Archive for the ‘Design’ Category

Our brains respond to colour. It’s no accident that Coke and Ferrari use red, IBM blue and black, and the UPS courier service use brown. People tend to relax in green rooms, weightlifters have been found to perform better in blue gyms, babies cry more in yellow rooms. Prisons and hospitals now use specific colours to influence the behaviour of inmates and patients.

If you’re thinking of redesigning your website, or re-branding, it pays to research your colour choices carefully before you commit.

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You may have noticed an increase in articles from me about Email Marketing lately. Other than it being one of my online areas of specialty, it’s also one of the lowest-cost / highest-return forms of marketing (online or offline); and with my background in wholesale and retail, show me something with such impressive returns from such a small outlay, and I can’t help but get excited!

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Ferrets (the kind with fur) were banned in NZ a few years ago, much to the disgust of lovers of these unique pets.

Now that Ferrit has followed in the footsteps of its furry namesake, instead of disgust, Ferrit users seem altogether unsurprised (in fact, many seem downright pleased to see Telecom fail).

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Is your company a kit-set?

Did you flick through a catalogue, pick a business that was close to what you want, then turn it into a success overnight? Of course not.

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96 years after the Titanic sank, it was revealed that the people who built the famous ship had used cheap iron rivets where — as fate would have it — the infamous iceberg hit.

The true tragedy is that it appears the calamity of the Titanic could have been avoided and hundreds of lives saved …

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Are you one of the 60.3% that have redesigned your eCommerce site in the past year? Or one of the 74.7% that plan a redesign in the next year?

As the pile grows of discarded sites, it begs the question – why throw out your site and launch a costly redesign when optimisation could save you money and get you better results?

Trust talented writer Robert Gorell to create a metaphor linking a derelict UFO resort in Taiwan with the countless sites abandoned every day, every quarter, by businesses trying to keep up with the ‘Joneses’.

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I feel sorry for Businesses looking to build a new website with the hopes of improving online performance.  It is interesting how conclusions are made relating to the need for change.  It could be industry intelligence which has identified they are not keeping up with  competitors, or perhaps Senior Management has decided on unrealistic growth targets.

The result?  Someone from Management has been given the unenviable task of finding an outsourced Online Supplier to build something that works.  They don’t know what they want; all they know is what they got, ain’t working!! 

This is happening all over New Zealand, and it is time someone helps out and provides a guide on how to find an Online Organisation who can meet your needs.

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This was scary stuff for Warner Music. It was their first attempt in creating a true multi channel strategy with the incorporation of an online plan with eCommerce being the only method to purchase the CD set. The pressure was on for Warner Music not only to do something, but to do it right. Their colleagues around the world regularly apply online channels to sell concert tickets, apparel, and music.

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We all know the phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words”. We also know that good copywriting gives your website good content, and good content appeals to your visitors and converts visitors into customers. Every visitor who comes to your website has different needs. To appeal to your customer’s needs your content has to instigate a positive emotion, or a strong enough scent, for them to take one step (or click) further. Placing a relevant and emotive image can help to draw interest and quickly communicate your message to your customer.

Good copy, coupled with an effective image, work together to give your web content a magnetic appeal.

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