TVNZ7's The Ad Show

Every now and then, the “privacy” debate crops up, there’s a flurry of discussion about how personal details are gathered, kept and used, and then the debate seems to fade away again.

Currently doing the rounds (at least locally here in New Zealand) is the debate on Database Marketing. This is of interest to me for a number of reasons, 1) I am interested in the whole privacy debate and have my own opinions  2) I enjoy following others’ views on the matter and comparing them with my own, and 3) Purple Dog offers data collection and data based marketing services to clients and therefore I have a vested interest in the topic from a business point of view.

So what are the main discussion points?

For this particular article, I’m going to refer and respond to the debate that was aired on TVNZ7′s “The Ad Show”. A wonderful TV channel in my opinion, free of commercials and offering some very robust debates and intelligent discussion (well done TVNZ7!)

You can watch the programme article that was aired in the last week, free here:

http://tvnz.co.nz/the-ad-show/ad-show-s1-e3-video-3393019

In the spotlight are the questions around what happens to your personal data when signing up for a store loyalty (or credit) card.  Progressive Enterprises (who own grocery supermarket chain stores “Woolworths” and “Countdown” in NZ) has a loyalty card called “One Card” and the audience and presenter debate “what information do you have to give away, who has access to it, how is it used and how safe is it”.

When signing up for such a loyalty card, as is probably standard practice these days, the member is asked for their name, address, phone number, age, marital status and so on.  In return, you are promised rewards vouchers (discounts) when you spend a certain amount or buy specific product – that are of course, targeted at you according to your spending habits.

So what happens to your information and where is it stored?

Privacy Laws

It seems fairly clear that there is no secret that such organisations track and record your spending habits, interests and preferences and that this information is used to build up a profile of who you are and what you buy.  Is this OK?  Debate!

One of the interviewees, Keith Norris of the NZ Marketing Association, likens this practice to the same as when “the local grocery store manager of old, knew all about your family and what you liked to buy”.  A good point I thought.  However, did that local grocery store manager write down and record your purchases and then use spreadsheets charts and graphs to analyse what specials and new products to push at you the next time you come in to the store?  The answer is, probably not! Since your spending habits were known, I guess it’s fair to say the grocery store manager may have had a pretty good idea of what would be of interest to you!  In this respect, it seems all good.

According to Mr Norris, the marketing association (and by that, we can assume he means the members he represents) were “always very well behaved”.  He cites the 17 year old privacy laws of NZ as a “the perfect solution to a problem which never existed ” (sic) and goes on to explain how consumers are protected because of it.

He also points out that data “selling” has never really been a problem in NZ, unlike in the United States where companies  (specifically in the health care and medical sectors) regularly sell their customer’s information.

Although I am inclined to agree, it’s still worthwhile pointing out that it is a good practice for the individual to ensure that whomever they are giving their information too, has a robust and transparent data privacy policy.

Gehen Gunasekara, a privacy expert from the university of Auckland says “we need to be vigilant, but not paranoid”.  It may be dull reading the terms and conditions, but it’s the only way you’ll know what you’re signing away.

Purple Dog agrees with the TVNZ7 show panel who argue that the data collected can empower individuals by giving them the opportunity to decide who they want to communicate with, which offers they want to receive (relevant to their own needs and interests) and how they want to receive it.

Clearly it is a powerful way for organisations to communicate openly with their customers and provide them with useful, interesting offers and services. It really goes without saying that such sensitive information should be protected by a clear and transparent privacy statements.  Nevertheless, it is worthwhile underlining that fact and reminding both providers and consumers of the duty of care.

In Summary

Here at Purple Dog, we are strong advocates of privacy protection and enabling our client’s customers’ to choose what, when and how to receive information.

In this regard, we insist that all of our clients have a transparent privacy policy that clearly states they will not sell, share or pass on any information to third parties without the explicit consent of the individual.  We do not tolerate spam or random marketing and we expect our clients to adopt ethical, principles based business attitudes when using customer information for marketing and other campaigns.

This approach can only have one outcome: it’s good for everyone and everyone is happy!  The eMarketing services (primarily newsletters and email marketing) and the website design services that we provide are designed to help businesses to inform their customers, and communicate with their customers in a responsible and professional manner.

In addition to this, we insist that all targeted marketing provides for the user to easily be able to “opt-out” at any time without infringement or penalty, thereby enabling users to simply say “hey, don’t send me this stuff”.

For more information on our permission based marketing services, please click here.

