Not all seniors are frail and embittered (courtesy of ACE)
One of the biggest mysteries about contemporary marketing is this.
Why are such an overwhelming proportion of companies in the world only obsessed with advertising or selling to the young?
Don’t they know that the youth market is going to be shrinking in the years to come, or that seniors will dominate the world’s population, especially in developed countries?
One of Australia’s largest war memorials, the Shrine of Remembrance located at King’s Domain on St Kilda Road was built to commemorate the valour and sacrifice of Australians who died in both World War I and World War II. Built in the classical architectural style reminiscent of the Tomb of Mausolus at Halicarnassus and the Parthenon in Athens, the memorial served as a reminder of the heroism of soldiers who fought for their ideals amidst the then oppressors. Every year, it is the site of two significant ceremonies – ANZAC Day on 25 April and Remembrance Day on 11 November.
Like many wartime memorial sites, the shrine was serene and peaceful, providing a quiet place for reflection and contemplation. It was an oasis of stillness and introspection, where the woes of war are remembered with a fervent commitment not to ever let such atrocities overtake mankind ever again.
This lone “soldier” guarded the path to the memorial, standing proud against a wall.
Today’s post is rather light-hearted, and we take several digs at Digg, poke fun at poking, and titter away at Twitter.
First, a meeting of social media addicts anonymous:
Followed by a short and chirpy little love song fit for these social media enabled times.
Courtesy of gapingvoid.com
As I trawl through my RSS feeds this week, the following posts caught my eye.
The first is this fascinating titbit in Branding Strategy Insider which noted how Chinese adopting Western names are using more unique monikers to make themselves stand out from the usual Toms, Dicks and Sallys. They include a young lady who calls herself Vanilla Wang, an artist working on wood-block prints who is renamed Colour Zhao, and a Beijing video editor called Thunder Wang. The rationale behind this is to give greater significance to their names and to also make themselves more easily remembered from the seas of Johns and Janes – a legacy of the traditional Chinese emphasis of according meanings to names.
As I was walking along Russell Street in Melbourne’s CBD area, I saw the above banner perched high up where it is visible to all. Quite a novel way to seek spiritual sustenance don’t you think?
Transe Express Performing Mischievous Bells at Festival Opening
It is currently the season for the Melbourne International Arts Festival, which is the city’s most internationally oriented showcase of its vibrant and diverse art scene. Major roads in Melbourne’s city centre are festooned with its characteristic purple and white banners, flapping on flagpoles in the wind. At many of the busy street corners like Swanston and Flinders Street, one can also find the festival posters pasted on billboards, tram-stop shelters and other public places.
By adhering to a strong thematic design aesthetic that is woven through all elements of the festival’s brand touchpoints, the Melbourne International Arts Festival has embraced the principles of Integrated Marketing Communications or IMC. Through this, it is able to reinforce awareness, recognition and interest across multiple platforms by applying a consistent message through both visual and textual means. This is important for a short-lived (17 days) event, and requires significant investments to gain the greatest amount of visibility in the most cost effective way.
Like peacocks, we all have our pride (beautifully shot by ClaraDon)
There is nothing worse in the marketing rulebook than to humiliate one’s potential customers. Or to make them look or feel inadequate, insecure, or just plain stupid.
Often, these outcomes are unintentional and accidental, but they result in an eroding of a company’s goodwill and trust amongst its customer base. They also result in negative word-of-mouth, which is an affliction that can result in untimely corporate morbidity.
Does being beautiful and handsome give you a head start in life?
Well, despite what should have been a fairer and more equal world, the ugly truth is that looks still matter. At least according to Beauty Bias – Discrimination and Social Power authored by sociologist Bonnie Berry.
Courtesy of Garron Nicholls
What is indulgence?
It is the ability to act according to one’s whim and fancy, whenever and wherever one feels like it. It is the availability of multiple choices which offer varied sensorial experiences, steeped in delicious decadence. It is about being able to savour the moment, untouched by the ravages of life.
Courtesy of The Straits Times
Hello Kitty strikes again!
This time around, the opening of the Hello Kitty Cafe at Changi Airport generated huge and serpentine queues. According to a story in The Straits Times, this is the world’s first 24 hour Hello Kitty Cafe, offering a modest 84 seats in total.