Cartoon Shorelines Art Cha Cha Moon Alan Yau has quite a history of setting up restaurants. ‘Wagamama’ is a restaurant concept, with restaurants mainly in London. The chain was launched during the last recession in 1992. Mr. Yau then bought out by an equity partner in 1998. He set up Busaba Eathai in 2000, Hakkasan in 2001 and Yauatcha in 2004, all still operating. Now he has launched Cha Cha Moon. Mr Yau said ‘Good budget restaurants tend to thrive in times of recession, so you could say that this is actually an opportune moment for a brand like Cha Cha Moon. An economic slowdown could be simply interpreted as an opportunity for a new creative challenge’. The first Cha Cha Moon was opened in May in Soho with a second due to open in West London next month. Mr Yau has not yet made any money from Cha Cha Moon but with an introductory offer price of £3.50 he reportedly has lunch time queues most days. The restaurant serves a variety of Chinese (Hong Kong style) food including noodle dishes. As if this isn’t enough Mr. Yau also runs a joint venture with a Milanese baker. Princi based again in London serves pastries, cakes and cocktails and opens late into the evenings. One of My Yau’s previous restaurants Yauatcha received the following review from Giles Coren in The Times restaurant critic 2004 ‘However good the food was, this is the sort of restaurant that make me want to saw off my foot and leave it on the table until it goes green, just to slap punters and the staff out of their dopey minimalist trance’. Source The Times online Irritating ads An annual survey by Marketing magazine has uncovered the TV ads people found most irritating in 2009. Brands featured are generally not sorry to be listed believing it is better to be noticed whatever the reason. To be memorable some of the ads listed were deliberately designed to irritate. Number 1 is Injury Lawyers4U 2. Iceland 3. Halifax 4. Confused.com 5. Phones4U 6. Picture the Loan 7. Churchill 8. DFS 9. Oatibix 10. Polaris world 11.Vauxhall Corsa Here are a few comments from people taking part in the survey. Polaris World - great comedy value for the first three or four times at the presenter's inability to speak English, sounding like a B-movie Spanish villain, and trousers-under-chin fashion. It then became deeply offensive after the 5678567856785678568th time. HSBC - tired, at odds with the reality of the products and services. Convoluted and dismissive of the domestic market. Marks & Spencer - overblown and overcooked. And anything Morrison's have ever done. Pizza/Pasta Hut and Oatibix - both effectively the same ad, both sound like they've been written by the marketing director's 12-year old son.
Source Marketingmagazine.co.uk Back to the top How easy is it for you to buy fine quality wines from family run vineyards? You will not find the wines Andrassy's sell on supermarket shelves. Andrassy fine Wines are a family run business and they buy from family run wineries in France, Germany, Hungary, Spain, Portugal and New Zealand. www.andrassy.co.uk |
Upbeat Marketers 2009 is predicted to be a difficult year for business, but not as far as the UK marketing community. Marketing Week asked industry figures for their thoughts about surviving and thriving through a downturn in the economy. Most of the marketing directors interviewed see a recession as a time of great opportunity and believe the coming year will see the survival of the fittest. News Corporation chairman and chief executive, Europe and Asia, James Murdoch said “There will be a lot of pain in 2009, both for consumers and the companies that serve them. He went on to say “It’s an opportunity, unlike any we’ve seen, to challenge and change things. Now is the time to press any advantage.” Aviva chief marketing officer Amanda McKenzie said ‘Brands will be sustained by applying “a relentless focus on customers” and Procter & Gamble corporate marketing director and head of marketing UK and Ireland Roisin Donnelly agrees. ‘There has never been a more critical time for putting consumers at the heart of everything you do. Keep innovating and responding to their needs.’ With consumers tightening their belts throughout 2009, many predict value will be a key theme for the year. Andy Brent, BSkyB marketing director and former director of the Government’s £75m anti-obesity drive, says consumers will be looking for value for money and advises marketers to “focus on understanding their consumer and what they want, as never before”. He adds: “The answer may not always be lower prices, but if it is you’d better give it to them.” And Abbott Mead Vickers chairman Cilla Snowball has faith that this cloud has a silver lining for the marketing industry. She says: “Things will get better. And when they do, we’ll emerge stronger.” Source Marketing week Direct Marketing Last year direct mailings fell on both the consumer and business side and it is expected that there will be consolidation within the direct mail industry this year. 25% of companies investing in direct marketing deliver financial services. As a result the direct marketing industry has shrunk by between 20% and 40%. However there is still hope for the industry with companies like Currys and PC World who offer financial services for finance packages and warranties, both of which provide substantial revenues for both companies. Direct mail for Curry's and PC World is likely to continue. Further good news for direct marketing businesses, as the entertainment, retail, travel, tourism and Government sectors have all grown slightly. Precision Marketing, January 2009 Do it yourself direct marketing Direct marketing can be expensive and for a small business is often not an option. It's not simply the cost of printing and designing the mailing, but also the cost of sending them out. Having enough contacts to send direct mail to can also be restricting and means in effect buying a list - another expense. So can you do it yourself and is it effective? Yes and you can improve take up rate on direct marketing from a bought mailing list. There are two ways to tackle DIY direct marketing. Mailing out existing customers to tell them about the new products and services your business has introduced or news of an award you have received. For new contacts ring first and explain briefly who you are and what your business offers. Ask if you can send further information. Send the information, make it personal so make sure you have a named person to send it to, include any special offers you have and a prompt to contact you and . Then follow up the mailing with a call. You won't always succeed but persistence will pay off. Back to the Top Back to the top And finally Heinz has launched a campaign to find the actors and actresses who appeared in a series of Beanz ads over a 30 year period. They are particularly keen to track down the children who recited a poem about their love of Heinz Beanz. An ad appeared in the sun on January 12 asking them to get in touch. Heinz say the reason is that their archives are incomplete but Marketers believe it may be for a new nostalgia campaign Source Marketing News Squirrelling away the crisps Walkers is seeking to find the most popular new flavour of crisps, amongst six new flavours chosen from over a million competition entries. The public can vote for their favourite on the Walkers web site until 1st May. The winner will receive £50,000 and annual royalties of 1%. The contenders are: Builder’s Breakfast, Onion Bhaji, Chilli & Chocolate, Crispy Duck, Hoisin, Fish & Chips and Cajun Squirrel. The Independent, 9 January 2009, p13 Bunnies for Easter Mars is releasing a rabbit-shaped Malteser for Easter. This is the first time the brand has produced anything other than round maltesers. The bunny will be 3 inches tall, filled with honeycombe pieces and will be promoted in-store and with press campaigns. Marketing Week If you enjoyed reading this newsletter please E mail it to a friend Return toTop of Page | 