Care to comment – we want to hear your views below!

And thanks to some great writing from Gulf News journalist Julianne Evans, the piece is a welcome PR boost for what promises to be, the beginning of some very interesting projects over the next few months… but more on that later….

Although the local paper primarily serves the Hauraki Gulf Islands and therefore has a relatively small readership, it’s surprising how far this little paper manages to travel…..  Auckland City for a start, since it’s sold in a few places downtown and also finds its way across to the mainland thanks to the many daily commuters.  I’ve heard of it travelling to far off places too as tourists take a copy home or friends post them overseas (it has quite a cult following!)

It’s great to be able to notify the local community that Purple Dog is not just for international customers.

Sol even put on a nice shirt for the occasion, so if you haven’t yet seen the article, you can read it in full here

We prefer to work with WordPress technology when designing websites primarily because it’s Open Source.  This means there’s a large developer community continually enhancing, and releasing updates, to ensure it stays the best, most secure and most up to date technology in use today.

We also like WordPress because it is a state-of-the-art publishing platform with a focus on aesthetics, web standards, and usability.  It is arguably the most-widely used website technology in use on the internet today.

Two of the biggest users of the WordPress technology are Yahoo and eBay, but there are millions of smaller businesses (including Purple Dog, and of course, all of our clients) who have embraced this powerful CMS (Content Management System).

Take a look at some demo themes here (you can also log in to the admin back end and have a look at what the CMS is like too:  Purple Dog demo site

Please note that these themes are for demo purposes only and represent only a small selection of design styles available.  They have not been modified nor has any specific content been added.  They are simply on display as, well, demo’s – so you’ll have to try to imagine what your content could look like.

For further information, please contact Sol

The poster depicts a dejected-looking Joseph lying in bed next to Mary under the caption, “Poor Joseph. God was a hard act to follow”.

The global media attention has taken many of the people involved by suprise, but it’s unknown whether they feel it is a good or bad thing – afterall, it was always intended to spark debate.

The media has had a field day with the latest developments in the story – the defacing of the poster by a protester, and “thousands of emails, phone calls and letters” flooding in.  St Matthew’s communications manager, Clay Nelson says “About 50% said they loved it, and about 50% said it was terribly offensive”.

links:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8417963.stm

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10616253

Regardless of your personal views on such matters, one thing is obvious: global media attention is unpredictable.  It can be a “once-in-a-lifetime” event – whether it’s wanted or not, and it can make or break you.

So how would you run your PR & marketing campaign to ensure that you get the right results?  Talk to Purple Dog about your ideas, we’d love to know your thoughts and help shape your project.

In my early teens, my brother bought a Commodore 64 computer! It’s frightening to read the specifications of that old dinosaur now!  However, it was a beautiful machine back then and provided my three brothers and I, hours of fun.  We would spend weeks writing Visual Basic code, just to get the thing to display rude words when you typed in your name!

The Comodore went head to head with another computer manufacturer: Sinclair – who introduced the ZX81 to the market. My poor, hard working mum must have regretted the day we first got a computer, because from that day on, we were hooked!

I received from my mum (perhaps the best present ever!) my Sinclair ZX81 on Christmas day, 1984 (I think Gerorge Orwell was still alive then, his vision of the future certainly was!).  It had two games with it which I confess I don’t recall, suffice it to say, I do remember how addictive they were.  My mum had to ration the thing, and let me tell you, I was not best pleased!

At school in the mid – late ’80s in the UK, things were quite different to how they are today. The internet didn’t exist, for a start. We had one or two BBC computers (yes, it was actually named after the British Broadcasting Corporation) that served as – well, I’m not exactly sure, because I can’t recall more than a dozen lessons on them – which goes to show how behind the times schools were back then, when it came to technology.

It was at university that I first discovered the true extent of computer technology.  It was 1990 and although there was not really any internet, there was a crude academic network of Amstrad 486′s, linked via some dodgy WAN technology (probably NSFNET, USENET ) to other academic institutions.  We did also have some Macintosh Classics in the library which were really something special.  Even though photoshop didn’t exist, I remember messing around with photo enhancement technology for one of my projects.

Email was just emerging as was the internet itself.  Along with a few thousand others, I was one of the pioneers that led the charge, spending days, weeks, months and many hours helping to develop the systems and networks, by using them to their full extent (especially chat rooms, which were not anything like as weird or dodgy as they are today).

