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Tuesday 26 April 2016

The Salesforce Awakens - How to leverage your original offering by marketing masters - Lucasfilms and Disney

The Salesforce Awakens- 
 How to leverage your original offering
 by  marketing masters
 - Lucasfilms and Disney

Sainsbury promoting Blu Ray and DVDs of the latest Star Wars
 epic only 5 months after the main cinema release
A long time ago in a galaxy  far , far away........

Thirty years after the defeat of the Galactic Empire, the galaxy faces a new threat from the evil Kylo Ren and the First Order. When a defector named Finn crash-lands on a desert planet, he meets Rey , a tough scavenger whose droid contains a top-secret map. Together, the young duo joins forces with Han Solo  to make sure the Resistance receives the intelligence concerning the whereabouts of Luke Skywalker , the last of the Jedi Knights.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens , broke yet another box office record It is officially - after just 22 days - the biggest-selling film in UK history, taking over £100 million at the box office. 

Well sold all those who make this franchise work.


The film broke records left , right and centre since it's release . Some of them include :-

  • the biggest ever opening weekend, 
  • the fastest movie to reach $1 billion worldwide 
  • and the biggest single day at the box office.

The film has already amassed over $1.59 billion worldwide and there's little sign of it slowing down.






The next marketing challenge after the successful play in the cinemas is the release of the DVD and Blu Ray product . 

It will now exploit opportunities for New product Development, New Market ( home) development and Diversifying though Acquisition , Mergers and Joint Ventures.


















There have been a few indignant franchise fans tweeting their disappointment of the DVD release of The Force Awakens because the DVD does not have some of the Blu Ray content.

Despite the film taking over £100 million at the box office, some fans of the franchise feel the DVD release is seriously lacking, compared to the US offering.


On Social media one purchaser tweeted: "Not happy - no extras on the Force Awakens DVD. Not all of us have Blu-Ray! Rip-off!"
While another told distributor Amazon, the DVD release was a 'misrepresentation' of the listing.
Their posting read "Very disappointed that the DVD version does not have the deleted scenes, this isn't clear at all it isn't that same with two different format options. Shame on you Amazon for this misrepresentation"

What is key is that they need to maximise sales
 .
The Film franchise Star Wars is masters of this.


“The Force awakens” movie is not just released in a home viewing product such as  DVD or Blu Ray etc but there is a plethora of add-ons and accessories. 

The cardboard engineers have excelled themselves in Point of Sale displays and merchandising support.










Agreements with the likes of Hasbro, Lego and Xbox etc  have rendered a veritable zoo of toy talking plush characters such as BB8, Chewbacca Yoda and Storm Troopers all with voices from the film , Hot wheels vehicle models ,Lego 6-12 kits , sticker books, video prequels, branded merchandise mugs T shirts and such like .

One particular add-on which caught my eye was a ‘novelisation’. 

Movies are often inspired by or based on a book but I was wondering how long books have been written based on films.

 It is longer ago than you might think and much older than the Star Wars phenomenon.
Novelizations began to be produced back in the 1920s for silent films such as ‘London After Midnight’ (1927). One of the first talkies to be novelized was ‘King Kong’ (1933).

Film novelizations were especially profitable during the 1970s before home video became available as they were then the only way to re-experience popular movies.

The novelizations of Star Wars (1977) and Alien (1979) have sold millions of copies.

Less maybe more but not in novelization.


The writer of a novelization multiplies the 20,000-25,000 words of the film screenplay into at least 60,000 words. 

Writers usually achieve that by adding description or introspection. Ambitious writers are moreover driven to work on transitions and characters just to accomplish "a more prose-worthy format".

There are times when the "novelizer" may decide to create completely new scenes in order to give the plot a richer dimension, provided (s)he is allowed to do that. 

It might take an insider or an avid fan to identify whether a novelization diverges unintentionally from the finally released film because it is based on an earlier version which possibly included some deleted scenes.


