Herdman Jones Associates Ltd

The Art of Shaving store opened in Manhattan in 1996, focusing on providing the best shave by devloping a protective pre-shave oil which ultimately lead to the company achieving a goal of creating a a new shaving system -  “The 4 Elements of the Perfect Shave”. Within 6 months The New York Times devoted a full-page story to the little shop which helped promote rapid growth of the company. Today the company has 39 stores throughout the United States of America and sells high-end natural shaving products online and at department stores worldwide.

The most impressive developments the company has undergone is how it has has servitised its products. So the question, how much does a normal shave cost you – 10 – 20p?

A Royal Shave at the Art of Shaving – will cost you $55! – Customers are more than willing to pay for this exceptional service – the ultimate indulgence for men, as an experience!

Released 01 February 2011: Facebook has launched its local targeted advertising technology Facebook Deals in the UK, having secured deals with Starbucks, Debenhams and Argos (Posted by Lisa Turner )

Customers using the new system will receive discounts for checking into attractions and retailers using the Places feature on Facebook mobile phone apps.

Forming a significant part of the social networking site’s commercial strategy, Facebook Deals has also being launched in Germany, Italy, France, Spain and Canada.

Brands stand to benefit because users’ friends will be informed about where they are shopping through Places, having been encouraged to check-in by the discounts.

Facebook vice-president of Europe, the Middle East and Africa Joanna Shields said: “We all love a bargain so whether you’re on the lookout for a special offer at your favourite restaurant or tips from a fashionista friend about a discount on shoes in a department store, Facebook Deals will help you find it.”

The launch was marked by a exclusive offer from Starbucks in the UK, with the first 30,000 Facebook users to check in at Starbucks given a free coffee.

I attended an excellent CIM event yesterday, hosted by the Business School at The University of Northumbria. An presentation delivered by Mark Stuart, Head of Research for the CIM. Some of the interesting facts given regarding the rapid development of online marketing: -

• 17% of companies spend more on on-line than off-line advertising
• Facebook now has over 400M users
• Twitter is growing at a rate of 1,382%
• Dell has reported as making $3.5M in 6 months as a result of a Twitter campaign providing special offers
• Yahoo collects 10TB of consumer information per day – the same amount that Tesco collects in one year with their renowned store cards

Every time I attend similar events, I can see some huge potential for a number of the clients I work with, however I take heed to Paul Smith, PR Smith’s advise – “create credibility before visibility”.

Again there was a huge amount of information I took away from this, some of the key messages include: -

• Online marketing that “does not seem like marketing” is most successful and the key to the future
• The collective word of complete strangers can have the greatest impact of all on consumer purchase decisions
• Consumers do not look for what they want
• Businesses need to get their staff online – where their customers are

An excellent and informative presentation, thank you CIM!

Have a great weekend.