Tag Archives: branding

I’m having a passionate love affair ! Lessons about love !

I want to share a secret with you.   I am “in love“- totally and passionately in love.  I am proud to tell you that I am in love with our brand. The White Now brand is like a family member, a great neighbour or even a special friend who you can rely on or call on when needed.  Other people genuinely love our brand too.  What I love most though is that my team also are passionately in love with our brand as well and as a business owner, you really cannot ask for more.

The White Now brand is known throughout the industry as the most trusted brand in its field of recruitment,  job boards and so much more.  When we ask our clients what comes to mind regarding our brand, they come up with four things EVERY time:

  1. Purple and Yellow
  2. The exclamation mark
  3. The wizard: and
  4. Service that goes above and beyond.
The Mascot - Wiz !
The Mascot – Wiz !

With this in mind, we knew that we had to ensure that these four things were evident in everything we do – this is how we will live the brand.  The brand is way more than a logo or an item, it’s our heart and soul and DEFINITELY our Values  (Integrity; Respect; Innovation; Quality; and Excellence in Customer Service). Our brand is not just something we think, but it represents what our customers think of us too.

At the recent Australasian Gaming Expo (AGE) in Sydney, we had a small stand.  We didn’t spend a fortune on the fit out.  We simply said … ‘It’s gotta be purple and yellow“… and so it was.  Our team worked tirelessly to make the stand warm, fun and inviting – like our brand is.  They succeeded and I genuinely love them for it.

Capturing our brand colours at the AGE !
Capturing our brand colours at the AGE !

As the owner of the WhiteNow brand for over 20 years, I had a ‘light bulb’ moment during this trade show.  This was that my team and I LOVE what our brand stands for.  My team suggested that they wear purple and yellow, they came up with the idea for purple and yellow miniature beach balls (called WizBalls) and they live and breathe the brand.   There is not one thing that I can pinpoint that makes us love the brand, but we honestly do.  It is fun, vibrant, a little bit crazy and out-there and most of all it represents who and what we are and what we deliver.

Branding that moves.
Branding that moves.

The next light bulb moment I had at the trade show was when everyone who walked past wanted one of our little purple and yellow WizBalls.  By the end of each day, everywhere you walked, you saw our brand.  We had so many customers take the WizBall back to their venues and take pics of it at their venue or out and about and send it to us to post on our social media.  Everyone else seems to love our brand too.  I had someone from The Star talk to me a couple of days after the AGE to tell me how funny it was to see so many of our balls at The Star each night after the AGE…. in the bars, on the tables, on couches and in the toilets …. everywhere. WizBalls ended up in Queensland, Melbourne, Hamilton Island and there is a WizBall in Paris as we speak.

WizBall at Hamilton Island

Our team have such a love for the brand, that they also take a WizBall wherever they go (day, night or weekend) and take pics of the it to post on our social media platforms. You don’t get staff doing this unless they are passionate about their brand.

I am privileged to deliver a session each term at the Aristocrat/Leagues Clubs Australia GMDC (Gaming Management Development Course) in front of around 75+ students.  Believe it or not, I wear a wizard outfit whilst I am presenting.  Sound a little crazy to you ? It sort of is but I can tell you that the students seem to listen to what this ‘wizard’  has to say and they sure remember the brand when they walk away.  You have to LIVE and BREATHE your brand !

"In a Wizard Outfit !"
Presenting at the GMDC – in a Wizard outfit

Do you want to love your brand too ? My advice is to make your brand have real meaning and bring it to life in any way you can.  Give it a set of values that are real and tangible.  Make your customers love your brand by doing something with it that makes them smile.  Give it a way that it can be mobile.  Let it be seen with other brands you love and respect.  Make it ‘cool’ or ‘out there’.  Make it a little fun or a little quirky.  Make it consistent.  Don’t be afraid of it.  Believe in it and never every compromise its integrity.

Put your brand with other trusted brands ! Here is WizBall with a Hennessy Coffee !

I am really not afraid to share my love and passion with you all.  It is true love and when you are truly in love, you simply want everyone to know about it.

I hope you continue to love our brand too ! Follow us on instagram to see WizBall out and about or check us out on Facebook as well !

