How do you communicate to prospective clients how you differ from your competitors?

You can listen to my thoughts that I recorded on SoundCloud today.

How do you differentiate yourself from your competitors by KrishnaDe

This clearly is a fine line that we must tread.

Some organisations build their reputation on being confrontational.

This weekend I noticed a full page advert in one of our national broadsheet newspapers - The Irish Times - and the advert was placed by the national radio station Newstalk.

Their advert was aimed at making a point about their standards of journalism and how they differ from RTE our national broadcaster who operates acriss both radio and TV.

It references a Tweet that had been aired on RTE at the time of the irish Presidential elections.

On Friday The Irish Times reported:

RTÉ has formally admitted it broadcast a bogus tweet concerning presidential candidate Seán Gallagher during the crucial final television debate between candidates last year.

The State broadcaster has told the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) the provenance of the tweet read out on the show was inaccurate, according to correspondence seen by The Irish Times .

RTÉ also says it has expressed its regret over the broadcast of the tweet, though it is resisting Mr Gallagher’s claim that it failed to broadcast corrective information when it could have.

You can see the advert here:

What do you think of the Ad? Would you take a similar approach for your business?

As I work with a number of organisations in the food industry I was interested to learn of the campaign launced this weekened by the Bristish Heart Foundation about marketing food to children.

I have curated a series of resources below for research and review purposes which you may also find of interest including content from the British Heart Foundation Twitter and Facebook pages and also articles in the traditional media. Their report is called "The 21st century gingerbread house: How companies are marketing junk food to children online".

If you are interested in the area of food marketing to children I recommend that you also review the current public consultation by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland who are reviewing how food and drink should be marketed to children in broadcast media.

View the story "The British Heart Foundation - Food Marketing To Children" on Storify]

If you missed my previous communication about the virtual marketing event that features some of america's most well known experts in marketing I want to remind you it is still not to late to register for the Truth About Marketing Seminar.

The speakers will be covering tips to attract new clients to your service based business.

The programme is hosted by author Dr. Larina Kase and even if you can not attend the event live there is a way to access the recordings at no cost - the recordings will be available for sale ($197) on December 1st 2011 BUT you can get digital copies of ALL of the audios for FREE when you purchase your copy of Larina’s new book "Clients, Clients and More Clients: Create an Endless Stream of New Business with the Power of Psychology" - you will find it over at Amazon of course.

When you register to attend the event on the bottom left of the page you will see the area on the wb page towards the bottom left - all you need to do the access the reordings at no cost is enter your name, email address and receipt details and you will get access to the recordings when the event finishes on 1 November 2011.

I am delighted that Larina invited me to participate - I am speaking today at 9.30pm Ireland/UK time - that is 4.30pm ET. Let me know if you plan to register for the event and listen in live or if you have purchased Larina's book to get all the interviews at no cost!

In an audio programme available on my Facebook Page for anyone who joins the page, I talk about referral cards.

Here is an example of one of the referral cards I have used in the past. Do you use referral cards?

I have taken part of the card off the example as it's no longer the branding used in my organisation. The card was laid out with copy on both sides and had a horizontal fold.

 

As a parent and someone who is a marketer, here is an important public consultation that I will be paying attention to.

This week the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) launched a public consultation on how food and drink should be commercially promoted to children in the broadcast media.

The public consultation is part of a review by the BAI on the diet and nutrition rules contained in its Children’s Commercial Communications Code. 

On their website the BAI comment:

Under the existing rules, commercial communications which are of particular interest to children or those broadcast during children’s programmes are required to be responsible in their messaging and portrayal of food and drink to those aged under 18. Commercial communications include advertising, sponsorship and product placement.

Responses to the consultation will be accepted by email or by post to the BAI as follows: Children’s Code Consultation, Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, 2 – 5 Warrington Place, Dublin 2 or email: sowens@bai.ie.  The deadline for submitting responses is 5pm on Thursday, 6th October 2011.

As part of promoting the consultation, the BAI is undertaking a direct mail-shot to potentially interested stakeholders; a media campaign, including use of social media to promote aspects of the consultation (please note: comments on social media will not be considered as a formal response to the consultation, and those wishing to engage with the consultation are advised to submit their response in writing by post/email).

