We’re auctioning a prop from an ad we made for Rentoid.com on ebay:
Could it go viral? – maybe
Do we think it will? – we have doubts
Was it fun to write and do? – yes
Was it worth trying? – absolutely
Startup blog question: What could you auction to generate some awareness for your startup?
You can check it out by clicking here.
Hey, why not have some fun and ask us a silly question. Heck, tell a friend, place a tiny bid…
There’s no shortage of both of these now, although we’d like to know why anyone would invest money in advertising on facebook, when one can more cheaply create an application?
There’s no shortage of useless apps out there…. No I don’t want to be a vampire, but I do want to:
If I’m interested and the app is good, it will find me. If there is an advertisement in a side bar, I’m generally going to ignore it. I’m not on facebook to look at advertisements, no matter how targeted.
At Rentoid.com today we launched “Where did my money go?” An app which
– helps calculate the value of idle assets
– gives cools icon gifts to share
– shows people how to unlock their idle asset value
– enables users compare the value of their stuff
All while being part of the reason people are on facebook. We did this with just a little bit of coding. Check it out here.
Good app’s which are fun, useful and have a reason to link back to your business are an absolute boon. We can always improve an app over time by paying attention to user feedback. We’ve been gifted to have a free open platform with 52 million members. Instead of advertising on facebook and being an ancillary, build an app and be part of the ball game!
When we start searching / thinking / developing new business name we ought start with .com
The reason is this simple: If the .com is available. Chances are everything else will be….
– trademark registration
– the local internet abbreviation (.co.uk) (.com.au)….
– business name
– limited corporation name
– IPO / stock exchange name
…and anything else worth having. They’ll all be the same.
This advice isn’t coming from the high ground either…. it comes from the battle scars of not doing so.
It may take a long time, but it’s worth the effort. It makes it easier for people to find you. And by definition, any start up should focus on making it easy for people who want to do business with us.
Try everything.
Find stuff that works.
Keep doing that stuff.
Ok, so this isn’t about to win any awards or be sent off to Cannes. But it might be funny / relevant enough for a few people to send to a few friends…. we’ll see.
[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=UPdpEQY3hDw]
How many CEO’s do you know who’d risk such humiliation & a bung knee for their business?
Quite often we must make decisions by looking at the balance sheet. It’s a fact of business life. But when it comes to marketing such decisions can be the death of a brand. The fact is, most marketing efforts are immeasurable before the decision.
Irish brand Waterford Crystal has just done some Balance Sheet Marketing.
A quick summary for the uninitiated:
Waterford city is the Crystal County of Ireland
Waterford has been making crystal here since 1783
Currently one fifth of their products are made in other parts of Europe
They haven’t made a profit in 5 years
They’ve just cut 500 jobs in Waterford Ireland to move all production
Their Chief executive Peter Cameron was quoted as saying, “We can source things from Eastern Europe under the Waterford fanchise. That’s not going to be an event that will change the perception of the brand”
Maybe Waterford Crystal have underestimated the emotional links passionate users have with brands.
Start up blog view:
Maybe they should charge what it costs
Maybe consumers would pay what it’s worth
Maybe they should tell consumers they must increase price or leave Waterford
Maybe ‘all’ production should be in Waterford Ireland
Maybe they should sing this fact as loud as possible
Maybe they should leverage their history a bit more
Maybe that would turn a profit
The best financial decisions protect innate brand equity, not destroy it.
Last night at Stadium Australia two lower tier football teams (Sydney FC and LA Galaxy) played in front of a crowd on 80,000 fans.
The reason the crowd was so large was because of the person in the picture below. That’s it.
Start up blog isn’t big on celebrity endorsement, but when someone has that kind of pulling power the possibilities are endless. Especially when the person in question is inextricably linked to the event – the football game – ie David Beckham is a football player. It’s not quite the same as getting an Olympian to sell a car.
The Beckham brand is one of the few sponsorship properties that may just be worth the money. Especially, when it involves the biggest sport in the world, which happens to be a minnow in the worlds largest economy.
Start up lesson:
Don’t get someone to endorse. Get someone who is embedded.
