Enter Symbol Look Up Wed, Apr 2, 2014, 10:42 BST - UK Markets close in 5 hrs 48 mins RELATED CONTENT How to make your small business brand 'cool' By Piper Terrett | Yahoo! Finance UK – Mon, Sep 23, 2013 17:50 BST Apple has topped an annual list of the ‘coolest brands’ in the UK, with car maker Aston Martin making second place and luxury watch brand Rolex third. Despite a subdued share price and concerns from some quarters that its growth may be waning, the tech giant made the top spot for the second year running. Other well-established brands failed to maintain their 2012 position on the list, with Haagen-Dazs, Vogue and Ben & Jerry’s slipping down the top 20, replaced by Chanel at 13, Prada at 14 and Alexander McQueen at 19. The CoolBrands list is voted for by 3,000 shoppers and a panel of 38 ‘key influencers’, which this year included Dragon’s Den star Kelly Hoppen, fashion designer Julien MacDonald and actor David Harewood. Of course, these major corporations can afford to invest heavily in marketing their products to make them appeal to fashion conscious consumers. So how can small businesses, often with far fewer funds available, make their brands or products similarly ‘cool’ on a limited budget? The language your firm uses to communicate with its customers, whether on product packaging or your website is crucial, says award-winning advertising copywriter, Victoria Crump, who has worked on many brands including Adidas, Soap and Glory and Clearasil. “It’s all about tone of voice,”she said. “Most businesses don’t want to be quirky as they’re worried about alienating their audiences. But it’s about understanding what the customer wants and telling them the benefits of their product without using jargon. [How SMEs can stand out from the crowd] “People think that jargon makes them look clever but it doesn’t. The way to be cool is to speak in a really distinctive way. Apple is a tech brand so it could be saying things in a very complicated way, but it says them in a simple way. Victoria points to smoothies maker Innocent which has created significant buzz about the humorous messages it uses in its packaging. “Remember the cool kids at school,” she said. “They were happy to be themselves and maybe even funny. Innocent, for example, has a sense of humour. Being cool is about being confident. Innocent created that tone of voice themselves in-house [rather than paying an advertising firm to come up with it] and everyone in the industry was really impressed.” Small businesses should also beware of wasting their marketing budgets on expensive one-off advertising or public relations campaigns, say London-based brand experience experts I-am Associates. SMALL BUSINESS EXPERT Your guide to starting a business Get your business of to a great start with great tips and practical advice. More » Government funding for small businesses Find out what government help is available to help your business set up and grow. More » Article: How to hire a real-life apprentice Yahoo Finance UK - Wed, Sep 18, 2013 13:33 BST Article: Could you run a business with your partner? Yahoo Finance UK - Thu, Sep 5, 2013 17:07 BST Article: Top tips from Small Business Advice Week Yahoo Finance UK - Thu, Sep 5, 2013 17:53 BST View Photo PROPERTY GALLERIES 1 - 1 of 25 HOME INVESTING NEWS & OPINION MY PORTFOLIOS PERSONAL FINANCE PROPERTY REAL MONEY SMALL BUSINESS New User? Register Sign In Help Get the News Digest app Mail My Yahoo Yahoo Search Web
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Enter Symbol Look Up Wed, Apr 2, 2014, 10:42 BST - UK Markets close in 5 hrs 48 mins
RELATED CONTENT
How to make your small business brand 'cool'
By Piper Terrett | Yahoo! Finance UK – Mon, Sep 23, 2013 17:50 BST
Apple has topped an annual list of the ‘coolest brands’ in the UK,
with car maker Aston Martin making second place and luxury
watch brand Rolex third. Despite a subdued share price and
concerns from some quarters that its growth may be waning, the
tech giant made the top spot for the second year running.
Other well-established brands failed to maintain their 2012
position on the list, with Haagen-Dazs, Vogue and Ben & Jerry’s
slipping down the top 20, replaced by Chanel at 13, Prada at 14
and Alexander McQueen at 19. The CoolBrands list is voted for
by 3,000 shoppers and a panel of 38 ‘key influencers’, which this
year included Dragon’s Den star Kelly Hoppen, fashion designer
Julien MacDonald and actor David Harewood.
Of course, these major corporations can afford to invest heavily
in marketing their products to make them appeal to fashion
conscious consumers. So how can small businesses, often with
far fewer funds available, make their brands or products similarly
‘cool’ on a limited budget?
The language your firm uses to communicate with its customers,
whether on product packaging or your website is crucial, says
award-winning advertising copywriter, Victoria Crump, who has worked on many brands including
Adidas, Soap and Glory and Clearasil.
“It’s all about tone of voice,”she said. “Most businesses don’t want to be quirky as they’re worried
about alienating their audiences. But it’s about understanding what the customer wants and telling
them the benefits of their product without using jargon.
[How SMEs can stand out from the crowd]
“People think that jargon makes them look clever but it doesn’t. The way to be cool is to speak in
a really distinctive way. Apple is a tech brand so it could be saying things in a very complicated
way, but it says them in a simple way.
Victoria points to smoothies maker Innocent which has created significant buzz about the
humorous messages it uses in its packaging.
“Remember the cool kids at school,” she said. “They were happy to be themselves and maybe
even funny. Innocent, for example, has a sense of humour. Being cool is about being confident.
Innocent created that tone of voice themselves in-house [rather than paying an advertising firm to
come up with it] and everyone in the industry was really impressed.”
Small businesses should also beware of wasting their marketing budgets on expensive one-off
advertising or public relations campaigns, say London-based brand experience experts I-am
Associates.
SMALL BUSINESS EXPERT
Your guide to starting a businessGet your business of to a great start withgreat tips and practical advice. More »
Government funding for smallbusinessesFind out what government help isavailable to help your business set upand grow. More »
Article: How to hire a real-lifeapprenticeYahoo Finance UK - Wed, Sep18, 2013 13:33 BST
Article: Could you run abusiness with your partner?Yahoo Finance UK - Thu, Sep 5,2013 17:07 BST
Article: Top tips from SmallBusiness Advice WeekYahoo Finance UK - Thu, Sep 5,2013 17:53 BST
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