Dear Mr. Thatcher,

I have been a loyal user of your Always maxi pads for over 20 years, and I appreciate many of their features. Why, without the LeakGuard Core™ or Dri-Weave™ absorbency, I’d probably never go horseback riding or salsa dancing, and I’d certainly steer clear of running up and down the beach in tight, white shorts. But my favorite feature has to be your revolutionary Flexi-Wings. Kudos on being the only company smart enough to realize how crucial it is that maxi pads be aerodynamic. I can’t tell you how safe and secure I feel each month knowing there’s a little F-16 in my pants.

Have you ever had a menstrual period, Mr. Thatcher? Ever suffered from “the curse”? I’m guessing you haven’t. Well, my “time of the month” is starting right now. As I type, I can already feel hormonal forces violently surging through my body. Just a few minutes from now, my body will adjust and I’ll be transformed into what my husband likes to call “an inbred hillbilly with knife skills.” Isn’t the human body amazing?

As brand manager in the feminine-hygiene division, you’ve no doubt seen quite a bit of research on what exactly happens during your customers’ monthly visits from Aunt Flo. Therefore, you must know about the bloating, puffiness, and cramping we endure, and about our intense mood swings, crying jags, and out-of-control behavior. You surely realize it’s a tough time for most women. In fact, only last week, my friend Jennifer fought the violent urge to shove her boyfriend’s testicles into a George Foreman Grill just because he told her he thought Grey’s Anatomy was written by drunken chimps. Crazy! The point is, sir, you of all people must realize that America is just crawling with homicidal maniacs in capri pants. Which brings me to the reason for my letter.

Last month, while in the throes of cramping so painful I wanted to reach inside my body and yank out my uterus, I opened an Always maxi pad, and there, printed on the adhesive backing, were these words: “Have a Happy Period.”

Are you fucking kidding me?

What I mean is, does any part of your tiny middle-manager brain really think happiness—actual smiling, laughing happiness—is possible during a menstrual period? Did anything mentioned above sound the least bit pleasurable? Well, did it, James? FYI, unless you’re some kind of sick S&M freak girl, there will never be anything “happy” about a day in which you have to jack yourself up on Motrin and Kahlúa and lock yourself in your house just so you don’t march down to the local Walgreens armed with a hunting rifle and a sketchy plan to end your life in a blaze of glory. For the love of God, pull your head out, man. If you just have to slap a moronic message on a maxi pad, wouldn’t it make more sense to say something that’s actually pertinent, like “Put Down the Hammer” or “Vehicular Manslaughter Is Wrong”? Or are you just picking on us?

Sir, please inform your accounting department that, effective immediately, there will be an $8 drop in monthly profits, for I have chosen to take my maxi-pad business elsewhere. And though I will certainly miss your Flexi-Wings, I will not for one minute miss your brand of condescending bullshit. And that’s a promise I will keep. Always.

Best,

xxxx xxxx
Austin, TX

Many of these so called spiritual leaders in India are self-proclaimed men of God. They lure people and entrap them with spiritual hoodoo and magical promises – of love, a better job, sudden fortune, marital bliss, instant rise to powerful positions, the blessing of a child, cure from chronic illness, success in business and so on. And in return, these fake Godmen enjoy obscene money, power, expensive gifts and sexual favours even.

I think such fake Sadhus are very shrewd & calculated businessmen. They know exactly what their clients need, they package their service so attractively that it’s hard to resist and to top it all, they have an excellent PR machine creating so much curiosity and awe about the ‘brand’ Sadhu. Finally they just reel in the customer smoothly, before he can realise what’s happening.

In a society where crime rate is rapidly increasing, it is important for us to be aware and watch out for the trap of such fake Gurus. With media exposing such crimes through sting operations and turning the spotlight on fake Sadhus, atleast potential victims can be warned before walking into further danger. Police is also vigilantly monitoring for any such signs of fraudulence. And as citizens, it’s our duty to also fearlessly stand up. For once, let’s step out from being just spectators and join this fight against crime.

Here’s an innovation that will make a pizza lover’s experience all the more delightful. Ventit is a leading manufacturing company that has come up with a completely innovative product – a fully enclosed but well ventilated corrugated pizza deliver box. Just what you need to ensure your pizzas are delivered fresh from the oven, without the fear of contamination.

Knowing how innovative the product is, we had to create a design for the website which would be equally innovative and informative. And we did this by introducing the novelty of the product as an invention that would change pizza delivery experience forever.

Targeting primarily pizza companies, the website has a theme of how the greatest inventions in history changed the way the world lives, and that now Ventit would change the way the world would eat!

