A New York Court Ruled that Clipping Content from Internet without Payment is Not Covered by Fair Use

Meltwater is a Norwegian clipping service that monitors news about its clients on the Web. These paying clients include companies and governments that fork out good money to outsource trolling the internet for news items themselves. Meltwater provides them with news alerts, newsletters and access to a searchable database.

Those newsletters include introductory sections of news stories (aka “ledes”) that were taken from the Associated Press (AP) and other sources. AP promptly demanded that Meltwater buy a license to distribute news story excerpts. Meltwater refused, pointing out that lifting those ledes from the internet is covered by the fair use rules. AP then sued Meltwater for copyright infringement.

In court, Meltwater argued its activities are identical to those of search engines such as Google (which is showing headlines and text snippets in search results and is covered by the fair use rules. Meltwater would therefore be allowed to clip and display news stories that were found on internet.

U.S. District Judge Denise Cote disagreed and ruled that there are limits to the amount of content an internet scraping service such as Meltwater can lift from internet without payment stating: “Instead of driving subscribers to third-party websites, Meltwater News acts as a substitute for news sites operated or licensed by AP.”

This ruling is also based on the “click-through” rate of the news stories Meltwater dissipated. According the judge, Meltwater had lifted more than was necessary for a search engine and that is therefore harmed AP stating: “Paraphrasing James Madison, the world is indebted to the press for triumphs which have been gained by reason and humanity over error and oppression [...] Permitting Meltwater to take the fruit of AP’s labor for its own profit, without compensating AP, injures AP’s ability to perform this essential function of democracy.”

Reactions to the ruling were mixed. According to Techdirt’sMike Masnick, the judge misinterpreted the “fair use” rules, while AP and the New York Times were happy.

Needless to say, Meltwater appealed, so stay tuned!

Apple's Smart Move - Purchasing WiiSLAM

Remember when people were having fun at Apple’s efforts to rival Google maps? Well, Apple (AAPL) cleverly purchased WiFiSLAM (an indoor GPS company) for a reported $20M.

While most GPS companies focus on pinpointing locations in general, WifiSLAM is able to detect user locations inside buildings where standard GPS services often don’t work.

WifFiSLAM is a two-year old start-up that “building the next generation of location-based mobile apps that, for the first time, engage with users at the scale that personal interaction actually takes place.”

Its technology addresses the problem of detecting a user's GPS location when that person is indoors or otherwise in a location that might not be easily reachable by traditional GPS or cellular signals. The company uses nearby Wi-Fi networks to pinpoint where that user is located. Apple obviously wants to leverage WiFiSLAM 's capabilities to improve its own iOS offerings which is perfectly legit.

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By incorporating WiFiSLAM, Apple can provide walking directions to businesses inside shopping malls or airports. 

Will this be enough to compete with  Google Maps? You are the judge!

The Power of Colors in Marketing

How people define colors depend on their native language. There are peoples that have words for colors in terms of “dark” and “light”. For them, it is enough to name basic colors. But for many people in the Western world (especially designers and marketing professionals) there is a need to describe colors such as eggplant purple or stone red.  Defining turquoise can be tricky – it can vary from a clear shade of blue to a bluish/green hue.

In his excellent book "Looking at language through glasses – how words color the world" (Spectrum, 2012)  Guy Deutscher shows that people around the world distinguish between colors, even if  they do not have specific names for hues of color.

Funny enough, description of colors was not taken seriously since the subject was mentioned by Gladstone. He stated that neither the color of the sea not the sky was mentioned in Homer’s Iliad or Odyssey. For sure the ancient Greeks were not color blind – so what is the issue?

A large-scale ethnic research shows that many civilizations have limited vocabulary to define a multitude of colors. However, they were perfectly able to distinguish between one hue of blue and another one shade of blue.

Lazarus Geiger already identified in the beginning of the 19th century that words for colors in many cultures follow the same pattern. It starts with black/for dark and light. It is followed by red, yellow, green, and blue.

Berlin and Kay have confirmed this for many more languages in the 1960s. Deutscher concentrated on the transgression from blue to green, explaining why the Japanese  “green”' traffic light looked blue in Western eyes.

The word “khaki" is used in Belgium for a pale shade of green, while the term in neighboring the Netherlands describes a kind of desert sand light brown. Go figure!

