I recently decided to upgrade the theme on one of my websites to bring in the new year and to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the organisation - AdventFellowship. So I took the SAME old theme and design and changed it from blue to red - added a few more pictures and some pretty writing. From a webdesigner's perspective I thought the over 150 users would just see it as a nice colour change, since there was no significant design alteration.
To my surprise I was getting a lot of comments on the forum and from people I spoke to about the new design. i was like ummm... I only changed a few colours... People said they liked the crisp new look and feel of the site, in fact traffic went up significantly that month.
Then I got ANGRY!!! WHY??!! The hours and hours of work on the back-end, the millions of features, the cool capabilities!! I never heard anyone marvel over these... But 2 hours or so just to change a few colours and pictures on the theme made the site a hit. So then I ask, do we need web developers? Or all we need are good graphic designers, do we need people with knowledge and experience in Web 2.0 and 3.0 practices, SEO, and general website management skills? People who try to keep content flowing on the website, and invent methods to keep users engaged. Newsletters, forums, chatrooms, and other "cool features" are not important?
Then it hit me, its the Hot Girl Syndrome(HGS)[yes I made that up]. Humans in general like what they can see. No matter how the plate of food tastes, if it doesn't look good most people wont be attracted to it. Same goes for hot girls, most guys I know (including myself) are attracted to a females exterior first, no matter how some try to deny it. It is well after we get over the looks when we consider the the features in her 'back-end' no pun intended. But the important thing is that the backend features are what keeps you attracted to her, even after the wrinkles start kicking in. These include the cooking, caring, etc... whatever makes up your hot girl into wifey.
WebDevelopers are the 'wifeys' it seems of the internet. And rightly so, they are who keep the users coming back. But I guess every now and then the wifey needs to spruce herself up with a little style and design.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
L. A. Lewis Marketing Strategies
If you happen to pass through the Jamaican corporate area you perhaps have seen the graffiti --- of the prolific DJ L. A. Lewis. He is known in Jamaica more than a lot of popular musical artistes however only a(n) (un)fortunate few have ever heard his music.
The graffiti is usually done the same way wherever it is seen, characterised by tacky writing with white paint, "loving" messages and the 7Up mascot - Fido Dido. The messages range from "We Love You L. A. Lewis" to "L.A. Lewis the pore love you" and other simple messages promoting the (in)famous DJ. When interviewed Lewis claims he is not responsible for any of the markings, and refers to them as fan art.
But why is this unknown DJ so popular, I analysed some of his main psychological marketing strategies and came up wit these:
As humans we tend to love what other people love
The theme present in all of L. A. Lewis' writing is apparent love from his fan base. It seems as if people are so in love with this artiste (not necessarily his music) that they want to tell everyone about how great he is. Our curiosity then starts to perk and we try to find out who this L. A. Lewis is, you want to find that quality that everyone is loving so much. We yearn to love... an intrinsic human nature, we not only want to love something, but something that has everyone else's approval.
Strategic ad placement
This is another great move by Lewis (or his fans), his graffiti is placed in places that see high volumes of traffic, especially highways or main roads. On your typical route through the capital Kingston, you will possibly come across about 2 L. A. Lewis Ads.
Branding
My favourite is his branding, we know its L.A. Lewis graffiti if its done in white paint using a broad paintbrush, has the Fido Dido mascott, Star of David or Weed Splif. This is sometimes accompanied with the loving messages to this great DJ or to the police.
Audience Selection
The Messages are usually addresses to the police or the "pore". This gives a feeling of belonging, taking into consideration the number of people who "consider" themselves to be poor, especially in times of economic crisis. The reference to the police is perhaps to keep them from charging him for damaging or defacing public property.
Word of Mouth
These ads spark conversation, they are what you may call remarkable - worthy to make remarks about. This is what has been the driving force behind this urban legend.
This is arguably one of the biggest, and least expensive marketing campaigns the island has ever seen. Who says marketing has to be a multimillion dollar initiative, in fact millions are wasted each year because of products or services being incorrectly marketed.
Next time you are considering the strategy for your next product or service, think about the L. A. Lewis Marketing Strategies - and join the "millions of fans" saying "L. A. Lewis we love you".
The graffiti is usually done the same way wherever it is seen, characterised by tacky writing with white paint, "loving" messages and the 7Up mascot - Fido Dido. The messages range from "We Love You L. A. Lewis" to "L.A. Lewis the pore love you" and other simple messages promoting the (in)famous DJ. When interviewed Lewis claims he is not responsible for any of the markings, and refers to them as fan art.
But why is this unknown DJ so popular, I analysed some of his main psychological marketing strategies and came up wit these:
As humans we tend to love what other people love
The theme present in all of L. A. Lewis' writing is apparent love from his fan base. It seems as if people are so in love with this artiste (not necessarily his music) that they want to tell everyone about how great he is. Our curiosity then starts to perk and we try to find out who this L. A. Lewis is, you want to find that quality that everyone is loving so much. We yearn to love... an intrinsic human nature, we not only want to love something, but something that has everyone else's approval.
Strategic ad placement
This is another great move by Lewis (or his fans), his graffiti is placed in places that see high volumes of traffic, especially highways or main roads. On your typical route through the capital Kingston, you will possibly come across about 2 L. A. Lewis Ads.
Branding
My favourite is his branding, we know its L.A. Lewis graffiti if its done in white paint using a broad paintbrush, has the Fido Dido mascott, Star of David or Weed Splif. This is sometimes accompanied with the loving messages to this great DJ or to the police.
Audience Selection
The Messages are usually addresses to the police or the "pore". This gives a feeling of belonging, taking into consideration the number of people who "consider" themselves to be poor, especially in times of economic crisis. The reference to the police is perhaps to keep them from charging him for damaging or defacing public property.
Word of Mouth
These ads spark conversation, they are what you may call remarkable - worthy to make remarks about. This is what has been the driving force behind this urban legend.
This is arguably one of the biggest, and least expensive marketing campaigns the island has ever seen. Who says marketing has to be a multimillion dollar initiative, in fact millions are wasted each year because of products or services being incorrectly marketed.
Next time you are considering the strategy for your next product or service, think about the L. A. Lewis Marketing Strategies - and join the "millions of fans" saying "L. A. Lewis we love you".
Gleams of the first light
Im still impressed with the name I gave to this blog "Cerebral Radiance" implies "light" streaming from my brain. I perhaps overdid it, it implies that I am super smart and all that smartness will be radiated here - hope so
It has been my most procrastinated occupation - writing, yet there is always so much to write about. Here on you will see my reflections, opinions and instructions in areas of computing, electronics, web development, marketing or any other hobby I pick-up along the way. I will try no to be boring and not too personal as blogs do get, but rather always taking a new "out of the box" [cliche, eh] look on anything I write.
It has been my most procrastinated occupation - writing, yet there is always so much to write about. Here on you will see my reflections, opinions and instructions in areas of computing, electronics, web development, marketing or any other hobby I pick-up along the way. I will try no to be boring and not too personal as blogs do get, but rather always taking a new "out of the box" [cliche, eh] look on anything I write.
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