Yours lovingly

Jenny White
Director and Owner
WhiteNow

LOVE YOUR BRAND

 

The Crumbiest & Most Stupid Thing I have Done !

doh

Are you ready to hear about one of the silliest things that we have ever done ?  Talk about not thinking something through properly … geesh ………

White Now have all the new, wiz bang credit card facilities for customers to make payment  for our services, but it’s just a fact that some still want to receive their paper invoice in the mail and we are just fine with that.  When we mail invoices we often send little gifts inside the envelope as an added thank you.  Here is where the stupidity begins !

We had lots of White Now branded, double pack bickies from the guys at ‘Bite Size Coffee Treats’ and I thought, “what a great little gift to send with our next lot of invoices”.  It’s a little different to the jelly babies and similar things we often send.

Well it wasn’t until we had sent a ridiculous amount of these bickies out over many weeks that I received a very sweet email with this pic attached. There was no message, just this picture !

500
The Crushed Bickies !!

Here is a closer up pic of ‘the totally crushed bickies’ – WOOPS !

crs

This is what I had done – I had sent out over 100 invoices with these delicious bickies inside NOT  thinking at all that they would be crushed in the mail (D’oh).  Trust me, this is NOT the bickie company’s fault, this is total stupidity from one individual (yes that would be me).  I can also tell you that if it wasn’t for this one caring customer sending us a pic of what he received, that we would still be sending these gifts via mail with our invoices wasting lots of money and undoubtedly annoying the recipient each and every time and not knowing that they were arriving more like crumb bases ready to be made into cheesecake bases.

It’s funny that sometimes you have no idea that you are doing something wrong until some kind and thoughtful person points it out.  It is only because this helpful Club Manager emailed us a picture of our special ‘gift’ that we realised that this little gift was not a gift that traveled well !

If you see your supplier or any colleague in fact doing something that doesn’t work for you, why don’t you find a way to let them know in a gentle and encouraging way.   It will help them change the way that they do things …. and for the better!

Yours in stupidity

Jenny ‘Homer‘ White

CEO of www.whitenow.com.au

 

 

Are You Getting Schnitty At Your Hospitality Venue?

2014-09-23 18.43.21

It is time for me to share my thoughts about the almighty and much adored Chicken Schnitzel and it’s BFF, the deliciously smothered Chicken Parmigiana.

The question really does need to be discussed….. should your hospitality venue serve these well known items or not ?????

I want to share with you an experience that I had at a club that we did a lot of work for a couple of years back.  I can name the club as it no longer trades; ‘Souths on Chalmers’ which was also known as South Sydney Rugby League Club in Chalmers Street, Redfern.

Firstly, let me say that I was oozing passion for this club, the brand, the cute little ‘resting rabbit’ logo and of course what the club was trying to achieve.  We worked tirelessly and worked many unpaid hours to help this club try and realise it’s dream.  Sadly, the club closed not much more than 12 months after it first opened.  Why ? There were many, many reasons, too many to discuss, especially in a blog that is really about the infamous Chicken Schnitzel.

The club used the services of a Contract Caterer who was very well known as a restaurateur and function/events operator.  They had not been involved with a club prior to this.  Let me tell you that I thought that their food was pretty damn good.  Some of the menu items that I loved were:

  • Grilled Croque Monsieur of Gypsy Ham & Gruyere Cheese with Dijon.
  • Salmon Fish Cakes with Remoulade and Salad
  • Roast Pumpkin and Beetroot Tart with Gorgonzola and Hazelnut Dressing.

The problem was that only a percentage of those members and visitors who came to visit the club enjoyed these types of dishes. They were dishes that you could have every so often, but perhaps not once, twice or three times a week.

I cannot tell you how many times that customers said  “why don’t you have a chicken schnitty or a chicken parmy on the menu?” .  On the club’s very active Facebook page there were many, many mentions about how nice the food was but they wanted to see a Chicken Schnitty and Chicken Parmy on the menu.  People openly voiced their thoughts all over social media about the absence of the items. They said that they would come more often if these were on the menu.  There were families that shared their thoughts about wanting to bring their family to the club for birthdays but their brother/father etc wanted to have a Chicken Schnitty and it was not on the menu so they were going to the pub around the corner who, coincidentally were smart enough to realise the absence of the Chicken Schnitty from the club’s menu spelled ‘O P P O R T U N I T Y’ for the pubs in the area …. and trust me, they vigorously marketed this to their prospects.

