Many words have been put together in praise of Steve Jobs. I must confess that I have already done so in my facebook page and thought of doing so in this blog. But, allow me to do so in a slightly different way.

Before I bought my first Apple Mac, I had two PCs, one of which was the original IBM personal computer. Wow, what I paid for it then would buy me super computing power. 20 MB hard drive and 512 kB of RAM and a floppy drive. With a printer it cost me around $6700 in 1986. A lot of money then and compared to what you get for that sum, still a lot now.

And, I will never forget the sales guy asking, “do you really need that much RAM?” This was when 252 kB was a lot. Remember that only a few years previously 512 kB in a main frame was considered very good. But, I digress.

What I did with the computer is pretty much what we all tend to do now: word processing and spreadsheets. I looked at desktop publishing and wasn’t quite convinced with what was on offer. In the end, I went for the familiar and settled on a typesetter, complete with processor, with the chemicals to develop bromides. Again, I digress.

Well, this preamble brings me my first encounter with the Apple Mac. It was a Mac IIx, I think. The actual machine was not that important. What is important is the software, which only ran in the Mac then. It was Quark Xpress. This was desktop publishing that was pretty much WYSIWIG, and at a price that was within reach.

Previously, I looked at Ventura, which I believe ended up as Pagemaker, the precursor to InDesign. I also looked at ReadySetGo. Not bad, but what impressed me was a PC-based software which had very good WISIWYG but cost something like $5000 just for the software. I’m glad I didn’t go with that, as Quark Xpress has been the platform, I’ve carried through the years.

So, in 1991, I got my first Apple Mac. And, I have stuck with Quark, despite their really crazy pricing. Anyway, they came to their senses some 10 or so years ago. Most probably this was because of the pressures brought to bear by Adobe, with InDesign. Again, I digress.

Quark eventually went to the PC a few years later, but I have stuck with the Mac platform for DTP. I admit to getting a number of PCs through the years, but none of these were used for desktop publishing.

Now, to Steve Jobs. In one of his career/life’s moves, he studied calligraphy. Great. His love for this led him to appreciate typography and printing, including one of the many things involved in this industry which was measurement. Printing used the Imperial foot as a measurement. More importantly was the unit called pica
Pica is a typographic unit corresponding to 1/72 of a foot. Hence, the pica is 1/6 of an inch. The pica has 12 points (units) of measure.

So, where is this heading. Well, let’s cut to the chase. The Apple monitor to this day uses this measurement. Not as picas, but pixels. Hence, this consideration was front of mind for Jobs when he developed the first Apple Mac. Admittedly, it was a small screen (7”) but it had 72 dots per inch (dpi). This closely matches the printing measurement.

Believe me that this was very important to us doing typesetting. And, the legacy today is the look of the monitor more closely resembles the printed page. Note that PC monitors are on the main 96 dpi. I won’t go into the differences, other than to alert you dear reader of the differences in colour for Mac monitors compared to PCs. The latter’s images appear darker.

Anyway, Jobs’ forward thinking helped place Apple Macs as the tool of choice in DTP for a long time. A legacy that continues today.

Like any tool in marketing communication, those used to develop a website have their particular purpose. One of those used in developing websites, is animation. I refer particularly to the use of Flash.

When bandwidth was limited and download speeds were still 56 kbits/sec, animation was limited in scope and very slow to download. One only has to look back at the slow speed of file download and the constant temptation to press the “skip” button.

With more bandwidth, faster download speeds and current state of the web, these problems are now no longer relevant.

So, do we just adopt the use of Flash on every website? I use a very limited version of flash on my website. One that more resembles a marquee, with a feel similar to a slide show.

With a number of clients, I use different types of Flash animation.

One I particularly like to highlight is fa division of a client of several years. I refer to Aztex Sodablast—a division of Aztex Pty Ptd.  Note the unique way that the flash animation works, from the above photo of the home page. (You can check the site's flash animation, by clicking here.)

Animation of the photos changing mimics the process of soda blasting. The disappearance of the photo to reveal another underneath is similar to the effects of surface blasting.

I’d like to think that this is similar to the use of onomatopoeia in poetry, where the sound of words mimics what the word represents. Anyway, you get what I mean.

Let’s not limit the approach of bringing animation to your website. There is just so much scope with today’s technology. And, there's pretty much no limit.

If you want to bring a great Flash effect to help highlight your products or services, JG Marketing Services can help.

If you're looking at refreshing your website, with or without flash, why not contact us to discuss your requirements.