For marketing professionals and graphic designers, it would be great if there would be an international code of colors. This would enable us to refer to and understand terms such as “winter blue” (a grayish blue hue, popular in Europe for websites) or “spring green” (a bright light green that is especially popular with eco-friendly companies).

(Image courtesy of hdw.eweb4.com) 

Flash Retailing or Pop-up Retail – an Interesting Marketing Trend

Flash or Pop-up retail, also known as pop-up store (pop-up shop in the UK) or flash retailing, is the trend of opening short-term sales spaces in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. It is also popular in Western Europe, more specifically Paris, France.

This breed of pop-up shops typically host fledgling businesses which were previously selling online, in local markets or at craft fairs. Since so many shops (even at Main Street) are empty due to the economic turn down  savvy entrepreneurs can negotiate profitable deals relating to rent. It also presents them with the opportunity to gain experience and conduct market tests without having long-term lease agreements.

This phenomenon is also known as "flash retailing". Even big retailers love it due to its obvious benefits. It allows them to showcase their new brands or test the waters for their exciting and/or innovative products.

According to Emma Jones, “the genuine pop-ups are bringing much-needed variety and flexibility to our high streets. They are not just a passing fad."

The concept is not new. Vacant of Los Angeles, CA was the first company to develop the concept of pop-up retail or temporary retail shops way back in 1999. A limited edition of products was on sold. Once those products were sold out (usually within a matter of hours) the store would be closed until shop owners received more products that would enable them to reopen the store. Vacant considered closing stores permanently after the merchandise was sold, and then move on to another targeted destination. This made sense since its consumers traveled long distances to niche retailers to purchase items. Up till now, Vacant still provides pop-up retailing and brand marketing.

Real estate companies and landlords are looking at leasing short term real estate since it gives them income until the market picks up. Pop-up stores fit the bill perfectly.

Some brands, such as Target Corporation, Kate Spade, Gucci, and LouisVuitton, use pop-up shops as part of their campaign since it is highly effective within a reasonable budget.  Incubator program such as Boxpark in London, UK and PopupHood in Oakland, CA are incubator companies that have also embraced the concept to get noticed.

So watch out for a pop-up shop success story near you! If you were involved with pop-up shops or flash marketing, please share your thoughts! I will be happy to cover you in my next blog!

(Image courtesy of Richard James at ftape.com)

New Online Press Release Kid on the Blog

PressDoc is an online platform for “press releases 2.0″ (aka “social media releases”) distribution. Traditional press release distribution services make sure that your press release ends up at a slew of media, including mainstream media (e.g., Yahoo, Fox, CNBC) and trade mags, as well as journalists, social websites and blogs.

PressDoc takes a different approach and focuses on individuals and organizations that already have a media contact list and do not want to bother with writing a standard press release. Instead, they can send a link to those contacts pointing them to a webpage with images and videos on the PressDoc platform that also provides statistics.

PressDoc is aimed at startups that do not want to spend money on established press release distributors such as PRNewswire (which also distributes social or multi-media press releases).  The average amount of press releases on PressDoc is around 150 per month.

Is PressDoc a main contender or a niche player? You decide!

• Amsterdam-based PressDoc is very Euro-centric with payment in Euros. Its main customers are based in Europe, which is a problem when penetrating the US market, let alone other foreign markets such as Latin America, Russia and the Far East.

• PressDoc offers do-it-yourself services like hosted multiple online press rooms where you can use your own domain and provide a place to store bookmark links to collect articles about your brand. This requires a certain level of knowledge how investment in time from the user.

• PressDoc offer the Social Media Release (SMR or SMNR) press release template / format that was originally authored by Todd Defren of Boston-based SHIFT Communications. This template is also offered by PressDoc competitors such as RealWire.

• PressDoc offers no apparent options to distribute a release or SEO-enable it, which is the main reason why PRNewswire et al remains the main choice.

• According to users, PressDoc doesn't distribute press releases for them, but makes it easier to leverage existing online presence for PR purposes. In many cases, a wire service might still be the way to go.

How I see it, PressDoc is competing in a market niche dominated by Prezly.

Do you agree? Please share your input!

Maker’s Mark Magnificent Marketing Move

Sometimes a company gets it so right, it boggles the marketing mind.  Maker’s Mark is a is a small-batch bourbon whisky that is distilled in Loretto, Kentucky, by Beam Inc. It is bottled at 90 U.S. proof (45% alcohol by volume). To meet demand, the company announced plans to cut the alcohol content in its bourbon to 42 percent (84 proof).