With all the feedback that came through and was passed on to the caterer, they unfortunately chose not to add this to their menu as it was seen as ‘club food’.  My thoughts are that ‘if it looks like a duck, it smells like a duck, it quacks like a duck then it must be a duck’.  This was a club.  It was a hospitality venue that wanted families, groups, parties and more. .  Unfortunately the item was not added to the menu.  It may very well have been an item that on its own, did not offer huge profitability but if it was viewed as perhaps a ‘loss leader’ then maybe they would have seen their revenue double or triple just by adding what the customer wanted to the menu.

The club is now closed which makes me sad.  There were good people working there and good intentions and big dreams.  I wonder to this day though, if that Chicken Schnitty and its BFF the Chicken Parmy were part of the menu, how much of a difference this may have made to the ongoing viability of the Club.  Who knows !  Does the world actually revolve around the Chicken Schnitty ?

There are some that think that having a Chicken Schnitty on their menu attracts the wrong clientele.   I know that my family, my friends and so many of my colleagues enjoy fine dining at its best, new exciting and creative menus and radical taste combinations, but I also know that the majority of them really, really want to go somewhere where they can get a Chicken Schnitty in a relaxed environment as well.  You will find me once a month at our local bowling club and guess what I order ?  …… the Chicken Schnitty which comes with pepper sauce, yes the one and same Chicken Schnitty that you see in the picture.  In fact,  there are a bunch of us that meet at the club just because a few of the group love the Chicken Schnitty.

What do you think about having an item that many people want and ask for on a club and pub menu  ?  Should it be included ??

Yours Crumbingly

Jenny White (Owner of White Now and Chicken Schnitzel Activist).

 

Are you CRAZY or CLEVER to you use an 18 year old to run your Facebook and Social Media strategy ?

crazy

Are you considering putting on someone to look after your social media ?
Are you wondering what type of person would be best to run your social media ?
Are you looking for advice on what type of person to hire ?

When I hear the following words come out of one of our clients’ mouths,

we have a great 18 year old who loves Facebook and said that she is very keen to run our Faceboook page”

………I shake in my ugh boots and hope that they have really thought seriously about this decision.

Being very aware of how to effectively run a company’s social media strategy, my immediate priority is to make sure that I am advising clients in the best possible way to ensure that they are positioned to highlight their brand in the social world in the smartest and most professional way whilst making sure that they eliminate any possible risks that may leave themselves open or liable for legal action or bad PR.

The decision on who should manage your social media channels is not actually ever about the age of the person, but what skills, experience and dedication they bring to the table. When saying ’18 year old’, I don’t mean the age, but really I am trying to make a point that so many people think that the younger the person, the more socially savvy they are. They may be socially savvy with their friends but are they socially and business savvy ???

With this in mind, we ask our clients the following questions about the person that they want to hire or appoint to look after their social media;

“Does this person have the experience and skill set that includes all of the following?
1. complete understanding of the legislation and regulations surrounding your business;
2. complete understanding of your business’s overall values and business strategy;
3. superior communications skills that are both mature and social so that they can reflect your brand;
4. depth of experience using higher level customer service skills and etiquette;
5. the ability to handle your business’s public relations and/or media relations in sticky situations;
6. the ability to manage a complaint so that it does not escalate, whilst ensuring that your brand stays true;
7. the ability to manage a crisis at any time whilst thinking on their feet;
8. a level of humour that can appeal to all followers without offending anyone;
9. the ability to understand and interpret the analytics and measurement tools that come with social media;
10. the ability to turn opportunities into business revenue;
11. the ability to turn prospects into customers;
12. the ability to work within and in line with a social media strategy;
13. the maturity to separate business from personal ‘Facebooking’;

We then ask “is this the person you would trust to stand up in front of the whole of Australia with cameras and microphones in front of them and let them talk about your business whilst being fired questions and complaints about your business with no notice at all ?”

If your social media person does not come with these skills you could be setting yourself up for a legal or a public relations nightmare.

