An Indian twist in the Olympus scandal!
The suicide of a top Olympus Corp. executive (India office) has given the situation a new turn.
As usual, Shutterbugs are busy capturing the event; excuse me folks, let me wrap-up the Sirius Star Marketing work, first. Thank you! (more…)
The scandal tops the charts for Olympus!
The ‘terra firma’ is getting cleared for others, as Olympus Corporation is deeply buried under a financial loss of 33.09bn yen.
My cousin (employed with Coulson Organisation) was at a loss of words for his favorite brand Olympus; and yes, we both agree – a REPUTATION (Good or bad) has the power to twirl things around. (more…)
It is a LONG MARATHON for Apple and Samsung!
Phew! Apple it seems won’t stop running after Samsung; one after the other – it is chasing the South Korean company from pole to pillar.
Over the phone with a friend from Appco Group Australia, I casually checked how his favourite brand (Samsung) is doing, and he said – NOT GOOD! (more…)
Tesco Faces Ad Ban As Complaints Mount over Promo
Sales promotions are usual ones in business once they face a sales decline or want to have more outreach to be known by the brand identity. And, Tesco-one of the leading brands is no different in this. They also decided upon a sales promotion last month through a £5 loyalty voucher promotion, in a bid to reverse a decline in sales.
But, this has turned out to be a serious issue as the Advertising Standards Authority received 11 complaints so far that the promotion is misleading. ASA is now assessing it to check whether there are grounds to launch an investigation. It happens to almost all the companies who are into business, and face a reputational check once in a while. Most of the companies like Redwoods Advance get over it soon. (more…)
Anti Corruption and Bribery Acts to bring in VALUES & ETHICS, by force!
Be it any ground – Sports, Politics, Business or other, corruption always finds its place in.
After hearing and reading a lot about bribery, corruption and scandals everywhere, I thought of checking Anti Corruption and Bribery Laws and Policies in different countries; went through the UK Bribery Act 2010, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and some other. (more…)
Direct Marketing Dogged by Bad Reputation
Direct Marketing has been constantly dogged by a bad reputation and subsequent bad press. The problem of unwanted “junk” mail sent without cause or prompt is one that has been debated furiously for years. As a result, opt-out services have been introduced and industry deals with government have been struck in a bid to restrict the volume of unsolicited mail sent. Now, it has come that text messaging will invite same trouble for the industry.
This invited trouble happens when consumers (who otherwise use their mobile device to basically communicate with their family, friends and peers) are stricken with unsolicited text messages by marketing companies who want to win their end. This text spamming by some direct marketing companies are causing trouble for the whole of the direct marketing industry which wants to fight any anti- direct marketing moves. And, direct marketing associations in some countries (like Appco Group Malaysia) are very much concerned about their reputation. (more…)
The web-intruders took Zappos on surprise!
After Stratfor, it was Zappos that had a face-off with hackers.
Yes, it was an out-of-the-blue cyber attack on the website of the fashion retailer Zappos (subsidiary of Amazon) that specializes in shoes, handbags, apparels and accessories. This is why web experts like Web Listings Inc. insist on sound web protection for their clients. (more…)
Rebranding Loyalty Schemes- Brands be Cautious!
What will happen if one mistake once committed which had a serious effect is repeated? The effect will be double on whom it had been intended. The outcome of this cause can be much more serious. However, there’s much more to worry, if the’ mistake’ was committed by a branded company by rebranding its loyalty scheme. The rule of code is that if you’re a branded company you should not make a mistake when it comes to rebranding your loyalty scheme, not to turn your biggest fans against you.
In any rewards programme, there will always be a group of customers who value most of the offer that marketers like Appco Group consider most obscure or least profitable. But when someone invests time and money in sticking with a brand only to have that offer taken away, it will feels like a broken promise. (more…)
Racial slur mars reputation of Papa John’s Pizza!
Papa John’s Pizza is one of the BIGGEST brands that pizza lovers in the United States identify ‘highest quality pizza and excellent customer service’ with, after Pizza Hut and Dominos Pizza; but then John Schnatter’s brand with the slogan “Better Ingredients. Better Pizza” is in bad-limelight, after the ETHNIC/RACIAL SLUR!
Never did Papa John’s Pizza know that a disparaging remark (referring “lady chinky eyes” to the U.S. woman of Asian origin) on the pizza receipt would cost them too much of a reputation. I am a regular visitor at their restaurant chains, be it with my family or with some of my clients – Celica Marketing and/or other, but never have had any bad experience so far. (more…)
Google Chrome Campaign Violates Paid Link Policy
Google’s Chrome browser violated, companies paid link policy in a sponsored post campaign.
The incident reported was like this – “For the campaign, Google paid bloggers to write about Google Chrome and embed within the post a video that spotlights how King Arthur Flour, a small business in Vermont, benefited from using the browser. Posts featured the text “Google Chrome helped this small business in Vermont go global. What can Google Chrome do for your future… and notified readers that the posts were sponsored by Google Chrome. One blogger, who published a sponsored post, also included a link that directed to the Google Chrome download page, violating Google’s paid link policy, which was first reported by Search Engine Land on Jan. 2. The link in that post has since been removed.”
Google’s paid link policy forbids companies from buying or selling links to juice search rankings and advises that advertisers, who buy or sell links, to include a piece of code that specifies if a link is paid so that Google can exclude the paid link from the destination’s search ranking. Sometimes, small mistakes can cause great loss. The same is with every business. And when it come to direct marketing, companies like Enigma Marketing always see that they are careful at every move forward. (more…)
