Monday, June 13, 2011
Sunday, June 12, 2011
My New Soap Display
Lots of people have made lovely comments about my new soap display stand shown in the last blog posting so I thought I would show you how It was done.
Then John turned up with the unit and I could not have been happier. I think it looks really great just in pine!
After the paint was completely dry, I got out my little hand held sander and worked on the edges and corners until the paint layer on top came off and exposed the lighter colour underneath and, in some places, the wood.
The whole thing was then finished with a couple of coats of mat varnish to seal it.
The finishing touches were made by using photoshop and a variety of good quality images of my soaps, I managed to create a montage of my top products with my name underneath. I got this printed out on a large photo printer courtesy of Claire Sloane and Edd King at Exmouth Studio (thank you soooo much guys!). The photograph was then stuck onto the top of the stand and the base board cut out with a jigsaw to make a soap silhouette across the top.
The whole thing was then stocked up, chalk names added and a product information sheet printed.
All in all, I am very happy with it. It is only a prototype and there is room for improvement, it is also quite large, fine for a big retailer like Dart Farm but not ideal for a smaller shop. I would like to work with John to tweak the design, maybe look at making something half the width or with only two shelves. A lot of work and not cheap to produce but I think it makes the difference.
If you want to have control over how a retailer displays your soaps you need to provide them with something that shows off your products to their best advantage and in a way that you want. I think eye (and nose) level is best it will catch the customers both visually and with lovely wafting soap smells - sure to stop them in their tracks! The alternative is to have your soaps shoved in a basket in a dark corner - well at least it could be. A final tip, always go and have a look again a few days after the soaps get in there (if you can, of course) check that simple things are right, like the correct soaps in the correct places etc.
Id love to hear what you think, how do you solve the problem of displaying your creations?
Firstly - get yourself a good, friendly carpenter!
Mine is called John Salter and as well as being a friend and fellow pilot he also does some work for my partner Rik who is a builder. I sat down with John and we designed the stand together just with an idea, pencil and paper and not much else. He then went away and built it for me. We decided to make the stand out of pine not MDF which would have made the thing far to heavy.Creating the look
I knew I wanted the shelves to fit quite a few soap ranges and I really wanted it to have the look of a market stall. Many people who visit my stalls at the various farmers markets in the area often comment on how nice my wooden trugs look. I made these myself out of pine, painted them in a variety of different colours, distressed the look with a sander and finished them with a couple of coats of varnish. They have withstood the test of time very well and do look good. I use laminated cards for each soap with the illustration, explanation and ingredients on my trugs, however I knew there would not be space for this on the shelves so I planned a painted blackboard strip that could be market up with blackboard pens and, again, would help to give the impression of a market stall. |
| The trugs and my lovely Rik at Taunton Flower show last year |
 |
| Christmas in Exmouth |
Finishing the look
I mixed cream emulsion paint with acrylic colours to get the finished colour I wanted. Each shelf was painted twice, firstly with a light colour, then, once dry, overpainted with a much darker version. Between the two layers I rubbed the corners and edges with a candle to wax up the areas that I wanted to look distressed and worn.
After the paint was completely dry, I got out my little hand held sander and worked on the edges and corners until the paint layer on top came off and exposed the lighter colour underneath and, in some places, the wood.
 |
| Close up of the final distressed look |
The finishing touches were made by using photoshop and a variety of good quality images of my soaps, I managed to create a montage of my top products with my name underneath. I got this printed out on a large photo printer courtesy of Claire Sloane and Edd King at Exmouth Studio (thank you soooo much guys!). The photograph was then stuck onto the top of the stand and the base board cut out with a jigsaw to make a soap silhouette across the top.
The whole thing was then stocked up, chalk names added and a product information sheet printed.
All in all, I am very happy with it. It is only a prototype and there is room for improvement, it is also quite large, fine for a big retailer like Dart Farm but not ideal for a smaller shop. I would like to work with John to tweak the design, maybe look at making something half the width or with only two shelves. A lot of work and not cheap to produce but I think it makes the difference.
If you want to have control over how a retailer displays your soaps you need to provide them with something that shows off your products to their best advantage and in a way that you want. I think eye (and nose) level is best it will catch the customers both visually and with lovely wafting soap smells - sure to stop them in their tracks! The alternative is to have your soaps shoved in a basket in a dark corner - well at least it could be. A final tip, always go and have a look again a few days after the soaps get in there (if you can, of course) check that simple things are right, like the correct soaps in the correct places etc.