It’s actually not about what age the person is at all. I just wanted to make a point that just because a person loves Facebook or says that they are great with Facebook, does not mean that they can represent your brand professionally on the world stage.

We have so many examples of sticky situations or possible PR nightmares that have arisen that had to be handled with the expertise of highly effective, aware and savvy marketing/customer service people. We have been able to save many businesses from disasters by assisting with social media strategy. Trust me, you need a person who can truly represent your brand professionally.

DO NOT HIRE SOMEONE JUST BECAUSE THEY ARE ACTIVE FACEBOOK USERS. Use the list above to see if your social media person has ALL of these skills !

You can call us at Social Media Now for advice any time if that helps on 0417 223 286.
Socially yours – Jenny (Social Media Now)
www.socialmedianow.com.au

Your Image at Work – Does it Matter?

Poor old (or is that young?) Gen Y, they are in trouble again for not understanding the rules and dress codes for the workplace and taking a too casual approach! Isn’t it okay to wear a t-shirt, Havianas and have the band of your undies showing, when you are meeting clients? Does it affect your ability to the job? Doesn’t Mark Zuckerberg (facebook founder) LIVE in a hoodie? And he’s a Billionaire!

Ettiquette and dress codes have definitely relaxed in recent years. Some of us can remember a dress code at work that included skirts, not pants for women, only black or navy suits for men and NO coloured shirts and women required to wear stockings all year round.

While it is great that some of those rules have relaxed, for many there is still the expectation you will present a certain way at work and after all, first impressions DO count. Plus, many bosses (and customers) are either Baby Boomers or Gen X with a different perception of what is the right dress code for work. Some companies have resorted to hiring Image Consultants to advise staff on the appropriate dress code. This was usually spelt out in the past when you were hired. If your workplace has a uniform much of this dilemma is solved, although ‘policing’ the wearing of the uniform, including name badges and appropriate makeup, hairstyles and jewelry/piercings may still be an issue!

So who is right? Well if the person making the decision about your pay rise, hiring or promotion is from the ‘Baby Boomers or Gen X’ generations, then you probably will need to dress to suit their expectations to get the pay rise, job or promotion, rightly or wrongly. One way to look at it is that the Company ‘pays you to present a certain image’ to the community/clients, so at work you dress the way they expect and leave the ‘self expression’ for your spare time. Another school of thought says ‘dress for the job you want, not the one you have’ and that will help you take the next step up.

If image doesn’t matter, why do organisations have uniforms? Qantas and other large corporations even go to the expense of employing Fashion Designers to design their uniforms. Imagine an Airline Steward in hoodie, baggy jeans and thongs giving the safety demonstration, how would you feel – safe, confident, sure they could do their job?

While the way we dress may not effect our ability to do the job (other than in the case of PPE and safety clothing) it can effect others’ perception of our ability and therefore whether or not we are hired, promoted or given the pay rise. So maybe image is worth thinking about.

Car Stickers!

  

Side View of One of the Social Media-machines!

Just recently we had all of the company cars decked out with our company branding!  The White Now-mobiles got a purple and yellow wizard, whilst the Social Media-machines received the purple and turquoise Social Wizs, along with web addresses etc, etc! 

I personally live in a busy street in the Inner West of Sydney, one that people wander up and down each morning and evening, to/from Victoria Road, to/from bus.  The day after my car had been done, it was parked in the driveway as I diligently worked from home (at least that what I told the MD I was doing) and yet it managed to earn the business some money!  

You see, a lady wandering past my driveway on her way to her part time job in the city noticed my car and something about the little bare-bottomed Wizard (oh, I forgot to mention – Social Wiz and Wiz have dropped their cloaks in the name of promotion) drew her attention to the message plastered ALL OVER my car!  She then proceeded to look us up on the web once she got to work and made contact with us through our “enquiries” email.  The rest, as they say, is history……….she has signed up as a client and we are working hard on designing, developing and delivering a social media strategy and presence for her business. 

I have always been an advocate for NOT plastering a car with stickers (more from an obsessive-compulsive stand point when it comes to my cars), but since Social Wiz and I have started ‘driving around’ town together, he and I have started to gain quite a lot of attention and not due to my poor driving, I might add.  