I also discovered the absolute horror and devastation that can only be experienced when technology fails at a crucial moment.  My 40,000 word thesis “evaporated” just on the last revision and how my heart sank when the backup disk was faulty.  Fortunately, my friend and fellow lecturer saved the day (and quite possibly my life!) brought over a box of beer and we got drunk way into the night, re-typing it from hard-copy.

I joined British Telecom UK in 1994 and by then, technology had been racing ahead.  At the forefront of the internet revolution, ISDN and other digital technologies began to emerge.  I was one of a few hundred in the country to test ISDN at home, with a great big modem box and an Windows 95 machine.  I also received a laptop from BT to “further the aims of technological advances”.  I can honestly say that working from home was certainly a bonus.

In 1996 I assisted National Westminster Bank PLC with the launch of their internet online banking programme.  I was again, one of a handful of people selected for the trial.  I received my “Secure Floppy Disks”, installed the software and logged on.  You couldn’t actually do anything with your bank account, as you can now, but it was fun to be able to log in and see my statements.

From 1994 – 2001 whilst I worked at BT, I watched and learned and sold many of the latest technologies to large corporates as well as small businesses.  Perhaps the most interesting lesson from all of those years was the number of companies that came and went and especially observing my customers, many of whom were the early adopters of new technologies – and watching how their business changed and grew to accommodate new ways of working.

What is also obvious to me now is how often we embrace things without really having any clear, specific reason or goals – we just “do” because others do, and we just need or have because of trends.

Whilst trends are clearly important to understand, it is vital that as a business, we integrate new technologies and methods of working that will actually have a beneficial impact.

From 2001 to the present day, my experience with technology, computers and the internet has enabled me to assist all manner of businesses with their communications and in the way they conduct business.

While being brought up with this technology does not automatically make me an expert (I’m, after-all, one of millions brought up in the 70′s, 80′s 90′s), my involvement with it has shaped my experiences and enabled me to develop specific skills.  All of which you can benefit from.

If you would like to know how I can assist your company, just give me a call or drop me an email and let’s talk.  As BT in the ’90s used to say; “It’s good to talk“.

The new Vivian Grace Logo

Vivian Grace is a famous, quality homeware brand in Australia and New Zealand.  A recent rebranding exercise helped the business owner to understand that a website for the business was essential.

Purple Dog was recommended to Vivian Grace by another happy client and soon enough, the plan was agreed, the work started and within a few weeks, the site was live.

www.vgrace.com.au is designed primarily for wholesale customers to be able to log in, place orders and check their accounts and the client wanted a straightforward, clean design with minimalist feel – exactly what we delivered, within budget and on time. The customer was so happy, they referred another client to us immediately – with whom we are currently working! Thanks Linda!

If you would like to talk to us about your website or eMarketing project in Australia, New Zealand or Europe, just get in touch.

Not only is this a momentous occasion for our client who has worked hard for many years to get to this point, it may also be a life changing event!

Recent market data from Media Week shows that online spend has increased by 38% in the first six months of 2009 from last 2008. These are remarkable figures considering the depth of the global recession.

The future of Online Shopping

According to IMRG (Interactive Media in Retail Group) predictions – between 30% and 50% of all retail will be conducted online in the next five years – much of this growth will be in the clothing and footwear sectors as these have lagged behind the ever popular books, music and home goods – all of which continue to increase in popularity (in part thanks to ubiquitous online auction sites e.g.  Amazon, e-Bay and (in NZ) TradeMe).

If this trend continues – and with ever increasing broadband speeds and the desire for “fast easy shopping”, there is every reason to believe it will – many small and medium sized online businesses stand to dramatically improve their online earnings capability.

The Grass Roots Experience

Remember that local fashion / jewellery / homeware shop that closed down and “went online”?  Most of us can think of at least one example of a retail business deciding to cut their overheads and sell direct to the people through the internet.  It was all the rage a few years ago.  And then the “digital bubble” burst.  Some survived and some did not.

What is now clear is that online shopping has evolved significantly.  Where internet businesses struggled to get people to buy online, now they are finding their systems are not able to deal sufficiently with the volume of growth, and are having to invest in significant upgrades in order to keep up with demand!  This is not anecdotal – this is our first hand experience with our customers.

Online shopping is a growing trend and it will continue to be so.  The stats are convincing – regardless of which stats you choose to look at!  And from the grass-roots level, we are witnessing a silent but genuine change in spending habits.  We are not suggesting that this trend is ever going to replace the “shopping mall” experience – they are complimentary revenue streams.  The truth is, online stores are now more likely to actually make money, than any time in the past.

