August 13th, 2009

Sweet

At greenshootsblog.com, we were heartened to see the results of a new study from Pepsi, which show that people in the US are feeling more optimistic.

More specifically, the research shows that, compared to 2008, they’re feeling better across a range of indicators.

Specifically, they’re feeling more optimistic (vs. 2008) about:

• Relationships with family and friends (91% vs. 81%);
• Overall well-being (88% vs. 84%);
• Health (86% vs. 78%);
• Finances (77% vs. 64%);
• Chances of finding love (70% vs. 61%).

In fact, this new research shows us that 96% of Americans are optimistic about their futures and believe in each other.

Sweet stuff, indeed.

August 5th, 2009

Toyota production line in Derbyshire

The pound has been rising again against the US dollar following better-than-expected economic news.

The Office for National Statistics said industrial production unexpectedly rose 0.5% in June from May, although it is still down 11.1% from last year.

See pound vs dollar

Also, a survey from the Chartered Institute for Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) showed the service sector growing at its fastest for 18 months.

The pound rose back above $1.70 to its highest level since October 2008.

The rise in industrial production was the biggest since October 2007 and was helped by a surge in car production.

The CIPS purchasing managers’ survey gave a reading for the services sector of 53.2 for July, up from 51.6 in June.

Any figure above 50 indicates an expansion in the sector.

It was the highest reading since February 2008.

“It is very much consistent with the green shoots recovery story,” said Mark Miller, an economist at HBOS.

“It continues the theme that the forward-looking business surveys are showing some more encouraging signs.”

August 3rd, 2009

Nissan has unveiled its new electric car model, which it claims will be the first vehicle to crack the mass market.
The five-door hatchback called Leaf will be on sale in the US and Japan by the end of next year and in the UK and Europe by 2012.

It is expected to launch a big marketing push behind the vehicle, but details are not known at this stage.

Electric Car, Innovation, Nissan

July 30th, 2009

Orange has just unveiled its Monkey programme, directly aiming to add value for younger consumers on pay as you go.  The idea is to provide a free music service, that is provided via a tie-in with 4music.  Along with a planned tie-up with Blyk later in the year, the mobile service that bases its free usage on compulsory advertising, Orange is making positive, bold moves to take advantage of the free culture that is becoming increasingly prevalent especially among younger markets.

Source: Marketing Week, Orange

July 28th, 2009

Javelin high-speed train at St Pancras Station

Three years from today will be the first day of games for London 2012 and developments already look well on their way.

Yesterday, three years before the Opening Ceremony, the new high-speed rail link from St. Pancras to Stratford made it’s first trip, delivering athletes to the Olympic Games Stadium to mark the occasion. Among them was our very own, fresh faced World Champion diver, Tom Daley.

The new high-speed link, aptly called Javelin, successfully completed the journey in the target time of just seven minutes. The new link is just part of the overall project to improve transport links in preperation for the London 2012 Olympic Games. This service alone will be capable of transporting up to 25,000 people per hour to the Olympic Park.

Developments like this will drastically improve transport links in and around the capital and have a very positive effect on the local businesses surrounding up-and-coming hubs like St Pancras and Stratford – a worthwhile legacy of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

high-speed rail, Javelin Rail Link, London 2012, London Olympic Games, St Pancras-Stratford, transportation links

July 27th, 2009

Small companies across the UK want to help drive our economy but lack the support they’re crying out for from the government. Small companies are often more flexible and are more capable of changing direction to follow consumer trends and the economic environment. Flexibility is more important than ever in the current climate’s twists and turns.

“We are told there are grants available, but when you apply for them, there are just so many hoops you have to jump through, you’d swear they really didn’t want to give you the money” said Tony Lees, owner of Dentanurse, while being interviewed by the BBC.

SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises with less than 249 people) employ 13.5 million people in the UK, 59% of the private sector workforce. According to the Federation of Small Businesses, these companies account for 51% of UK GDP.