You can find the consultation referenced on the Food Safety Authority of Ireland Facebook Page here.

You can find the consultation referenced  on the safefood Facebook Page here.

You can find the consultation referenced on the Broadcasting Authority of Ireand Facebook page here. You can also find the BAI on Twitter here.

As the Irish Examiner reports cheese, breakfast cereals and butter could be hit with advertising restrictions due to fears over their effects on children’s health.

This is an important review and if you are a food manufacturer, a marketer involved in the food industry, or a parent I recommend that you take the time to review the 91 page report which you can access here (or download the PDF here) and make sure you have your voice heard in this public consultation.

Remember the deadline for responses is 6 October 2011.

I remember when I first set up my own business and at the time I hosted a women's radio show and also spoke and wrote about women in business. As part of my research I explored the importance of the female consumer - it's well known that women influence in the order of 80 percent of consumer purchases in the US ad Western Europe.

I was therefore delighted to be approached by the organisers of Purse Power: How to Engage and Influence the New Irish Female Consumer which is Ireland’s first ever seminar focused exclusively on marketing and communicating to Irish women.

The event is a half day seminar and will feature keynotes from authorities in marketing to women and also showcase new Irish research.

In summary the details are as follows:
             
Date:  Thursday, October 6 2011

Timing: 9am – 12:30pm OR  2pm – 5:30pm

Venue: The Round Room, The Mansion House Dawson Street, Dublin 2, Ireland

Investment: €175 per person.

This seminar will explore who today's Irish female consumer really is, how she really thinks, and why she really buys - both online and offline. If you have products and services where you are looking to attract the female consumer, then I highly recommedn that you check out the conference. Be sure to say hello if you attend - I will be speaking in the afternoon.

Increasingly strategic partnerships are becoming important for building visibility in your chosen niche. that is an area we covered in the initial session of the Spotlight Mastermind programme yesterday.

But partnerships in business do not always run smoothly.

I had the opportunity to read a preview copy of a new book being launched today - Finding the Fork in the Road - all about business partnerships:  how to create one, how to build one and how to manage one when it goes off track. The book has helpful checklists, assessments and other tools  to use to determine partnership ‘fit’, establish compatibility and help you build productive partnerships in business.

The book covers:

•    How to recognise symptoms and stop treating them as if they were the problem
•    When the problem is communication and what to do about it
•    Secrets to successful partnerships and what that means to you
•    How to determine partnership fit if you are considering a partnership
•    The realities of family businesses and how it affects the business and partnership.

If you buy your copy of Finding the Fork in the Road today you’ll also receive a free audio from Linda Finkle the books author, called 'Stop Treating Symptoms' and there are a host of other bonuses - in fact I have offered purchasers of the book FREE access to a forthcoming webinar I am hosting about creating partnerships through being a guest blogger called 5 Essential Keys To Building Partnerships Through Guest Blogging  (this is FREE only if you purchase the book - the price of the webinar which takes place on the 4 February is US$67 and the book is less than US$16).

So if you are exploring developing partnerships in your business to support your growth, I highly recommend that you check out Linda's book (and no this is not an affiliate promotion!).

 

If you were planning a conference related to weddings I doubt there is a better day of the year than the 14 February to host it! The 2011 Ireland’s Wedding Industry Conference 2011 will be held on 14 February 2011 in the Crowne Plaza Dublin Northwood, Santry this year and I am delighted to have been asked to speak.

This is the third annual Wedding Industry Conference and will be focusing on everything you need to grow your wedding business.

The conference Chair is Gavin Duffy and Mark Richardson, one of Bill Cullen’s team in the Europa Academy, will give you a crash course in how to sell and will have you enthused to go out and convert your next lead. The keynote address will be delivered by Fergus Finlay, Chief Executive of Barnardos and Labour Senator.

The Conference will also feature two interactive panel sessions addressing the most pressing issues today with Gareth Dunlop and Frank Hannigan as members of the panel.

I really like the look of the aftrnoon session hosted by Gavin Duffy who will be doing a role play of how to get the most out of attending a wedding fair to promote your business.

There will also be a session on how to maximise your presence on WeddingsOnline.ie & WeddingsOnlineNI.com, the conference organisers.

If you are in the wedding business check out the conference online here and don't leave it too late to book your place.