Id love to hear what you think, how do you solve the problem of displaying your creations?
Friday, June 10, 2011
Grass Couch
Alright, I admit it, I wasn't saved in the rapture, and Macho Man Randy Savage was. There is no justice. Oh well. So the other day I was sitting in my front yard when the police came by and said something to the effect of, "You can't have a couch on your front lawn, and you need to be wearing pants." After a scuffle and a citation, I acquiesced. After a brief search, I found the perfect
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Nestle Bar One : Kaafi Hai ? Not Enough !
Brand : Bar One
Company : Nestle India
Brand Analysis Count : # 484
Bar One is a brand which was languishing in the product portfolio of Nestle for around two decades. The brand recently got some attention from the owners and its future is being rewritten. Bar One was launched in India in 1991 ( in some sources its given as 1994). The brand when launched was positioned as an energy /snack bar- some thing that you can eat in between times.
The major reasons ( in my opinion) for the brand's lackluster performance are Packaging and Positioning. The earlier packaging was dull compared to the 5 Star's golden packaging. The package for confectionery is significant because this is a product that is bought impulsively and the packaging conveys a strong cue for the purchase.
In 2010, the brand was relaunched with a new packaging and price. The new packaging is bold and lot of golden color splashed across it. After a long while, the brand had a reasonably attractive packaging. The relaunch also saw a new positioning for the brand. The brand sadly messed up on the positioning in the relaunch also. The brand came out with very poorly executed campaign positioning Bar One as a chocolate that will attract girls !!!
Watch the ad here : Bar One
The brand now has the tagline " Kaafi Hai " meaning " Its enough ". I really don't understand the connection between the brand and the tagline. One notion can be that Bar One is enough to satisfy your hunger ? Anyways the ad series with the new tagline may not be enough to lift the brand's fortunes. But the strong presence at the retail outlets coupled with the tendency of consumers to try out different brands will once again add more sales for this brand.
Bar One desperately needs investment in serious brand building. The brand is capable of building a position in the market dominated by Cadbury's brands. Bar One also has strong recall among the consumers backed by better taste and reasonable pricing. It needs more focus on developing a meaningful positioning . 5 Star has already owned up the " Taste" platform . The current campaign of Bar One is below average and will only make matter worse for the brand.
Company : Nestle India
Brand Analysis Count : # 484
Bar One is a brand which was languishing in the product portfolio of Nestle for around two decades. The brand recently got some attention from the owners and its future is being rewritten. Bar One was launched in India in 1991 ( in some sources its given as 1994). The brand when launched was positioned as an energy /snack bar- some thing that you can eat in between times.Bar One initially was well promoted by Nestle so much so that at one point in time, Bar One had a market share of around 5 %.But Nestle's attention soon shifted to non-confectionery items and Bar One was pushed aside interms of strategy and investment. I still remember the old Bar One jingle
Nestle Bar One Ba Ba Bar One
For those in between times ......
Later the brand had the tagline " Get More Out of Life " ( see the storyboard)
Nestle Bar One Ba Ba Bar One
For those in between times ......
Later the brand had the tagline " Get More Out of Life " ( see the storyboard)
Bar One is a caramel based chocolate which has naugat and chocolate similar to Cadbury's 5 Star. The brand was positioned as a high energy funky chocolate which is essentially a small snack. The brand was well ahead of its time especially in the Indian market with respect to positioning. Indian consumers were not familiar with the concept of chocolates as a snack when Bar One was launched.
Second factor is the weak positioning of Bar One. Infact Bar One did not had a powerful positioning compared to the competitor . The focus on "energy bar" was too early for the Indian market. Later the company itself ditched the brand by stopping brand promotion.
Bar One in terms of brand competition competed with Cadbury 5 Star. 5 Star had tremendous brand power during the nineties and Bar One could not hold out with the competition. How ever Nestle did not kill the brand but put it on the sidelines. The interesting part is that the brand was available in the retail outlets even when the brand was silent in the media.
