Next Plan In-store Magazine

Next, the high street retailer, plans to produce an in store magazine by the end of the year which they hope will engage with customers.

Next

They will roll out the title with digital activity and regular customer emails, a strategy adopted by rival online retailer ASOS. They aim to move away from the conventional catalogue style to a more editorial approach with fashion and lifestyle articles. Next already publish a customer magazine which is mailed to Next Directory recipients, but this new publication will be aimed at a wider audience.

Next is the UK’s biggest online fashion retailer, targeting mainly 16 to 34 year olds, with its nearest rival being ASOS. However, this new marketing push follows a trend set by many other retailers that already produce in store magazines, such as Morrisons, Tesco, Asda, Superdrug, Boots and Debenhams. These often contain competitions, money off vouchers for use in store as well as useful articles on fashion and beauty.

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Customer magazine are a great marketing tool to engage with existing customers, to reinforce messages and to inform and educate current and lapsed customers. Touch Marketing & Design are skilled at creating eye catching, hard-working and stylish magazines and newsletters. To see how we can help you please contact us on 01254 602260.

Britannia Aims to Attract Savers With New Campaign

Britannia Building Society is launching a campaign that focuses on the rewards offered for existing savers while the Bank of England base rate is at an all-time low.

Britannia

The marketing for the campaign highlights the fact that more than 857,000 savers received a share of its profits this year through its membership reward programme.

Created by their London agency, the press, online and in store ads feature the message “We stand up for savers”. The campaign launches this month targeting the building society’s existing customers that hold variable rate accounts. The new ads have a very British theme and have bunting as well as other symbols that are associated with summer celebrations. Bunting will also be a feature of the in store campaign.

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If you would like to advertise your own products and services then Touch Marketing & Design could help you. We can help you create advertising campaigns that really capture the attention of those who matter most. Have a look at our online portfolio and see how we can help you. You can get in touch by emailing info@touchmarketing.co.uk. We look forward to hearing from you.

Project Ellesmere

An Ellesmere Port re-brand, marketing and communication campaign has now been completed in a bid to encourage inward investment and business relocation to the area.

Ellesmere Port

The project has taken four years to complete and sees a new brand identity featuring alongside new marketing literature, adverts and even a micro-website for the town.

New photography was also used to highlight the innovative and successful businesses that are already located in the area, which will be used on all marketing material.

If your corporate identity or marketing collateral is looking a old fashioned and needs updating just like Ellesmere Port, then let Touch Marketing & Design help you. We have great experience in developing brands and helping to maintain a modern and fresh look for different business sectors. Why not have a look at our online portfolio at www.touchmarketing.co.uk and see how we could help your business flourish.

Cadbury boosts sales with marketing!

Cadbury have revealed that an increase in their marketing spend helped to boost sales by 6 per cent last year. Their total spend on marketing in 2008 was a massive £584million and this helped make a profit of £400million, which was almost double what was made the previous year.

Cadbury

With the success of their infamous “Gorilla” adverts, “Airport trucks” and the new advert “Eyebrows” which features a brother and sister demonstrating a range of eyebrow dance moves, Cadbury has proved that to be the best you need to invest.

It is true that you only get out what you put in and investing time and money towards a marketing plan can really help boost your sales. To find out how Touch Marketing & Design’s marketing strategy and planning can help your business grow, get in touch today by visiting our website or by calling us on: 01254 602260.

Domino's Pizza Boosts Sales

Domino’s pizza chain is expected to boost its advertising budget by more than 10 per cent in 2009 to a massive £20 million. They hope to take advantage of the budget-conscious Britons, who are choosing to eat at home.

Domino's On The Up

Currently market leader in its sector, Domino’s has reported an 18.4 per cent increase in sales for last year. They claim that a third of the 2.7 million households that ordered its pizza were all new customers. Therefore investing in advertising now will only increase sales further for Domino’s and in the current climate this a great example of how investing and spending can pay dividends for you company long-term.

Domino’s also seen an increase in online sales due to highly targeted online marketing and this is something that is integral to the marketplace today. Businesses need to ensure that they are online and that their website not only works hard but also supports their business goals.

The fast food chain is benefiting from the recession as Britons are reaching for cheaper alternatives for family meals. There may be a niche in your market sector that you can take advantage of and here at Touch Marketing & Design we can help you achieve great success through online marketing and direct marketing campaigns. Take a look at our online portfolio to see how we have helped others and how we can help you.

Marketing activity increase in spite of the gloomy climate

Despite a 12 per cent drop in marketing spend, direct marketing activity increased in 2008. Although traditional direct mail and door-to-door marketing has been over taken by email and online marketing, activity in both fields are on the up.

