Pat Kinsley talks to RTE

Neworld Associates very own brand expert Pat Kinsley will be appearing on The Consumer Show, RTÉ (Monday nights at 830pm) soon so make sure you tune in!

Do you shop in Centra?

Competition in the Irish retail sector is fierce especially in the own brand sector.
Competition seems to be between retailers and concentrated on their own brand ranges (Centra seem to be doing particularly well here)
The price gap in own label products between the supermarkets and discounters continue to narrow.
Do you like the prices that are on offer?

Would you give up quality in favour of a cheaper alternative?

Every supermarket you go into these days (Superquinn, Tesco, Aldi, Supervalu, Spar etc) seems to have deals on, special offers and trying to out do each other in who is the cheapest, were you can get the most value for your buck but at what cost?
Are you, the Irish public, compromising your brand standards of quality and taste?

With reports out in checkout magazine recently, it seems we are indeed opting for the own-label brands that stores have to offer.
Do you agree with these findings?


Check out the recent article in the Sunday Business Post -


http://www.sbpost.ie/mediaandmarketing/ownlabel-brands
-a-major-challenge-for-shelf-stalwarts-51602.html

Iconic Irish brands join forces

Phto by hdeeks


Batchelors (Erin, Amigo, Lustre, Squeez) and Origin Foods Group (Shamrock, Roma, Odlums) have joined together to form something of a consumer foods super company, Valeo.
Valeo will comprise of a merger of all Batchelors and Origin food brand favorites.
European investment company Capvest will back the project and own a 55% of the new venture with Origin owning 45%.

Do you think this is a good move?

Google info leaked, brands spending big on adwords !!

Photo by manfrys



Confidential Google documents have been leaked revealing some of the biggest AdWords buyers for the month of June 2010 - containing the big brands spenders.

Why do you think these brands are opting for Google?


http://mashable.com/2010/09/06/brand-spending-google/

M & S breaks mould, to stock Irish brands

Photo by Bloo Phoenix



M&S have taken the unusual step to stock a variety of worldwide brands aside from their own and happily up to 10 of brands included in this list are IRISH! Running ads in their Irish stores and throughout the media, M & S are saying they will be stocking 'favourite brands' such as Barry's, Flahavans, etc.'
We are glad to see that after all the shunning Irish brands have received from the likes of Tesco, a light has been deservedly shone on our brand delights from the mother of all UK suppliers, a British institution some might say - take that Tesco!!


http://www.herald.ie/national-news/more-irish-for-mamps-2321768.html

Apple has a hit with new social network site

Photo by charliesalima




Apple have done it again, this time honing in on social networking with a musical edge!

Apple’s new music-themed social network, Ping, was just released, and it’s already got 160 million users built in.


“It’s like ‘Facebook and Twitter meet iTunes. But it’s not Facebook, it’s not Twitter. It’s a social network all about music.” explains Steve Jobs (Apple)


Users will be able to follow artists and friends, make custom song and album charts, post comments about music and they’ll be able to access 17,000 concert listings.

Will U join Ping?

Statistics in, FarmVille come out on top!

Well looky here, behold the list of most popular Facebook apps.
The statistics came in and FarmVille came out on top (no surprise there).
Developers Zynga have alot to live up to now!


http://statistics.allfacebook.com/applications

Are you a gamer ?

Image by Danny Engesser




An ecosystem of gaming, apps and ad networks has flourished within social network sites such as Facebook, with Google hot on their tails.
Surging ahead over the past year, one may wonder, what happens when developers running these apps on Facebook etc become bigger than the network themselves?

Gamers may not know this but these games and apps are developed separately to Facebook / Google, and are then played through the network with a percentage of revenue going to Facebook for using them as a platform!

Fact - Did you know the average gamer is a 45 year old woman? (study done by Popcap)

Calvin sells sex

Photo by - Jessie 7



Calvin Klein was one of the first fashion houses to use sexual branding in the early days (some say), he exposed his ad campaigns to floods of mixed reviews, the majority in awe at the curiosity that these raw images provoked.
Calvin did not sell sex directly, he merely used sex within his brand's identity through his advertising, causing a stir. In the 1970's it was Brooke Shields and the 1990's Mark Wahlberg, who's provocative images brought forth quite the PR storm.
And many designers and brands the world over have caught on over the years, grasping at the notion that YES, SEX CAN SELL A BRAND!