Consumers were not amused. They got really mad and communicated that they would rather deal with a shortage of their favorite bourbon than a shortage of alcohol in their bourbon.
 

Maker’s Mark listened and learned. The company tweeted “You spoke. We listened,” with a link to a public apology from COO Rob Samuels and his father, chairman emeritus Bill Samuels, Jr.
 

The text of this letter should be included in any marketing or MBA course.

Dear Friends,

Since we announced our decision last week to reduce the alcohol content (ABV) of Maker’s Mark in response to supply constraints, we have heard many concerns and questions from our ambassadors and brand fans. We’re humbled by your overwhelming response and passion for Maker’s Mark. While we thought we were doing what’s right, this is your brand – and you told us in large numbers to change our decision.

You spoke. We listened. And we’re sincerely sorry we let you down.

So effective immediately, we are reversing our decision to lower the ABV of Maker’s Mark, and resuming production at 45% alcohol by volume (90 proof). Just like we’ve made it since the very beginning.

The unanticipated dramatic growth rate of Maker’s Mark is a good problem to have, and we appreciate some of you telling us you’d even put up with occasional shortages. We promise we’ll deal with them as best we can, as we work to expand capacity at the distillery.

Your trust, loyalty and passion are what’s most important. We realize we can’t lose sight of that. Thanks for your honesty and for reminding us what makes Maker’s Mark, and its fans, so special.

We’ll set about getting back to bottling the handcrafted bourbon that our father/grandfather, Bill Samuels, Sr. created. Same recipe. Same production process. Same product.

As always, we will continue to let you know first about developments at the distillery. In the meantime please keep telling us what’s on your mind and come down and visit us at the distillery. It means a lot to us.

Sincerely,

Rob Samuels Chief Operating Officer rob@makersmark.com

Bill Samuels, Jr Chairman Emeritus bill@makersmark.com

Although the reversal was primarily business-driven, it is an elegant marketing move. It shows that Maker’s Mark’s leaders are human and can make bad decisions. (To err is human, toforgive, divine).

From a marketing perspective, it is short of brilliant. The company didn’t defend its motives but acknowledged that it let down it loyal customers. Furthermore, the company made a commitment to return to the original recipe although it would result in more product shortages. The well-crafted letter reminded its fans that Maker’s Mark is still a family business.

This case teaches us marketing professionals several things:

• When something goes wrong, let customers vent.
• Emphasize that you listen.
• Show that you reacted to your customers’ opinions (social media are perfect for this).
• Be sincere in your apology.
• Be transparent.

Subway Foot-Long PR Nightmare

Once you make a claim – make sure you can stick to it. That’s the hard lesson that fast food chain Subway is learning. (Shame on its legal team!). Subway sells a sandwich called the “foot-long sub”. Needless to say it is suppose to be a food long.

As always, an overzealous customer popped up who ordered the sandwich and measured it. (Yes, we are talking about a male customer – pun intended).

 

Mr. Matt Corby of Perth (Australia) measured his food-long sub and found it to be 11 inches long. Needless to say, in this social media age he vented his outrage on Facebook, where he also posted a photo of his sub alongside the tape measure on the company's page with the caption: “Subway, please respond."

The page received more than 131,000 likes and thousands of comments, ranging from "I think they [Subway] owe us some," to "there are way more thing in life to worry about then 1 inch of sub."

The New York Post launched its own “investigation” and found that most New York Subways serve foot-long subs that are less than a foot. According to the NYP, four out of seven "five-dollar foot-longs" purchased at Subways in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, measured 11 or 11.5 inches.

Subway attributes the discrepancy in length to the fact that the bread is baked fresh daily in each of their 38,000 restaurants, which makes sense in my humble opinion. The chain went on to state that they are looking into the matter.

The company stated: "We are committed to providing a consistent product delivering the same amount of bread to the customer with every order. The length however may vary slightly when not baked to our exact specifications. We are reinforcing our policies and procedures in an effort to ensure our offerings are always consistent no matter which Subway restaurant you visit."

The story made the rounds and was picked up by major news outlets such as Fox.

How can Subway overcome this PR nightmare?