Treated interestingly with witty tit bits and trivia, the home page intrigues the audience, egging them on to explore more about Ventit product and its features. The entire website design is unconventional yet attention grabbing, making the brand stand out all the more.

For a taste of the new design, visit www.ventit.in

ABPS is India’s largest Packaging specialized Reprographic Studio. Unilever India’s official Pre-Media partners since the last 10 years, ABPS provides complete gamut of pre-media services by combining the best in class technology with finest quality.

By revamping its website, the company wanted to shift focus from just its services to include a larger picture about its competency and leadership. Also, keeping in mind the global Premedia competition, ABPS wanted to highlight its position as a Global leader, taking the focus beyond its market leadership in India.

For this website, we have chosen a complete brand building approach. A conventional design style clubbed with an international look and feel makes this an interesting combination. The focus here is driven on its technology, creativity, quality leadership and the partnership it enjoys with leading brands. The flash banner functions as a smart showcase of its portfolio, emphasizing its diverse packaging and designing range.

Another interesting treatment in this website is the way the content has been presented without making it appear cluttered. The bottom panel of the homepage offers a short preview of 4 main aspects about the company that every prospect would like to know about – ‘Why us’, ABPS Premedia and Print management services and its clients. This ensures the visitor gets access to all important information right on the home page. Similarly, in the inner pages, by breaking the flow of content into shorter paragraphs and neatly balancing it with key information highlights, we have made it more readable and easy on the eye.

To view the all new ABPS website, visit www.abps.in

Successful business owners understand the value of location, and they will go to great lengths to find the right storefront. They will analyze demographics, map competitors, consider parking access and exterior lighting, ensure adequate transportation routes, and check a multitude of other factors before renting or buying a piece of commercial real estate.

Unfortunately, many business owners do not have the same discipline in building a website. Instead, many companies slap a few Web pages together and expect business to start flowing.

You wouldn’t build your business in the middle of the woods and expect business to flow, right? So unless you’re a lumberjack, it will take a lot more than a website to generate new leads and sales for your business.

For your website to deliver a return on investment, you need an integrated Internet-marketing strategy designed to attract visitors, convert them into leads or sales, and nurture and retain those new leads and customers.

That means quality tactics are essential, including email marketing, paid advertising, landing pages, microsites, search-engine optimization (SEO), and social media.

To simplify what can be a potentially confusing concept, you can group online marketing into three broader tactics: search marketing, conversion marketing, and relationship marketing.

Search Marketing

Step 1: Get out of the woods

The first step after developing a website is to attract new visitors. That means you’ve got to get out of the woods and into the city, where potential customers can easily find you.

Although search engine marketing (paid advertising and SEO) is still an important tactic for driving traffic, the word “engine” is no longer relevant.
That’s because Web users are adopting new search habits, moving away from search-engine queries to nontraditional searches within community forums, blogs, social media, and business directories. Which means marketers must also shift their marketing behavior by adopting new habits for search marketing.

Here is a good way to start:

Optimize your website and submit an XML sitemap to major search engines.
List your website in local and national directories and in other directories that are relevant to your industry.
Create social profiles on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, and post comments on a regular basis.
Write news releases and articles and distribute them to popular blogs and online magazines.
Use direct mail and other traditional marketing to drive visitors to your website or landing pages.

Conversion Marketing

Step 2: Exchange your ax for a chain saw

After you drive visitors to your website using the search-marketing tactics above, the next step is to convert them into customers or leads. That means you have to upgrade your online brochure to a lean, mean lead-generation machine through conversion marketing.

Your website should be designed to capture leads and sales by driving a visitor to take a desired action toward becoming a customer, such as completing an online form or adding an item to a shopping cart.

Here are a few tips and tricks to do just that:

Determine a call to action for each page within your website, such as “Buy now” or “Get in touch.”
Give something in exchange for contact information, such as a free webinar or whitepaper.
Develop landing pages and microsites apart from your website for use during specific campaigns.
Simplify your copy. Instead of long paragraphs, use bullet points and numbered lists.
Conduct A/B testing to try different headlines, buttons, and calls to action. Compare the results.

Relationship Marketing

Step 3: Make new friends and keep them, too

Regardless of the rapid growth and popularity of online marketing, business is still?and will always be?about relationships. (Even Paul Bunyan had an ox named Babe!)

It’s imperative to build relationships with prospects before, during, and after business transactions. After you convert a visitor into a lead, the next step is to nurture that visitor, and for those who become customers, the goal is to retain them. That is done through relationship marketing, or the process of interacting with your prospects and customers to build trust and loyalty.