You Have To Be In To Win

Nevertheless, it’s not just a simple case of “creating a website” as some folk tend to think.  That’s only half the story! It’s all about what happens afterwards and how you intend to drive quality traffic to your website – and once they are there – how you will convince them to buy from you! Traditional print marketing is still a viable option (think trade magazines, newspapers and brochures), but increasingly – businesses must invest in developing their e-marketing strategy.

According to Guy Phillipson, chief executive of the IAB UK

“Internet advertising has beaten all expectations to achieve a 15% growth in the most challenging market conditions. Online display has performed notably well against its peers in TV, print and radio despite more than £1.5 billion being wiped off the advertising industry [during the recession].” www.emarketer.com (2009)

Conclusion

So what does this really mean? Even during a global recession, online sales and online marketing are both experiencing significant growth. Can your online business really afford not to invest properly in both of these areas?

At Purple Dog we are keep up with the latest trends in online shopping so that you don’t have to.  We can provide you with an online shopping website that will serve your business, whether retail, wholesale or services based.  We can add significant value to your new or existing online business by considering a range of eMarketing strategies – some paid-for, others free.  We can meet a range of budgets and requirements.

Now is the time to talk to us to find out more.

What do you think of this article? Leave a comment below.

What’s the purpose of your website?

Consider this rather obvious, but fundamental question – most likely you’ll already know the answer: what is my business and who are my customers? Defining this clearly will help you to understand how you should be communicating with your audience.

Your next question should be: what do I want my website visitors (customers) to do while they are on my site? Again, it’s a fairly obvious question, but important to define nonetheless because it will help you to shape the  ideal “online experience” – and therefore the action you are seeking to acheive.

The primary site action you wish to achieve might be that your visitor makes a purchase, or perhaps contacts you for further information? The secondary action could be in addition to the primary, or it might be a substitute action that you encourage in case the first is not achieved, such as the visitor signs up to a newsletter, bookmarks the page, or suggests the page to a friend or submits it to a social networking site.

Defining your primary and secondary objectives will not guarantee any action, but it will certainly help you to refine your visitors online experience, and that can only be a good thing, both for you and them.

What content and design should I have?

Ultimately, if your site looks poor or does not function well, is hard to find or has poorly written content / images / videos, your visitors are unlikely to stay very long.

Research shows that on average, a person decides within the first 2 – 3 seconds if they want to read / watch the content on a website. That’s not very long to grab someone’s attention!

In this respect, it is absolutely essential that your website should:

1. have clear, easy to follow navigation;
2. look good and have a well thought out design that uses a consistent themes and colours (ideally that follow your branding);
3. contain interesting, regularly updated content (articles / images / video) that’s relevant to your visitor;
4. make it easy for your visitor (customer) to fulfil your site’s primary and / or secondary objectives – buy from you or contact you.

How can we attract visitors & keep them coming back?

Purple Dog offers a range of eMarketing services – such as advertising and Search Engine Optimisation, to help you attract new and repeat visitors to your website.  Here are some other ways you can attract and keep your visitors coming back.

Regular updates are good. Your visitors want to read fresh new interesting articles, not the same old boring content that’s been there for the last 6 months. If the content is fresh, your visitors will return.

Blogs are an excellent method for posting regular snippets of information, latest news or just something interesting that’s relevant to your visitors.  If you are selling specific products online, perhaps an article from the designer of that product – or if you’re selling services, perhaps a testimonial from one of your recent successes. Your visitors can subscribe to your blog with RSS and be notified each time you update it.

Email newsletters are also another excellent way to stay in touch with your customers, and encourage them to come back to visit your site.  However, it’s important to use the right email marketing software because email addresses do change and also your email might get marked as spam if not written correctly.  You’ll also have to compete with people’s “email time” – in other words, will people get to read it?

Social Networking is another good way to help promote your site and keep people coming back to visit.  You can read more about Social Networking here.

Special offers, sales, promotions, change of leadership, major partner announced, PR release – anything that is “newsworthy” and can be easily communicated will help you to ensure your visitors keep coming back.

Conclusion

Know what you want your visitor to do. Know how to make it easy for them to do it. Update your site regularly (great for search engines and for attracting repeat visitors), ensure your site looks good and is easy to navigate.

Talk to Purple Dog if you would like advice on improving your current site, to discuss a new site, or to talk about our eMarketing services.