Sometime back I wrote about refreshing your website. Really, if you think about it, if your site looks the same everytime someone pops over for a visit, it looks the same and there’s no reason to visit again, right?

Well, not wanting to be guilty of saying do as I say, not what I do, I’ve updated my site ever so slightly.

BTW, note that with updates to this blog, the content changes on my website, but the look stays the same.

Well, now some very subtle changes to featured pics (with actual changes to some text) means that we now have a slightly different look to jgmarketing.com.au.

So, hope you like it.

Here’s a link to the site.

Again, I look forward to your comments and suggestions.

Take care.

Jamie Oliver is more than a celebrity chef with a bankable image. At heart he is an entrepreneur. And looking at the many ventures he has been involved with, this entrepreneural vent is obvious.

He has gone from his initial television appearances and extended his brand by opening restaurant chains,f ood shops and taking time out to design consumer cooking products. He uses his name and his celebrity status by working this into a range of  interrelated interests.


A The golden rules of brand extension use the strength of Oliver’s reputation and strength of his brand to extend this. Diversification allows you not only sell more products but also to spread your risks. As whatever you sell when you reach a point of saturation, diversification allows you some protection from that saturation by selling other products.

Of course, there are no guarantees of continued success. A successful television show may be axed if ratings fall or production companies want a fresh face. (Jamie Oliver’s early setbacks in television attest to this being something that is always back of the mind.)

Consider also that if a show is dropped, this will affect other products, e.g., book sales will suffer without the support of a television show.

Diversification offers a degree of protection if say Oliver’s television shows are dropped, as restaurants, consumer products and so on will still be there.

They also have a potential of developing a momentum of their own.

Brand extension also has some risks associated with it.

A known name can help achieve market acceptance. The Jamie Oliver brand helps sell his range of kitchenware, cookbooks and the like.

However, a brand given to a poor product or a good one that doesn’t excite the public’s imagination can damage the parent brand. And, by extension even ruin the goodwill that may already have been built into the original brand.

When you extend  your brand, you  have to control your affairs, you will have to build values people associate with around the branded products.

Oliver developed an image of straight-talking chef, who was passionate about good food being available to the public.

It is also important to note that it is important to stick to your knitting. Oliver concentrated on food and cooking. All his business ventures centred around these.

Brand extension is also achieved by partnering with others. Oliver always tried to hire talented people, develop them in his organisations and he looked at successful businesses to partner with to develop products that would carry his brand name.

Also, by diversifying into other products and business ventures, Oliver has created a platform that allows him to survive in business even his television celebrity status should begin to fade.

It's been a while and am remiss updating my blog. Let me touch on a favourite subject: headlines.

I am reading a book on copywriting and the way the author presents this subject is different to other books I've read previously on the subject. In future posts, I will cover some new and some old points that I have rediscovered.

In a previous post, I harped about headlines, or rather, the lack of it.

Have your ever considered that just about any sales message, whether in print or on-line needs a headline--a good one.

Let’s face it, the headline of your sales message is what pulls a reader or visitor to your website. I would say that it would be responsible for up to 80% of the response from that sales message. So, let's face it, the success or failure of most marketing efforts rests very much on the power of your headline.

In a print advertisement, 10-20% of your prospective readers will read your ad. That’s it. So, if you have a so-so headline, you can lose pretty much all the prospective readers of your ad.

To capture your prospective reader, you need to grab him/her with a good, punchy headline.

As covered earlier and again here, a headline is just so important. Even poorly written ads have been successful because of the overwhelming power of a good headline. Your prospects will decide whether to read your sales message in only two or three seconds. That is all the time they will give you to scan your headline. Really, you and I are no different.

We do not READ a newspaper, we SCAN the headlines - article headlines and ad headlines. We are looking for only for what interests us at the moment we read.

Consider how you would read a newspaper. You scan the headlines and then proceed to read the body of the article, if the headline interests you.

A headline comprises the first words at the top of a newspaper ad. It is the title of your article, the subject line of your email or letter, or the top of your web page. Some quick pointers:

Make sure that your headline is the first group of words that your reader sees. I’ve seen fancy layouts with the headline buried in the body of an ad. So, subtle and yet so easy to miss. We’re not out to win awards for ad layouts, but to make sales is something that I believe in.

Ads that go against this point put their logo on the top, where the headline should be. If you just want to get subliminal messages through, without trying to get your reader to go through the body copy, this might work. Otherwise, it’s a complete waste of time.