Novelization writers are often also accomplished original fiction writers, as well as fans of the works they adapt. 

Making a lot of lolly  ( even lollies)  from the spin offs
You will even find how negotiation is undertaken by the loathsome merchant Unkar Plutt and heroine Rey to reach a counter deal agreement  of 100 portions for her day's salvage (pages 40-44) even if her word is not her bond so far as BB8 is concerned !

Novelizer Alan Dean Foster,  says that, as a fan, "I got to make my own director’s cut. I got to fix the science mistakes, I got to enlarge on the characters, if there was a scene I particularly liked, I got to do more of it, and I had an unlimited budget. So it was fun"


May the awakened Sales force be with you folks !




Monday 25 April 2016

Selling's debt #Shakespeare400


21st century Sales Quoting Shakespeare
on the bard’s  400th anniversary 23rd April

(with apologies to Bernard Levin et al)



If you cannot understand the jargon in that request for proposal (RFP) and you sigh, ‘It’s all Greek to me” you are quoting Shakespeare.

 If you claim to be “more sinned against than sinning” ⁱⁱ to your sales manager, you are quoting Shakespeare;

 if you recall “your salad days”  ⁱⁱⁱ way back-in-the-day, you are quoting Shakespeare; 

if you ever raise a complaint “more in sorrow than in anger” , if your wish is “father to the thought” ⁵ in a brainstorming session, if your smart phone has vanished into thin air , you are quoting Shakespeare;

The New Day on Friday
 if you have ever refused to “budge an inch”   in a negotiation or suffered from “green-eyed jealousy” of a competitor’s offering, if you feel a buyer has played fast and loose, if you have ever been “tongue-tied” at a presentation, your support team to have been a “tower of strength”  , “hoodwinked” ⁱ⁰ by an influencer with no real buying authority or “in a pickle” ⁱ₁a when you have messed up

if you have knitted your brows ₁b  , made a virtue of necessity  ⁱ₂  , insisted on “fair play”  ⁱ₃, “slept not one wink”  ⁱ⁴, have not “stood on ceremonyⁱ⁵danced attendance  ⁱ⁶  on your lord and master ⁱ⁷ at the company annual sales conference , laughed yourself into stitches ⁱ⁸ at the Buyer’s jokes , had short shrift ⁱ⁹ at a sales beauty paradecold comfort  ⁱⁱ⁰  or too much of a good thingⁱⁱ ₁ at the Christmas party, if your business clothes have seen better days ⁱⁱ₂  or lived in a fool’s paradise ⁱⁱ₃—why, be that as it may, the more fool you ⁱⁱ⁴, for it is a foregone conclusion  ⁱⁱ⁵  that you are (as good luck would have it) ⁱⁱ⁶  quoting Shakespeare;

 if you clear out, bag and baggage,  ⁱⁱ⁷  and all that surplus out of date literature and samples from your garage, if you think it is high time  ⁱⁱ⁸  and that is the long and short of it ⁱⁱ⁹   , if you believe the game is up  ₃⁰  and it’s time to try for a close and that the truth will out , even if it involves your own flesh and blood ₃ⁱⁱ, if you lie low ₃ⁱⁱⁱ  until the crack of doom ₃⁴   because you suspect foul play ₃⁵ , if you have your teeth set on edge ₃⁵ (at one fell swoop ₃⁶  ) without rhyme or reason  ₃⁷  , then—to give the devil his due   ₃⁸  —if the truth were known  ₃⁹    and need to speak out for you have a tongue in your head  ⁴⁰  you are quoting Shakespeare; 

even if you bid me good riddance ⁴ⁱ  and send me packing ⁴₂   , if you wish I was dead as a doornail  ⁴₃   , if you think I am an eye-sore ⁴⁴, a laughing stock ⁴⁵  , the devil[s] incarnate ⁴⁶   , a stony-hearted villain ⁴⁷  , bloody-minded ⁴⁸  or a blinking idiot ⁴⁹  , then—by Jove! it’s all one to me ⁵⁰, you are quoting Shakespeare.