You can read the whole BBC article here

government grants, medium companies, small companies, SMEs, UK economy

July 23rd, 2009

Sales in UK shops shot up 1.2% in June following a sharp fall in May as hot summer weather boosted clothing purchases, official figures show.

The jump was much more than the 0.3% rise expected by economists. Retail sales had fallen 0.9% in May.

The Office for National Statistics said that sales rose 2.9% from June 2008.

Shops have also brought forward their summer sales, which along with the effects of last month’s heatwave, enticed consumers to spend.

The much better-than-expected figures lend support to the view that the UK is now over the worst of the recession.

Economic growth figures due on Friday are expected to show that the economy shrank around 0.4% between April and June, compared with 2.4% in the first three months of the year.

July 21st, 2009

On the 40th anniversary of the moon landings what better way to celebrate than to start selling advertising space on the biggest billboard known to man.

Struggling to find an ad space big enough for your blockbuster campaign? How about the surface of the moon?

US company Moon Publicity yesterday launched a bidding war for advertisers to imprint commercial messages onto the moon’s surface.

The company says it has patented “shadow shaping” technology, which would see robots crawling the surface of the moon, scraping messages on to the lunar surface.

The messages would be visible from earth by creating shadows during certain lunar phases.

Moon Publicity claims that it is accepting bids from investors and companies for 44 lunar regions until 20 October, with minimum bids starting at a very reasonable $46,000.

But the company does concede there are one or two hurdles to overcome before 7 billion pairs of eyes are viewing its first ad.

Its website says: “In order to make images that can be seen from Earth with the naked eye, images would need to be millions of square kilometers in size.”

It says that it would need a large fleet of robots to bring the idea to fruition – but admits that a working prototype has not even been built.

The company also concedes that some groups of people “may object to changing the appearance of the Moon for religious, environmental or sentimental reasons”.

Undaunted media buyers who are keen to get involved can find out more about the project at www.moonpublicity.com.

If they could figure out a way to cover it in red wax I think Babybel would certainly be able to increase their market penetration.

It’s great to see in these gloomy times, while some companies are in the gutter, others are looking at the stars.

July 20th, 2009

Research from the Institute of Fundraising and Charity Finance Director’s Group indicates that 2009 will be worse for charity organisation incomes than predicted.  In the face of this, charities are being forced to diversify the dialogue they initiate with possible givers.  I’m sure the mention of Twitter will have the more cynical of you sighing “not again”, but some charitable organisations are proving that it works for them.  The more astute of you will have noticed the trending topics drop down, indicating the most popular subjects of the day.  Proving popular amongst these, with regular mentions is “Charity Tuesday”.  Designed to encourage people to list their favourite charities on a Tuesday so that people then follow them on Twitter, the initial results are proving favourable with Bullying UK stating that they have received 1000 additional followers from this source alone.  With the donation apps still to be fully tested as effective methods for giving, the power for direct asks remains to be seen, but as tool for awareness it is certainly proving effective.

Source: Third Sector, Bullying UK, Twitter

July 20th, 2009

Lexus, the Toyota-owned marque, is launching a direct and digital marketing campaign to promote the new Lexus convertible model available this month.

The acquisition campaign created by Kitcatt Nohr Alexander Shaw features personalised direct mail activity, email marketing and a microsite.

It will aim to drive sales of the Lexus IS 250C hard top convertible and targets existing convertible or Lexus car drivers and competitor luxury car owners who are looking to buy a convertible without the impracticalities of many

The creative is based around the strapline “How convertible are you?” and is accompanied by the visual ‘flick book’ idea of a ‘21 second test drive’, which is the time it takes to put the hard top convertible’s roof up or down.

Prospective and existing Lexus customers will be mailed a direct mail pack, and along with online respondents will be encouraged to contact Lexus by phoning the number provided, visiting the microsite or returning the reply paid coupon.

Direct Marketing, Lexus