Marketing On The Up

The increase in volume but the decrease in spend is due to the inexpensive cost of online and electronic campaign marketing and businesses looking around for a better deal.
2008 has seen business cut spending in all areas due to the global financial instability. Only 7 per cent of companies reported an increase in budgeted spend compared to 49 per cent reporting a decrease.

As companies keep a tight hold of their finances it is a great time to get ahead of your competition. Whether you are a small company with a tight budget or an established corporation with larger marketing budgets, online marketing can be a relatively inexpensive yet powerful marketing tool. In these torrid financial times it is the right time to get your name, products and services out there and when things begin to grow again, you’ll be right at the top of your customer’s minds.

At Touch Marketing & Design, we can help you make the most of your print and online marketing without breaking the bank. If you would like more information on our marketing services then please visit the Touch Marketing & Design website.

5 Tips for Marketing in an Economic Downturn

We’re all tired of hearing how terrible the economy is right now and what a devastating effect the credit crunch is having on UK businesses. So, here’s a handful of useful tips to consider to make sure your business comes out the other side smiling:

 

Credit Crunch Tips

Tip One: Look After Your Marketing Budget
To the uneducated, the first thing to cut in times of a recession is the marketing budget or your advertising. These are often perceived as unnecessary expenditures when you should be watching the pennies. But this isn’t the case and those that market and promote their way out of the credit crunch will be the ones that survive. How can you encourage people to buy from you or use your services if you don’t tell them about it. Now more than ever you should be carrying out marketing activities.

You can however, make it easier for yourself by showing how you intend to spend more carefully and you will make it easier to win the investment you need to promote your business. With a clear justification for spending and a strong business case for each piece of activity you undertake, your established business reasoning will see you through.

Spend wisely with an emphasis on strong marketing tactics that bring results – which is just what the boss wants to see in times of a recession.

Tip Two: Are You Making The Most of Your Current Customers?
When things get tight, our first thought is often to chase new customers or clients but it’s much easier (and less expensive for you) to provide more value and a better service to your current customers. After all, doing so will ensure you get more in return.

We find that when customers make decisions in a period of economic uncertainty, they’re more likely to go with a source they trust.

You want to make sure that the decision they make involves you and you must therefore, make it easier and more natural for to them to go with you.

Talk to your customers and make sure your sales avenues are as effective as they can be. Why not ask your customers what they need from you – if you take care of them and look out for them, they will be more likely to stay loyal to you when the going gets tough.

Tip Three: Be One Step Ahead of the Competition
In a recession (or a time of financial instability) there is always an opportunity to gain market share from your competition. All the things that we have mentioned here are very helpful but if you aren’t doing them, somebody else will be.

You must therefore, think how this could work to your advantage. Look closely at your target market and how customers are behaving as a result of belt-tightening, can you act quickly with changes to your product or service, or your price or even the market you sell to with a view to increasing sales and profitability?

Tip Four: Invest in Growing Market Segments
It’s a fact of life that in a downturn there are some segments that grow at a faster rate than others. And, as a marketer or a business owner, it’s crucial that you make sure that the company sees and understand these market segments. You must work hard to determine if you can win business in these fast-growing markets.

These may be segments you’re already selling to, but not particularly focused on, or they may be completely new ones – whatever they are, they represent new opportunities for your business.

Think of new avenues – can you sell different things to existing customers or can you sell new products or services to new markets. Can you think of different uses for your product or users for your service?

If so, now is the time to exploit these opportunities.

Tip Five: Your Own Marketing
Finally and perhaps most importantly, you have to be prepared for a scrap. If times are hard and customers or clients are in short supply, you have to work extra hard to gain new customers and to keep the ones you already have.

So how do you do this? Well, you can start by taking a long hard look at yourself and consider the impact your brand and your marketing is having?

Is your brand looking tired, old and uninspiring? What about your company stationery? Do you look old fashioned and out of date? If you think it is, you can be sure your customers are too and they are most likely to head towards somebody else who’s got it all sorted. If you look faded and past your best, then guess what? They’ll go straight for somebody who’s on the ball.

So, do your marketing brochures sell you and the products or services you offer in the best possible light? Do you look good or is there room for improvement? Are you advertising in the right places and do you adverts look the best they possibly can?

Now is not the time for an out of date website or a poor web presence in general. Does you site work quickly, with all the relevant information placed attractively in front of your site visitors?

These quick suggestions should make you realise that you have to be prepared to work at your brand at all times but it is even more important now as we hit dangerous waters.

More About Our Services
To learn more about our services and how we can help your business face up to the challenges the credit crunch brings, please visit the services section of our site or contact us for more information.