The headline should pull in the reader with some sort of promise. Once, you get the reader’s attention, the eyes will be pulled down to your logo, as part of your signature. 

Of the readers who will see your ad, something like 10-20% will have an interest in your message. If you miss out on these readers, you’ve just done your money.

The headline should not only have a promise, it should be catchy and noticeable. Some headlines just describe the product that’s advertise and that’s it. Ho-hum. “1 tonne widget”. So, what’s the promise. Mind you if someone is looking for a 1 tonne widget, this could be enough to pull him/her through the body copy.

Now, why not something like “You can save money with our 1 tonne widget”, better yet, “How you can save money with our 1 tonne widget”.

Note the use of the word "you" in both headlines, making the appeal directly to the reader. Also note the appeal to the hip pocket nerve, to get the reader’s curiosity going.

Let' not forget that we will not interest all readers, only the 10-20% who may be in the market for a 1 tonne widget. And, since the reader’s curiosity is piqued, he/she will read on.

Now lose the reader at this stage, and he/she will go no further.

So, some thought should always be put in a headline.

When I write ads, I usually put as much work in the headline as I do with the body copy. I will touch on body copy on another post.

Until then...

Let's face it today, many things are becoming commodities. Generic branding which started not that long ago, is growing. Price is now pretty much the main deciding factor. Or, is it?

I recently read a book about Jamie Oliver, the chef and entrepreneur. In the footsteps of many ahead of him who extended his name and personal brand to other products and services, e.g., cookware, cookbooks, shows and the like, Oliver has expanded his now familiar face and name to other income streams.



With a friendly and affable persona, Oliver started his brand with an appearance in a TV documentary. His style and approach to cooking, plus his personality, of course, made him an ideal candidate as a TV personality.

He did three series as "The Naked Chef" and then came "Jamie's Kitchen".

Oliver then expanded to other areas from there including setting up his own production company, Fresh One Production Company.

Jamie Oliver made a few mistakes along the way, but he had his sights well set at expanding his brand. He also did a lot of work for the public, including a School Dinners campaign and  Ministry of Food. The former effort was aimed at improving the quality of school meals. The latter was aimed at encourage cooking in a housing estate.

Not averse to controversy, Oliver used shock tactics to make consumers think about animal welfare standards.

Again, these efforts help build on his persona, his personal brand.

With the development of his name, his brand, his persona, Oliver went into partnership with different enterprises and manufacturers to build restaurant chains, a party planning business, "own brand" line of herbs, sauces, oils and kitchenware.

And, he even got involved in multimedia activities, which includes a video game and video downloads for mobile phone users.

So, the brand expanded and developed.

While it may not be the way to develop your business, it is a means of building a brand, albeit in a more personal and persona-based business.

I'll cover some of the lessons Jamie Oliver learned in building his brand in future posts.

Until then....

Recently we set up a couple of landing pages for our clients. Since they had the domain names of some brands, these were used as the URLs for single page sites.

These sites had various links back to the clients’ respective websites, to various pages, in fact.

The point of this strategy was to help improve search engine rankings.

How does this work? Quite simple, really. As the brand names were the site URLs, these would be highly ranked as the names are in a domain. That’s as high as it gets for the likes of Google.

Thus, if someone searched for “brandx”, if a website had the name “brandx.com”, this would rank higher than a site that had various “brandx” in the home page text.

Anyway, that’s the theory. I’ll let you know how we go.

These are the two sites that we have set up so far. This site This site carries the name of a principal, who the client represents in Australia.

This site is uses a long held trading name, which the client owns. A name already carried in the site, this will help keep the brand name up there in rankings.

Note that in both sites, how the peppering of various links back to the clients'main website is found in the landing page. And, these links are to different pages in that site.

As mentioned earlier, I'll keep you posted on how we fare with the different search engines. Watch this space.

Post Script: We just recently uploaded a new landing page for another client. Again, this one uses a well-known brandname to link back to the client's website, where the product is featured. The site is located here .

 Pulse Solutions, which started business in 1997, has recently launched an Australian-based website. Since starting operations, the company has created over 1,000 websites, covering a wide gamut of industries and applications in Europe, USA and Australia.

Today, the company has expanded from the three founders to a team of over 100 specialist developers, technicians and SEO practitioners.

Pulse Solutions has always believed that "the internet should be working for you". Hence, their clients all have highly navigable and user-friendly sites that meet Web 2.0 requirements.