1. Check the reasons why one foot is not one foot, and post it on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
2. Issue a press release explaining the discrepancy and thanking Mr. Corby for his due diligence.
3. Make Mr. Crosby a Subway ambassador and award him perks.
4. Encourage customers to help improving products and service.
5. Last but most least: use humor! A funny video or picture will be a healthy antidote!

The Lessons Companies can learn from their Live Chats

More and more companies have a live chat option on their websites. It’s a great tool on many levels. Why?

It allows companies to connect with users that are unfamiliar with their offerings

People search internet and come across their website. They are looking for something and they often do not find it immediately. These visitors love a live chat option to ask for tips. This allows a company to learn a lot about their visitors.

Furthermore, live chat allows a company to communicate with user groups that normally would not purchase the company’s products or services. However, since these visitors did end on the website, they expressed an interest or problem that the company can address.

Live Chat can help with conversion

Live chat definitely helps with conversion. It is the perfect tool to persuade any doubting Thomas, and also helps to accumulate questions that visitors are wrestling with to make their decision. Addressing these questions is often crucial.

Addressing the irritation frustration of users

Visitors often turn to live chat because they are irritated or even frustrated with a company. In many cases they tried to contact the company in a traditional way (phone, fax, email) without success.

The service department or the helpdesk must be used to being contacted 24/7. However, in case that that the customer does not get the response/ / service he or she expects, live chat is a great way to retain such a customer.

In short, live chat (when used properly) can give amazing insight into one’s (potential) customers and market!

Looking for a great chat solution? Check out nanoRep!

 

The Lessons Companies can learn from their Live Chats

More and more companies have a live chat option on their websites.

It’s a great tool on many levels.

1) It allows companies to connect with users that are unfamiliar with their offerings.

People search internet and come across their website. They are looking for something and they often do not find it immediately.

These visitors love a live chat option to ask for tips. This allows a company to learn a lot about their visitors.

Furthermore, live chat allows a company to communicate with user groups that normally would not purchase the company’s products or services. However, since these visitors did end on the website, they expressed an interest or problem that the company can address.

2) Live Chat can help with conversion

Live chat definitely helps with conversion. It is the perfect tool to persuade any doubting Thomas, and also helps to accumulate questions that visitors are wrestling with to make their decision.

Addressing these questions is often crucial.

3) Addressing irritation / frustration of users

Visitors often turn to live chat because they are irritated or even frustrated with a company. In many cases they tried to contact the company in a traditional way (phone, fax, email) without success.

The service department or the helpdesk must be used to being contacted 24/7. However, in case that that the customer does not get the response/ / service he or she expects, live chat is a great way to retain such a customer.

In short, live chat (when used properly) can give amazing insight into one’s (potential) customers and market!

Just check out some offerings, such as liveperson and nanoRep!

Why Temp Agencies such as Adecco Suffer in the Current Economy

Adecco, the world’s largest temp agency, remains a victim of the current economic downturn. The company saw its Q3 profit slide to 18%.

Adecco’s revenue accumulated to 118m Euro. The turnover of Adecco declined with 5% to around 5.3b Euro. Outsourcing more manpower in the US could not completely compensate for the diminishing demand in Europe. Adecco’s main competitors (Dutch Randstad and US Manpower) noticed that the declining revenues will also happen during during Q4.

 

In France, the largest market for Adecco, revenues declined with 16% during Q3. One of their major customers, Peugeot, recently announced that it will lay off around people.

What does it mean? In Europe, temp agencies are feeling the economic crisis. However, this might only be partly the case. Social media, such as LinkedIn, are becoming more active and are taking over a lot of traditional HR and recruitment functions.

 

Let’s face it – it’s a heck of a lot cheaper for companies to recruit employees or freelancers via LinkenIn or Facebook than using a traditional (and expensive) temp agency such as Adecco, Manpower or Randstad.

 

Unless they can show substantial added value, temp agencies will just not cut it with businesses nowadays....especially since outsourcing companies are proving their weight in gold!

How Temp Agencies such as Adecco Suffer in the Current Economy

Adecco, the world’s largest temp agency, remains a victim of the current economic downturn. The company saw its Q3 profit slide to 18%.

Adecco’s revenue accumulated to 118m euro. The turnover of Adecco declined with 5% to around 5.3b euro. Outsourcing more manpower in the US could not completely compensate for the diminishing demand in Europe. Adecco’s main competitors ( Dutch Randstad and US Manpower) noticed that the declining revenues will also happen during during Q4.