The major reasons ( in my opinion) for the brand's lackluster performance are Packaging and Positioning. The earlier packaging was dull compared to the 5 Star's golden packaging. The package for confectionery is significant because this is a product that is bought impulsively and the packaging conveys a strong cue for the purchase. In 2010, the brand was relaunched with a new packaging and price. The new packaging is bold and lot of golden color splashed across it. After a long while, the brand had a reasonably attractive packaging. The relaunch also saw a new positioning for the brand. The brand sadly messed up on the positioning in the relaunch also. The brand came out with very poorly executed campaign positioning Bar One as a chocolate that will attract girls !!!
Watch the ad here : Bar One
The brand now has the tagline " Kaafi Hai " meaning " Its enough ". I really don't understand the connection between the brand and the tagline. One notion can be that Bar One is enough to satisfy your hunger ? Anyways the ad series with the new tagline may not be enough to lift the brand's fortunes. But the strong presence at the retail outlets coupled with the tendency of consumers to try out different brands will once again add more sales for this brand.
Bar One desperately needs investment in serious brand building. The brand is capable of building a position in the market dominated by Cadbury's brands. Bar One also has strong recall among the consumers backed by better taste and reasonable pricing. It needs more focus on developing a meaningful positioning . 5 Star has already owned up the " Taste" platform . The current campaign of Bar One is below average and will only make matter worse for the brand.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
I can now let you into my little/big secret.....
NATURALLY MADE SOAPS ARE NOW AVAILABLE AT
DARTS FARM, TOPSHAM NEAR EXETER!
If you couldn't tell, I am rather excited. I took my soaps to show Michael Dart 4 weeks ago and he agreed to stock them but until they were actually in place I didn't want to say anything - just in case it jinxed it.
Darts Farm (for those of you who don't know the place) is a large farm shop which has branched out over the last 40 years to become one of the biggest and best farm and local food retailers in the South West. The Dart Brothers are passionate about local food and products, still working the land and producing seasonal vegetables and produce for the shop and their 'pick-your-own'.
As I only live 5 minutes away Naturally Made Soaps is the obvious choice as a local soap stockist. As you know my products are natural, contain no palm oil, no parabens and no Sulfates. Wherever possible I use local products in my soaps, for example all my soaps are made using Norsworthy Dairy Goats Milk
Darts Farm have won numerous awards such as the prestigious Best Local Food Retailer in the BBC Radio Four's Food and Farming Awards for 2010. They are definitely known as a favorite haunt for all foodies, however the Darts are very keen to expand their local craft products as well and that is where I came in.
I hope this is just the start of a fruitful and fun partnership and I am very happy to be working with an amazing shop that has great ethical credentials and is actively looking to promote all local businesses.
If you are local, do go and have a look at my display, any comments or suggestions will always be gratefully received.
Darts Farm have won numerous awards such as the prestigious Best Local Food Retailer in the BBC Radio Four's Food and Farming Awards for 2010. They are definitely known as a favorite haunt for all foodies, however the Darts are very keen to expand their local craft products as well and that is where I came in.
 | |
| The new Naturally Made Soaps stand |
If you are local, do go and have a look at my display, any comments or suggestions will always be gratefully received.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Brand Update : J Hampstead takes Hrithik as Brand Ambsassador
The premium suit brand J Hampstead from Siyaram has roped in Hrithik Roshan as the new brand ambassador. The new set of commercials are in the pipeline for the brand featuring the new brand ambassador. The brand is still focusing on the celebrity route for brand building.
J Hamsptead had earlier used the Bollywood Diva Priyanka Chopra to endorse it. The move was different since not many Male brands roped in female celebrities to endorse it. The celebrity endorsement route had worked for the brand in creating certain amount of awareness in the market. The brand is now worth around Rs 50 crore and grew about 20% CAGR in 2010. In 2009-2010, the brand launched its international range of readymades in India.
The entry of Hrithik will add the style quotient for the brand to a large extent. The brand is targeting the upwardly mobile 35 + consumers who look for high quality stylish cloths. The brand's major competitor is the market leader Raymond's.
The celebrity powered branding works well in creating lot of awareness/visibility to the brand but brands are built on meaningful differentiation. Here J Hampstead is focusing on Quality as the key differentiating attribute. But quality is an attribute that is taken by every other competitor in the market. Along with the celebrity, J Hampstead needs to identify a relevant differentiator if it wants to fight Raymonds. The problem with celebrity endorsement is that it will help get the brand noticed. If the brand wants consumer to remember, message is important.
Related Brand
The
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)