So, if you happen to see one of the White Now-mobiles or Social Media-machines out and about, give us a wave or let us know where you saw us.  And if you are ever thinking about getting your car covered in naked bottoms or just stickers in general……..I can tell you from experience that it works!!!

Many people have their ‘Social Media’ blinkers on. Are they just anxious ?

Social Media can cause some serious anxiety. We know this because at Social Media Now, we’ve had so many debates with Managers, Directors and other decision makers who simply see no benefit at all in using Social Media to assist their business growth. The behaviours they demonstrate span from a mix of anxiety to a lack of understanding right through to a dogmatic denial that social media is in fact a part of the future of business.

So, can Social Media really help your business? You bet! Check out our ‘Embracing Social Media Now’ story in the February 2011 edition of Club Life. CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE….. thanks to our team’s fabulous Brand & Imagination Manager, Tania Paccanaro for her wisdom with this …… Call us NOW if you need help with your social media strategy.

SOCIAL MEDIA NOW….. helping you expose YOUR business through Social Media.
Ph: 02 9705 2300 E: info@socialmedianow.com.au W: www.socialmedianow.com.au

Exposing Your Business - SOCIAL MEDIA NOW

AMAZING Marketing for Cougar matchmaking service!

Cougar
Grrrrrrr

 I was driving to see a client in Mosman in Sydney a couple of days ago and was struck by some seriously GREAT MARKETING.  I passed a prominent Pub on the way and some posters jumped out in front of me.  They were so effective that I remembered the script on each, which is amazing in itself as I was literally at the set of lights outside  the pub for no more than a couple of minutes. 

Here are two of the messages on the large, poster collateral on the balcony of the pub;

  • “Age knows no barriers.”
  • “Who said scratch marks are out of the question?” 

Immediately this grabbed my attention as the instinctual thought was “what has this got to do with a pub ?”. Another glance along a few metres gave me the answer.  The next 2 posters  said;

  • “Adopt a Cougar”
  • “Cougar Kingdom”. 

 For those that do not know what the message means or indeed what a Cougar is, I will endeavour to explain………..

The dictionary says that a Cougar is “a large tawny cat;….. now greatly reduced in number and endangered in some areas”.   But, I don’t think that this pub had THAT meaning in mind.  A cougar is actually a woman over the age of 40 (generally) who exclusively pursues young men.   The woman could be already in a relationship or single. The young man could be the age of the woman’s sons. 

With this in mind, the thoughts that went through my mind played havoc with my morals whilst igniting my passion for smart marketing.  The questions I asked were; Is this right ?; Is this pushing the boundaries ?; Is this taking advantage of a gap in the market ?; Is this morally right or wrong ?; Will it be successful?;  How many will they get attending on their first night ?;  How do they get both Cougars and younger men to be plentiful enough ?; Is this smart of simply taking advantage of a trend ?; Will this be a success?; ….. and more…….. 

I’m sure that these questions run through the minds of many people that pass this pub.  The point of this is, can YOU bring to mind a marketing strategy that has provoked such thoughts or taken your mind away from what you were doing.  Or in your business, can you find a marketing campaign that gets people thinking like this ?  The fact of the matter is that if you fitted into the profile of a Cougar or a younger man and you were interested in such an event, then you WOULD DEFINITELY find out more about it, wouldn’t you ?  Now THAT Is GREAT marketing.  Congratulations to the Pub and their marketing team for such an amazing campaign ! 

There is however a downside to this story, which could make the campaign fall flat on its face.  For the purpose of telling you guys about this (as I am happily married and definitely not Cougar material!! – and there are no other White Now team members in this category – as far as I know !), I went to the pub’s website to see what the event was really about and all I found was one banner saying “Cougar Kingdom Coming Soon”.  There was no link to any further information and all the great marketing that was on display at the pub was not to be seen on the website.  They did not follow through and think about where their future customers may go to find out more. 

 Does YOUR company market well in one area and fall down in another ? Have you got all areas of your market segments covered ? Remember this story when you review your marketing campaigns.  The lesson is priceless.

The Read & Recover Initiative gets GREAT ideas from Facebook mates!

 

1600 books to 100 Hospitals

The Read & Recover intiative, which is a joint venture between White Now and Brad Sugars from ActionCOACH (you can read about this amazing gift in previous posts) took its next  step – finding which kids hospitals people thought the 150 books should go to.