In France, the largest market for Adecco, revenues declined with 16% during Q3. One of their major customers, Peugeot, recently announced that it will scrap 8,000 jobs.

What does it mean? In Europe, temp agencies are feeling the economic crisis. However, this might only be partly the cause for their misery. Social media, such as LinkedIn, are becoming more active and are taking over a lot of traditional HR and recruitment functions.

Let’s face it – it’s a heck of a lot cheaper for companies to recruit employees or freelancers via LinkenIn or Facebook than using a traditional (and expensive) temp agency such as Adecco, Manpower or Randstad.

Unless they can show substantial added value, temp agencies will just not cut it with businesses nowadays....especially since outsourcing companies are proving their weight in gold!

William Shatner’s Latest Marketing Move – His Shatoetry App!

The actor William Shatner is best known for his role as Captain Kirk in the original StarTrek series and movies, as lawyer Denny Crane in Boston Law, and as Frank O’Hara on Psych. Being a savvy marketer, Mr. Shatner has now launched his new app “Shatoetry”, available for the iPhone.

It contains a library of pre-recorded words allowing users to create unique“Shatisms” that play using Shatner’s voice. According to Mr. Shatner, his life story is unique. He therefore wants his fans to “make them say whatever they want him to say”. Users of the application can therefore create simple sentences, phrases, word juxtapositions, etc. They can send words, phrases or even poems to their friends.

The app also allows two users to collaborate online. They can create their own text using Shatner’s voice. For advanced users, the app allows them to compose poetry and haiku... (personally, I am not sure what would be the benefit of that....)

According to Shatner, the app will be updated with word packs for the holidays and special occasions. He prices the app at App Store right now for $2.99.

As a savvy marketeeer, Mr. Shatner posted the following YouTube promotional video:

British Gas logo placement – a cunning marketing move or a happy mistake?

British Gas has actively promoted the London Olympics 2012. More specifically, it took on swimming as its pet project. Sponsorship for Olympic athletes usually helps both the Olympian and the company sponsoring them. The Olympian gets money to train and live, and the sponsor gains valuable exposure.

To keep up with times, British Gas also hired CHI and Partners for a new brand identity. Its logo, which has been used for since 1995, has been spiced up.

The flame from the previous logo has been replaced with a more abstract shape that is in part green.

Its current logo made (advertising) history. British Gas sponsors bronze medal-winning UK diver Tom Daley. However, the company’s logo was rather “strategically” placed on Daley’s sports outfit, as you can see on the picture.

British Gas was criticized for the “pretty awkward placement”of its logo. But let’s face it; there are not that many places where you can put your sponsor logo on this little blue number!

Personally, I think that the placing of the log is brilliant– once seen, you will never forget it! How many Olympics 2012 sponsor logos on athletes‘ outfits can you remember?

It did not harm 18-year-old Daley either – he is looking into ways how to cash in on his celebrety status. 

So let’s face it – even if it was a mistake, it has given both British Gas and Daley a nice PR boost!

Is Better Place Going The Solyndra Way?

It was officially announced that Better Place founder Shai Agassi has quit the board of Better Place, following his departure as chief executive last week.

This move triggers major concerns that Better Place would not be able to make it. According to the Guardian, Mr. Agassi left Better Place following his replacement by Mr. Evan Thornley as the CEO of the company. Thornley preciously ran Better Place in Australia.

According to insiders, Better Place is planning to lay off half its staff in order to battle its cash-flow problem.
Better Place has stations installed in the USA, Israel and Australia. The company was also planning to build an infrastructure in Denmark. Better Place reportedly secured a €50 million loan from the European Investment Bank in August 2012.

Due to its collaboration with the Renault-Nissan Alliance, Better Place operates stations in Israel with Renault Fluence Z.E models. Owners of these cars are able to change deplete batteries in their cars for fully charged ones. This reduces the process to a few minutes, which would be closer to the time it takes to refuel a petrol car.

But will it enough? Or will it go down the Solyndra way?

Knab, the Latest Banking Initiative

Knab, (which is “bank” reading backwards) is the latest bank initiative by Alex investor bank founder Mr.  René Frijters and the Aegon conglomerate. 

Labeled “the bank of the future”, is in an online bank where a bank account + bank card will cost the customer €15 monthly.

