for uber successful brands. This most often ends in the same result – diminished brand equity in the core part of the business, and eventually declining revenue.

The naysayers would now be getting ready to provide examples like Armani, D&G and Versace who are all selling eyewear. Truth be told, none of said brands have the allure and history of a Tiffany & Co. The Tiffany brand is clearly stepping down and over extending in the chase for growth as the share market investors demands.

This blog entry is more about success than start ups. It’s also about what happens when public pressure influences strategy, about the difference on decisions with multiple owners (shareholders & fund managers) versus being run by a single minded smart person or a handful of smart people. But when you start up starts to rock, or you hit the big time remember this parable.

Not only rice

Posted on by Steve Sammartino

Kai – sent me the following visual of a Melbourne Rice Bar:

Was it just in case we’re were’nt sure if they sold drinks as well?

Maybe it would have been more interesting if they said ‘Rice bar’ – only rice, nothing except rice dishes, we are the rice experts…

Cafe press & customer service

Posted on by Steve Sammartino

I recently ordered this most rad t-shirt on line from cafe press:

After a month it still hadn’t arrived. So slightly upset  sent them through a note as below.
My email:

My order was meant to arrive between these times: Estimated Arrival: Monday 6/30/08 – Monday 7/7/08. But I am still yet to receive it and I am getting worried that It will never arrive. It is now 7/13/08 so it has been nearly a month! Can you please follow up for me. I am a first time cafe press customer and so far it hasn’t been a good experience.   

1st cafe press response:

Dear Steve,

Thank you for contacting CafePress.com! This note is to inform you that we have received your inquiry and are assigning it to a representative. We respond to all email messages within 24 hours. If you do not receive an answer within 24 hours please call us toll-free at 1-877-809-1659 during our customer service hours Monday – Saturday 9:00 am to 9:00 pm EST.

To help track your inquiry we have generated the following reference number LTK419015882692X. Please use this number in any further communication.

2nd ‘real person’ cafe press response:

Dear Steve, I am sorry to hear you haven’t received your order. I checked and it is past the date it should have arrived. To make sure there are no further delays please confirm back with your correct shipping address. As soon as I get this information I will replace your order at no charge. I look forward to your reply.  

If there is anything else I can do for you please let me know. 

Please click this link to take a quick survey to help us improve our service. 

Best Regards, Crystal R.

A few things for startups to notice: 

  • Yes, it was an automated response, but a real living, breathing person got back to me within 24 hours. ‘We want to deal with real people.’ Only real people can respond to emotion.

  • They offered a toll free number for me to call on if a didn’t hear within 24 hours. All websites should have someone you can call.

  • They advised they would replace the order, no questions & immediatly. They accepted fault.

  • They included a link where I could rate there customer service even though, I was potentially an upset customer. No excuses, no hiding on their behalf.

In short, cafe press offered; guarantees, to fix the proble, they accepted fault, and started a feedback loop which has lead to great customer service, from a potentially negative situation. Now I’m blogging about a positive situation when it may well have been the opposite.

Webpreneurs – Be like cafe press.

Guitar Hero – a mass customized microcosm

Posted on by Steve Sammartino

Guitar Hero is quite clearly a cool product. It’s super fun and intuitive to use. I think anyone who has used it can agree on this. I knew this before I owned one, now I understand why. Beyond the fun of playing the game does two key things:

 

– Mass customization

– it’s Microcosmical

 

We often here the buzz of mass customization, but it’s rare for a very mass market product to hit the high notes that Guitar hero does on the customization front. Here’s a picture of my custom Gibson Les Paul Axe.

 

 

You’ll notice I’ve strategically placed the stickers in a symmetrical fashion which suits my style and design preferences. While going for a clear Mid-late 1980’s rock look by using the stars and flames only. For me this design rocks. While my friend Reg has plastered every sticker available on his guitar. Such a simple sticker pack creates a real personalised guitar.  

 

The store is also a very cool feature where players can buy everything from new clothes, different guitars (personally I prefer the Gibson flying vee), buy new songs, heck you can even buy actual new guitar bodies for the controller guitar.

 

It then goes beyond fantasy and steps into a physical reality for the players. Having on-line guitar battles and starting a band. You then build a career in the game which transports guitar hero to a special place. It creates a microcosm which closely relates to the rock star reality. The microcosm is the future of gaming.

 

Often exclusivity in distribution is a winning strategy. Not in gaming. Smart brands which need companion products, and companion products which are expensive (as consoles are) need to ensure they have the broadest possible number of entry points. Guitar hero has done this by being available on Playstation, Wii, Xbox, PC and even Mac. 

 

Guitar hero rocks, simply because it does all the stuff we hear about in new marketing so often.

Singapore Series – episode 4 – Theatre at transaction

Posted on by Steve Sammartino

The Vans Warped shoe store somewhere in Singapore was very cool. Cool in that it did what all good retailers do and provided some simple, but effective theatre in store. As I’ve mentioned on many occasions theatre is what we often buy, be it in the form of branding, ego or excitement.

 

For the new startup bloggies you can read more about it here, here and here.

 

So now check out these photos below (Focus on the right hand side of the shop front):

 

 

 

 

A simple rotating shoe stand which attracts the eye. This turns an average ubiquitous retailer in a random mall from wall paper to something which will stop you in your tracks.

 

Simple stuff, worth noticing.

 

What makes people stop to notice your startup?

Singapore Series – episode 3 – Political correctness

Posted on by Steve Sammartino

I stumbled upon this car called ‘clinic’ while in Singapore. The bar has a hospital theme. Some of their gimmicks include wheelchairs to sit it, alcoholic drinks served in syringes, drinks served in drips, hospital beds and operating theatre lighting. See below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Firstly, I found it very offensive. To me there’s nothing cool about emulating the situation ill people find themselves in while in hospital.   Secondly, I’m certain that such an outlet in the USA, UK or Australia would be lambasted by the community and in the media. Is it different – sure. Is different always good? 

   

The interesting issue is this: What’s unacceptable in one  market, may be fine in another. The world is not a global village. Although we are experiencing convergence on a macro level, at a micro level, opinions and values will always differ.

 

Startups with global ambitions – take heed.

 

Singapore Series – episode 2 – Crumpler; Single Minded Hero

Posted on by Steve Sammartino

While cruising through a local Singapore mall I noticed many students with their Crumpler bags. As seen below:

 

 

They make cool bags. I knew the brand was doing well.  I own a Crumpler and on any given Saturday in Melbourne Australia, their store is packed with people from around the world buying their super terrific bags.

 

I’ve since found  that Crumpler is now in 19 countries.  They have 3 stores in Singapore – the locals love them.

 

Here’s the thing that’s really cool: Crumpler was started by – two Melbourne bike couriers Dave & Will in 1995. Who deserve all the success they get. Simply because they created a product which is hand crafted & brilliant. Upon success, they didn’t fall into the trap of product range expansion. They stuck with bags. They stayed with their single minded proposition, and remained the experts in their specific category – Satchels & bags. They haven’t even extended into luggage. This is how power brands are built. By being experts. By focusing on a micro niche. Even when you’re a startup.

 

 

They just kept doing what they do, and expanded geographically. You can read more about them here.

 

Be like Crumpler.