Here are a few ideas for building solid relationships online:

Adopt Web 2.0 habits that encourage regular two-way conversations, such as community forums.
Respond to both positive and negative feedback. Give thanks or make amends when necessary.
Publish resources and testimonials that add value and credibility to your products and services.
Develop an e-newsletter with quick tips and special promotions for your clients and prospects.
Create a rewards program to generate referrals and new leads.
* * *

So, if you already have a website and you are wondering what comes next, just follow the simple online marketing steps above to generate new sales and business.

It’s important to remember, however, that the online-marketing steps are cyclical, though they do not necessarily happen in consecutive order.

For example, you might need to build a relationship with a prospect before the prospect is willing to convert. Likewise, your website should be optimized for conversion before you invest in search marketing to attract new visitors.

However, 2010 may be the year the government gets on the stick and makes some changes. eSecurity Planet has the details.

For consumer groups that concern themselves with Internet privacy, the efforts to press policymakers to enact regulations or pass laws setting boundaries for collecting data online recall the plight of the long-suffering Brooklyn Dodgers fan: “Wait ’til next year” serves as a fitting mantra for both.

So 2009 came and went with little movement on the privacy front, but advocates are looking ahead to 2010 with high hopes that this year, finally, will be their year.
And they may be right.

The best hope for groups looking to advance the privacy agenda in 2010 rests with the Federal Trade Commission, which has been sending signals that closer scrutiny is on its way.

They appear so real that for a second you almost expect them to blink! We are talking about these amazing tree art!

Creating magic with nature, each of these life-like figures is chiselled to perfection to create a stunning visual treat of tree sculptures.

One can only imagine the amount of hard work that must have gone into shaping these marvels!

Here comes the end of another year and the beginning of a new one! And the world is already checking out the most happening places to ring in the New Year! As the jubilation happens and conversations, food & drinks flow aplenty, the one question you should be asking yourself is what is it that you want to be different about this year’s celebrations.

Want to enjoy a quite toast with close friends and family or ready to experiment in something exciting and all new?! Looking forward to an all night party on New Year’s Eve or a break from all the noise and cacophony in some blissful resort where you can welcome the first sunrise of 2010? Whether you want to indulge in club hopping or take a flight abroad for a different holiday experience, the options for spaces to celebrate are plenty. Indoors and outdoors. That too on a budget that’s not too heavy on your pocket.

Enaltec Labs is a world class API supplier set up by a group of young professionals with the specific objective of providing the critical India advantage to generic formulators across the world.

Enaltec was one of the participants this year’s at CPhI Worldwide Exhibition, a leading international convention on pharmaceutical ingredients and intermediates. With 1,500 exhibiting companies from over 110 countries and over 25,000 industry professionals as visitors, this exhibition offered the company a huge international platform to showcase their strengths and capabilities. So Enaltec wanted a complete rebranding, positioning itself as a global company with distinct India advantage.

The brand designing approach we have taken for this entire rebranding exercise is unique and unconventional. We did away with all stock images and planned a photoshoot of actual images of the company and its employees to highlight its strong infrastructure and pool of resources. Right from their website to brochure to stall poster designs this signature style has been carried forward to create a brand image that is internationally appealing yet aesthetic in look and feel. The essence of the company of being a leading Indian company with a global reach has been communicated strongly through this brand image.

Bhutra Group is a leading name in construction and real estate business with over 3 decades of experience. With the change in management into the hands of its second generation, the client wanted a complete brand makeover, switching from its traditional style and approach to something that’s more contemporary and appealing.

Being a strong player in both commercial and residential property and redevelopment, the focus of the company was to position itself as a brand that appeals both to professionals and families and attracts international and domestic investors. A brand that highlights Bhutra group as a legacy of trust.

As a part of this brand building process, we crafted the brand logo, housestyling and brochure for the company. All its marketing collaterals were designed to reflect its strength of dynamism of youth and the wisdom of the old. The Bhutra brand logo was evolved from its inherent qualities of credibility, leadership and steadfastness. A blend of text and element in the logo design gives it a distinct brand identity. The design approach was extended to its housestyling to complement its corporate look and feel.

The brochure has taken a design approach of showcasing the company’s two core values – experience and trust. The visual on the brochure cover is a simple reflection of every individual’s aspiration, something that prospective buyers can easily relate to. The message ‘Shaping your dreams. Building your trust’ sums up the complete brand experience Bhutra Group offers its customers by partnering their needs.