The customer will have access to a digital dashboard that allows insight into all his payments, pension & saving funds and assets.  The customer will also have access to various digital aids, including a “red line application” that automatically transfers money from a saving fund to a current account in case of a pending deficit. The customer therefore avoid penalties. 

The customer will pay 1% up to a maximum of €2,000 annually for asset management.  Knab does not employ any sale advisers; a group of selected asset mangers have access to a podium on the kanb website, but are removed if their validation by customers is below par. The validation is shown in stars behind their name.

Knab piggyback rides on the new bank permission granted to Aegon. The name Knab has the K in front, which stands for Klant (customer). This is for sure nice marketing and branding, but does not hide the fact that Knab aims at customers that earn twice the average salary and want to manage their financial future themselves. Not exactly your average Joe. 

Knab wants to break-even in five years with a customer base of 100,000 customers. Frijters is hopeful to gain 250, 000 customers by that time.

 Will Knab succeed or go down the Icesave path? Time will tell...

7 Tips for Using Twitter for Business

Using Twitter for business has become one of the main social media activities. But effective tweeting for commercial purposes is easier said than done.

It boils down to the following 7 tips:

1. Getting more followers on Twitter

It is important to understand that the number of followers is not that relevant. What is far more important is the quality (or suitability) of followers. Once you get a notification that someone is following you, check who they are before following them back.

The same applies to the reverse: only follow contacts that are relevant for you, your business, and industry.

2. When to tweet and how much

If possible, find out when your target group is on Twitter. Research shows that the ideal number of tweets in the US is 10-20 a day; for Europe, this is a lot less.

3. Relevant Tweeters

Who are relevant tweeters to follow and invite?

• Users of your (or a similar) products or services
• People from your area and industry
• People that inspire (gurus, industry leaders)
• Your LinkedIn and Facebook contacts
• Subscribers to your newsletter
• Participants of your webinars or events
• Prospects you want to engage/land

4. Ideal Subjects for tweets

People like to see tweets about tips, highlights, hot items and news. Topics of tweets could therefore encompass:

• Trends and developments in your region/industry
• New products/services
• Discussion items
• Tips and advise
• Trends
• Hot industry and product news
• Webinar, promotions, news items
• FAQ
• Blog posts

5. Time to Tweet

It takes around 15 to 30 minutes daily to tweet. Research of finding relevant trends, articles and news items to tweet takes longer. It might pay off to enlist a subcontractor to tweet on behalf of your company. It is in many cases more cost effective and ensures quality and consistency!

6. Follow Up

People react in various ways. If the tweet contains useful tips or (news) articles, you need to retweet. Asking for advice is also a good way to get more exposure. Do not forget to put the hash tag in front of your question!

7. Monitoring

There are several tools to monitor your Twitter presence and progress. They include: Klout, PeerIndex, TweetRank en Twitalyzer.

Do you have more tips or tricks for tweeting for business? Please leave a message!

IKEA Bank – Taking Advantage of a Weak Economy?

IKEA has silently launched its banking business. Its latest target is the Netherlands. Ikano Bank is fully owned by the Kamprad family, the founders or the IKEA outlets. 

The Ikano bank is not supervised by the Dutch National Bank and is therefore not part of the guarantee safety net that applies for current (and official) Dutch banks.

Ikano Bank is planning to allow consumer credit lines in its outlets.  According to the Chamber of Commerce, it encompasses interest free loans as well as loans up to 10,000 Euro.

According to its annual report, Ikano issues debit cards and is planning to issue credit cards in order to “provide a range of credit products”.

Since Ikano is not supervised by the Dutch National Bank, it resembles the IceSave structure. If you remember, the Icelandic bank folded and was not supervised and covered by the Dutch bank guarantee system.

Currently, Ikano is only supervised by the Swedish system, but not the Dutch one. Caveat Emptor!

As far as I can tell, it is taking advantage of the current economy. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, credit increase with 16 percent compared to the previous year.

Ikano started as a division of IKEA that manages real estate. In 1995, Kamprad established the bank, with one branch in Sweden. In 2009 the Ikano Group reorganized and clustered various financial activities.

Ikano Bank is currently a bank with branches in 16 countries Assets accumulate to Euro 203 million with outstanding loans of Euro 2.1 billion.  Income was reported at 342 million in 2011.

The bank is mainly active in Sweden, Denmark, Great Britain, Germany, Finland, Russia and Finland.  