Julius Caesar Act 1 scene2 ; ⁱⁱKing Lear Act 3 ; ⁱⁱⁱAnthony and Cleopatra Act 1 Scene 5; Hamlet Act 1 scene 2
; ⁵Henry IV part 2 scene 5; Taming of the Shrew;  Othello Act 3 Scene 3; Sonnet 85; Richard III
ⁱ⁰ Romeo & Juliet Act 1 Scene 4; ⁱ₁ a Tempest ₁b   Henry VI ;   ⁱ₂ Two Gentlemen of Verona; ⁱ₃Tempest ; ⁱ⁴Cymbeline; ⁱ⁵Julius Caesar;ⁱ⁶Henry VI part2 ; ⁱ⁷ Twelfth Night; ⁱ⁸Twelfth Night; ⁱ⁹ Richard III; ⁱⁱ⁰ Taming of the Shrew ;
ⁱⁱ₁ As you like it; ⁱⁱ₂As you like it ; ⁱⁱ₃  Romeo and Juliet Act 2 Scene 4; ⁱⁱ⁴ The taming of the Shrew; ⁱⁱ⁵  Othello ; ⁱⁱ⁶Merry Wives of Windsor Act3 Scene 5; ⁱⁱ⁷ As you like it  ; ⁱⁱ⁸ Comedy of Errors  ; ⁱⁱMerry Wives of Windsor ; ₃⁰Cymbeline ;   Merchant of Venice ; ₃ⁱⁱ  Merchant of Venice; ₃ⁱⁱⁱ Much do about nothing ; ₃⁴Macbeth ; ₃⁵Hamlet ; ₃⁵  Henry IV Part1  ; ₃⁶Macbeth ;  ₃⁷ As you like it ;  ₃⁸Henry IV part1; ₃⁹Winter’s Tale;  ⁴⁰Tempest ; ⁴ⁱ Troilus and Cressida ;  ⁴₂Henry VI part 2;  
⁴₃Henry VI part 2; ⁴⁴Taming of the Shrew; ⁴⁵Merry Wives of Windsor;  ⁴⁶ Henry V; ⁴⁷Henry IV part1;  ⁴⁸Henry VI part 3 ;
⁴⁹Merchant of Venice; ⁵⁰Troilus Act 1 Scene 1

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Tuesday 19 April 2016

Yatte Minahare Stationary Sampling Marketing's response to the Sugar Tax, Go for it LRS!


Sampling in action at Waterloo Station
 for Ribena Light
Note they are wearing Ribena Blackcurrant tops 
Marketers have to keep in mind real world factors to their marketing models. 

These are often referred to as the PESTLE factors.

The sugar tax from Chancellor Osborne’s last budget shows the significance of the L for ‘Legal’ in the PESTLE acronym.

The Chancellor said that he could not stand by 'while children became obese' and revealed a new levy on soft drink firms that would be used to fund sport in primary schools.

Mr Osborne's sugar tax announcement sparked a big fall in the share price of soft drinks makers but it was welcomed by TV chef Jamie Oliver, who has been campaigning for such a move. 

The levy, which will come into force in two years, will increase the price of a can of Coca-Cola by around 8p. Meanwhile Coca-Cola has reformulated Coke Zero to taste more like the original. The company is vying to increase its sales of of its sugar-free ranges. "Coke-Cola Zero Sugar" will be launched in June supported by a £10 million  marketing campaign to encourage consumers to choose no-sugar options.

The Sugar Tax  will be imposed on companies according to the volume of the sugar-sweetened drinks they produce or import.

Notice that the full pallets have been
walled to make an attractive display from which to distribute
The Treasury believes that companies will start reducing the content of their sugary drinks to avoid the tax.