The company has clients around the world, ranging from small mom and pop businesses to multi-million dollar corporations. Pulse Solutions strives, at all times, to at least meet or preferably to exceed client expectations through unsurpassed service and attention to detail.

Their development processes are continually improved and honed to meet the ever-changing nature of the web.

In Australia, JG Marketing Services represents Pulse Solutions. At JG Marketing, we provide the benefit of our many years of experience in marketing services and communication and use this expertise, in collaboration with Pulse Solutions to provide web-based solutions for our clients.

Our web team works hand-in-glove with Pulse engineers in the development of practical solutions that are designed to meet not only current, but future needs as well. We specially insist on building the right architecture for websites, which allow a client's site to expand for future development.

We are very happy to continue our relationship with Pulse Solutions and look forward to many years of collaboration in the exciting work that the web provides.

Today, marketing communication finds rush jobs are now par for the course. In fact, we can even consider them as a given.

"If I want it tomorrow, I'll order it tomorrow." This is not a real statement from a client, but  many times, it feels that it may as well be.

As the pressures of making do with less resources hit harder, businesses are doing with less people. Many are wearing several hats and juggling more work at the one time. Multi-tasking is now a given at most workplaces.

So, you need a marketing communication and what do you do? Prepare the job on the last day before, or worse, on deadline.

Sound familiar?
It's no joke.

Last October, I got a call on my mobile from a client who wanted an ad prepared. I asked him when he needed it. "This afternoon," he said. I apologised that I was unable to help, I was out of town. I also did not bring a computer. But, even if I did so, my files are on my desktop computer, an Apple Mac, in one of several external drives.

It's hard to bring all of those files around when travelling. But, I digress.

Careful thought and planning will payback bigtime in making a marketing communication work.

And, I don't mean about getting the photos, background material and so on, but on more basic things. Who do you want to influence? What is the message? What do you want to achieve? This sort of thing.

Sometimes just preparing the message is the objective, when one should really consider, why the message is needed in the first place.

Are you after a simple reminder about your products or services? Do you want to start a sales campaign? Maybe, a corporate ad campaign? A one shot offer?

Whatever you want to achieve, has to be front of mind before doing anything. The message that is developed is based strongly on the purpose of the message.

If you booked an ad, which is due soon, or worse, now due, is not the reason for an ad. A better reason is the one you had when you booked it in the first place.

An old printer friend, many years ago once told me: "Price, quality, speed. Pick two."

I'm not saying that you can't have all three, but usually if you are in a hurry, you should allow for something to give. Quality may suffer, or be prepared to pay more for a rush job. Or, wait a while, but take advantage of a less costly job. You get my drift.

If you brief a marketing communication practitioner to help with a job, plan your brief. Make sure you cover all bases. And, give him time to execute the job.

A good practitioner should be able to fill in the blanks when receiving a brief, no matter how sketchy. But, think of how much better a job you will get if you give him a better brief and enough time to do the job.

And, it won't hurt to step back and consider the why's and wherefore's. In the end, a different communication piece may be called for. Or, maybe not required at all at this time.

Worth considering, isn't it?

A few months ago, I decided that a new image to celebrate our 30th year in business was appropriate. Doesn't seem that long ago when I decided to get into marketing services.

So, the first project was to redo the logo.

Keeping the folded paper symbol was the starting point. We went back to colours we used in the early 80s, green in particular. The pixelisation effect made the folded paper work and become more relevant in a Web 2.0 world.

Then, the next step was to make the website more looking more up-to-date. The use of people in the home page was an important starting point. Why? Simply put, people relate to people.

Plus, since our products are services provided by people, this made sense.

In B2B advertising and other marketing communication, practitioners and their clients focus on product. While a reader or website viewer can relate to a product that is unique, they have more empathy with people. After all people buy from people, not from companies. (Sorry, just a little aside, which I thought was worth mentioning.)

Anyway, back to our new website. The new site is also a good means of exposing our expanded service offering. The flash section centres on websites, which is our main focus in the coming months.

We will be looking into expanding the SEO part of our services, as well as present a DNN shopping cart, which is entirely new to us.

The latter is the product produced by our colleagues at Pulse Solutions of India.

Well, like I mentioned in earlier blog posts, updating a website, in look and content is a given. It should be done regularly to give it a fresh look. Admittedly, we have been a bit remiss. But, in the last five years, this is the third major upgrade.

To view our new site, please click here . I hope that you like the look.

Please feel free to email me with your comments.

Until my next post.