The question remains: is IKEA taking advantage of consumers not being able to pay for IKEA merchandise the ordinary way? In that case – IKEA might find itself be caught up Dutch courts like Wehkamp once was....

Prison Fashion - Clever Marketing Ploy or Sincere Social Conscious?

Three graduates from the Rotterdam School of Management started an interesting initiative. Dave Geerders and Roy & Sascha Oosterbaan launched a new clothing brand called Stripes Clothing.

The Stripes Clothing items are made in prison by inmates. According to the company’s philosophy, they “advocate the use of your freedom to the fullest and stimulate specialized labor in prison. This way, inmates will regain self-confidence and gain skill to be used whenever they are given their freedom back. This will not only increase their chances in society, society as a whole will benefit from this too.”

The Ministry of Justice supports the project. It runs prison production in its jails that serves a wide range of enterprises. According to the MoJ, they stand for “quality, sufficient capacity, appealing prices and tailor-made”.  

The garments are designed by Said Lechheb, a talented young designer in his early twenties from Rotterdam, the Netherlands. He studies graphic design at the Willem de Kooning art academy.

It looks like our dynamic trio purchased T-shirts in bulk (from China?)  and just had them tweaked. "Walls Heritage" for example features a “khaki pocket made randomly from a used inmate overall, so each shirt is unique.”

The T-shirts are sold for $38 up; not exactly a bargain. Considering the design and production costs, it leaves a hefty profit for management.

Which makes me wonder - is this sincere sentiment or clever marketing using cheap labor & design to rake in the big bucks? What do you think?

Microsoft Surface Tablets Feature On Walls in NYC – a Clever Ad Campaign or Urban Fan Mail?

Is Microsoft  advertising its Surface tablets in a brand new way; on walls in the streets of NYC?

The Verge first posted a gallery of photos showcasing Surface artwork on a building wall in New York City. The wall features three tablet outlines, including colored keyboard attachments. The wall was professionally highlighted by lights (beyond your average street lanterns).

The mural advertisement does not provide any pricing information or product details. It only displays the word "Surface" in the center of each rectangle.

This leaves the question open if  this is:
(1)  an official Microsoft campaign, or
(2) the product of a dedicated fan with (too much)  time on his/ her hands.

Microsoft declined to comment on the street art. An official spokesperson only remarked that "unfortunately, at this time, we have nothing more to share regarding the advertisements."

It would not be the first time that Microsoft used creative advertising tactics. Windows Phone 7 was featured in street graffiti in 2010 in San Francisco, which left the city's Department of Public Works at the time quite upset. Microsoft also used similar doodles during its 2002 MSN launch.

Microsoft announced its upcoming family of Surface tablets in June. According to the company, the devices are the newest platform for its next-generation Windows 8 operating system. CEO Steve Ballmer boasted that he expects Microsoft to sell at least several million Surface tablets following its October 2012 launch.

That still did not answer the question if the writing on the wall is a clever ad campaign or urban fan mail.......

Virgin’s Richard Branson Business Advice

As we all know, Richard Branson is highly successful. He operates according to the following credo:

1. If you don’t enjoy it, don’t do it. You must love what you do.
2. Be innovative: Create something different that will stand out.
3. Your employees are your best asset. Happy employees make for happy customers.
4. Lead by listening: Get feedback from your staff and customers on a regular basis.
5. Be visible: Market the company and its offers by putting yourself or a senior person in front of the cameras

He also teaches these principles to participants in Virgin’s Pioneers program. Participant Jamal Edwards took good notice.

Edwards founded SB.TV, an online music and lifestyle channel, with just himself and his camera. He posted videos of rap performances for his online followers and soon developed a cult following for his passionate, innovative and authentic early videos of musical events.

Once he had established a brand and a following, Edwards and his team extended SB.TV’s reach into more areas, including music and lifestyle, merchandise, clothing and even a record label. Traditional brands like Puma and Nando’s contacted Edwards for deals and endorsements. Edwards keeps up the momentum by being visible, promoting both SB.TV and himself.

Lessons to be learned from Branson:

1. Have the right idea

2. Execute it properly

3. Don’t be worried about the launch date of your start-up

4. Keep an eye on changes in your business environment

5. Be aware that basic (business) rules always remain the same

6. Don’t get nostalgic about how things used to be

7. Take advantage of new opportunities

8. Face new challenges to your advantage