Sweet coffee, tea, hot chocolates and milkshakes, which can contain up to 25 teaspoons of sugar, are exempt because they contain milk. Pure fruit juices will also not be taxed.

The £530m expected to be raised by the tax on the sugar content of soft drinks will be equivalent to about 18-24p per litre, the government says.



Ribena Light Sampling at Waterloo Rail Station
 doing brisk business

Marketing's response: 
an example

Lucozade Ribena Suntory

was formed in January 2014, when Japanese global beverage company – Suntory Beverage & Food, the world's 3rd largest soft drinks company - acquired Lucozade and Ribena, giving them access to some of the world’s best beverage insight, research, development, production and marketing.

Their ‘Yatte Minahare’ approach, tr. ‘Go For It’, is at the heart of their business – it’s part of their cultural DNA. 

The objective of Yatte Minahare is to challenge, change and improve to create bigger, better brand ideas for their consumers.  

The new low calorie versions of Ribena -Ribena Light are being sampled in London’s main line stations this week.


 At Waterloo station on Monday 15,000 bottles were given out - equivalent to nine full pallet loads. 

They had shifted this samples stock by early afternoon.


They sure went for it !  Yatte Minahare in practice.

Good Selling



Friday 15 April 2016

4 Great situations for #networkmarketing and a useful check-list

“The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about”

so Oscar Wilde, the playwright, is reputed to have said. 

It is not such a bad maxim for a networking entrepreneur.









Networking is an increasingly popular method of new business generation through priming the likelihood of people talking about you and your company through introductions, referrals, recommendations and word of mouth advertising.


Networking provides you with an channel through which you can publicise yourself and your business by personal communication with as broad a selection of individuals as possible.

The more people talk about you and what you offer, the more business you are likely to pick up through referral and contacts.




Popular networking situations include:-


  
   1.  Formal networking events organised specifically for potential buyers and sellers to meet each other e.g. lunch clubs

.    
Sideline networking event at CIPD show
       2. Business events which are organised for a different specific purpose but as a sideline provide a networking opportunity. e.g. trade exhibitions 












 3. Social, family and leisure events where some of the people you meet are potential prospects to give business or recommend you to people who they know. ( suspects) e.g. parties, sports clubs, pubs, Round Table   

      4 .Ad hoc spontaneous contacts that by pure chance may be able to connect you with business opportunities e.g. near seat neighbour on a train, plan etc. ex –school friend on Friends united website.





Networking Objectives

  •        To win business
  •       To collect details of people who may give you business or refer to others who may give you business ( so that you can follow them up)
  •       To give these people details of you, your company and your offer so they can pro-actively contact you.
  •        To create a positive and accurate impression of what benefits people can achieve by working with you.
  •       To get yourself and/or your business remembered so that you will come to mind when people come across a suitable opportunity for you.

As with so much in selling there is no such thing as luck in networking. Luck is where preparation meets opportunities.



So here a simple but useful check-list for networking

Event:_____________   Date:_________

  1. ·        Timings of event ______________________________________
  2. ·        Acceptance sent?______________________________________
  3. ·        Venue_______________________________________________
  4. ·        Host Organisation_____________________________________
  5. ·        Directions and car parking details_________________________
  6. ·        What is my role?______________________________________
  7. ·        Who is the likely role?__________________________________
  8. ·        Is there a guest list?____________________________________
  9. ·        Who are my key contacts?_______________________________
  10. ·        What is their reasons attending?__________________________
  11. ·        What are my objectives?________________________________
  12. ·        Have I prepared my elevator speech?______________________
  13. ·        Will I need a “Just a minute” speech_______________________
  14. ·        Colleagues attending?__________________________________
  15. ·        Business cards in pocket/case?___________________________
  16. ·        Research – FT.com, web, Newspapers/local newspapers?______
  17. ·        Other information or actions required? ____________________
Good Luck , Good Networking, Good Selling !


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