If there is one thing I have learnt in my years of running businesses, it is to always ask others for their input and ideas – whether it be your team members, clients, potential clients or simply people that want to add value to what you do.  With this in mind, our team put a post on the Wiz Whitenow Facebook site “Wiz WhiteNow” (http://www.facebook.com/wizwhitenow).   This is what the post said “Wiz WhiteNow is needing your help to recommend hospitals to us! We are sending 150 kids books to 10 NSW hospitals with kids wards. This is a gift we are giving jointly with the amazing support of Brad Sugars from ActionCOACH. The generosity of this entrepeneur is inspiring & the time and efforts of the White Now team are appreciated. Would you like to suggest a hospital that would appreciate the gift ?”

The response was amazing and we qiuckly gathered up the names of the first 10 hospitals named.  It shows that people can be so passionate about things that are close to their heart !  White Now and Brad Sugars would like to say a huge THANK YOU to the following people and their recommendations !

Hospital Suggested By
The Sydney Adventist Hospital Andrew Bassett-Smith                                    
Westmead Children’s Si Harris & Susan Churchill & Denise Ferguson
Gosford Hospital David Younie
Nepean Hospital Leah Gibbs, Emma Huszar, Tanya Westcott Gorton
John Hunter Hospital Leah Gibbs/Amy Waight
Sydney Kids Hospital Randwick Kathy Carnemolla, Damien Greig                                    
Royal Darwin Hospital Marianne O’Farrell
Coffs Harbour Hospital Sue Patterson
St George Hospital Garry Weston
Sutherland Children’s Ward Sue Jago

Our next step was to source the books – we searched high and low.  We wanted to look for books that were a mix of Australian authors and popular well known kids stories.  We went to many book shops, online stores, auction sites – you name it, we researched it.  The final decision was made yesterday and the books were bought.   The most amazing range that suited our needs were actually at an Australia Post shop – yep, it’s true.  To those who recommended the hospitals and to all of our friends and colleagues who are supporting us in this venture, thank you so much !  People are the true essence of life !

These are the authors and titles in case you are interested;

Author Title Title
Pamela Allen Mr McGee and the Big Bag of Bread Waddle Giggle Gargle
  Herbert and Harry The Pear in the Pear Tree
Graeme Base The Eleventh Hour The Worst Band in the Universe
  Jungle Dreams The Waterhole
Dr Seuss The Cat in the Hat Fox in Socks
  Green Eggs and Ham  
Beatrix Potter The Tale of Peter Rabbit The Story of Miss Moppet
  The Talk of Jemima Puddleduck The Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit
Disney Cars – A friendly Crew Toy Story 2 – Toys to the Rescue
  Monster Inc – Monsters  Everywhere Little Mermaid – A Different Life
  Finding Nemo – Adventure in the Ocean Cinderella – The Magic of Dreams
  Sleeping Beauty – A Secret Princess Snow White – A Princess Hiding
Mem Fox Possum Magic Shoes from Grandpa
  Sail Away Hattie and the Fox
Roger Hargreaves Mr Strong Mr Messy
  Mr Noisy Mr Funny

The Birth of ‘Read & Recover’ – A Gift

It is announcement day – have we been granted our wish ? I logged onto work first thing and found a message from Brad Sugars congratulating us.  I popped onto Facebook and saw this message “Brad Sugars says OK, here goes Sugars Clause has decided … Jon Byrne will get his wish for a trailer to feed the homeless … Renee Jones will get her wish to have a coach work with her charity … Karen Rita Ford will get presents for her kids for Christmas … my friend Jenny Wiz Whitenow will get books for the kids hospitals in her area …”

Our wish had been granted – there WILL be smiles on sick kid faces !  What a great gift ! First thing to do was send a thank you to Brad for his generosity in joining us in our Read & Recover program.  The second was to tell the team and the third thing was to cry.  Cry with happiness again that White Now could make a small difference to kids lives.  There is the feeling of happiness when you give to friends and family that results in a warm feeling inside, but giving to those really in need of a smile, brings a feeling that you simply cannot go past.  The team were over the moon and shared in the tears, and the process is about to begin.   We will commence this venture in the new year !

Read & Recover

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