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Win a Trip to Paris
Opportunité Fantastique!
(Just a little French lingo to announce a spectacular opportunity for one lucky and talented design professional!)
Jay and Mark of Helser Brothers are offering a trip to the City of Lights, PARIS! As in France! The winner will join Industry Experts Deb Barrett and Susan Schultz as one of a select group of 12 at the Maison et Objet show January 19-27, 2010. The trip includes a Cruise on the Seine and a visit to the Louvre among many other delights. It is truly the trip of a lifetime. There are a few qualifications, a passport, an engaging personality, and the ability to share the journey as you blog for us through 7 days of non-stop Francophile fun. You will get to be our eyes and ears on this trip, submitting daily posts about the products you see and your ongoing adventure.See the fine print below for details on just what is included in this offer and apply today! The trip is coming fast so we need to choose a winner on November 30th. Just send an e-mail to sendmetoparis@helserbrothers.com explaining why you are the perfect person for the job, then keep an eye on why helser for the big announcement. Ooh la la! (Wow in French – start practicing!)
The Fine Print:
Paris 2010 includes:
- 7 days /7 nights, January 19 – January 27, 2010, in the City of Lights
- Airfare to/from JFK or Chicago. (Winner is responsible for getting to JFK or Chicago.)
- Hotel d’ Aubusson, Four-star, double-occupancy Superior room in the heart of St. Germain (Super-convenient location and we’ve stayed in this hotel and love it!) Five minute walk to the subway, direct line to the show. Walking distance of the Louvre, Orsay, Notre Dame, Sorbonne; surrounded by art galleries, restaurants and shops.
- Daily Breakfast at the hotel. Value of $140.00
- Airport transfers Value of $80.00
- All zone metro passes/carnets for 7 days. Value of $85.00
- Admission to Maison&Objet and Planet Mueble trade shows. Value of $78.00
- Welcome reception at M&O from show management
- Exclusive M&O trend presentation with Q&A opportunity Priceless!
- As-you-wish meet-ups for cocktails or dinner to review the day, compare notes, share stories, etc.
- Pre-travel web session(s) with Deb and Susan to preview locations, M&O planning, travel details, our Paris faves and more
- Cruise on the river Seine. Value of $80.00
- Free entrance to the Louvre or Orsay. Value of $26.00
- High Tea one afternoon in the Aubusson’s Grand Salon. Value of $25.00
- All taxes and service included.
{via why helser}
Add comment 11 November 2009
What Makes “Couture” Couture?
The Paris couture shows for Winter 2010 are taking place right now, inspiring oooohs and aaahs of envy and inspiration for both Deb and myself. But as Deb often mentions, the descriptive phrase “couture” is too often tossed off to describe something without have a true understanding of what separates couture from something well-built, well-made, well-crafted.
Take a look at this video, where a Karl Lagerfeld sketch is transformed into a finished Chanel dress and jacket. Each pattern is made and cut by hand, each sequin hand-sewn, each seam hand-pinned…
Lagerfeld is known for his dedication to the petites mains, the specialty seamstresses, milliners, button-makers and other decorative artisans whose elaborate handiwork transforms a design into a showpiece, this video is a clear example of why they deserve his high praise.
Add comment 10 July 2009
The Future of Marketing: Part 2
8. Infinite number of channels today you can own your own channel- whether it’s a blog, podcast, You Tube or Facebook. You need to understand that you need to be where people want to go; not demand them to go where you are.
9. Consumer to Consumer Transactions Sales transactions are cutting out the middle man. Think about sites like threadless.com, Paypal, E bay or KIVA.org. It’s about getting out of way and connecting people to each other.
10. Scarcity + Abundance There has been a flip from what is scarce and what is abundant. What was once scarce is now abundant and what was once abundant is now scarce. What is an example in your industry? How can you capitalize on that opportunity? Smart brands are taking advantage of that flip and figuring out how to take advantage of it
11. Big Ideas used to be advertising ideas and had little to do with the product- Alka Seltzer, Squeeze the Charmin, etc. are examples. Now the big idea is a product idea. Like iphone.
12. Who vs. How Many What used to be most important was how many people you reached, how many times did you send your message; how many people heard it; how many people bought it. Not anymore it’s about who- who gives permission to open your email or read your postcard; who are they; what are they looking for .
13. The new gatekeepers are bloggers and viral media. It’s about people telling people. We are all looking for a tribe to follow and we are looking for leaders to connect us to a tribe
14. Scarcity vs. Ubiquity- Scarcity is what is rare and worth paying for. Ubiquity is being everywhere (especially with digital products) – the most viewed on YouTube, most downloads. Godin calls it the Seinfeld Curve. You can win by being everywhere or you can win by being rare- especially for digital goods. You just need to decide which direction you want to take. It is happening on either end and the middle falls apart.
Finally, I will leave you with a question from Seth: Are you looking for consumers for your products or products for consumers?
1 comment 30 April 2009
The Future of Marketing
Marketing is in the midst of a C change. The old marketing model was to broadcast ideas and the message in hopes that your target customer was listening and would act on it. It’s TV thinking mentality- where the power of marketing was seen in the maxim that the more dollars you spent the further your message spread. It didn’t matter when or where or how the message was received. It was OK to interrupt anyone; anytime. Not so anymore. The system is broken. It was hurt by all the clutter and too many choices. The shift in power is to what experts are calling permission marketing. It’s a power shift away from the marketer to the gatekeeper-the consumer . The internet has brought all this about. TV, radio and direct mail are the traditional channels of communication invented by marketers for markets. They exist to sell ads. The internet doesn’t care. Marketers are no longer in charge. They can’t control the customer anymore- what they see, read or especially what they say.
So what will the future bring for marketing? Seth Godin recently looked in his crystal ball to identify these fourteen future marketing trends:
1. Direct communication between the people who make it and people who buy it. Create a community of your customers and engage them, cutting out the middle man in the relationship. Be prepared to take the bumps and bruises that might come along with it.
2. Amplification of the consumer Every person is a designer or reviewer and has the power to reach others. They are the new gatekeepers; embrace them and invest in their experience. Seth says instead of selling stuff; spend your days creating joy.
3. Authentic stories mean people do not buy facts; so you must sell the story. Is it about the location; is it about being green; is it about ownership, is it about why and how we make it? Facts are not important; it’s about creating opportunity. So craft a story that resonates with your view of the world and then live the story. You must do both- the customer can always spot if you are telling the truth or not.
4. Speed or let’s be honest- hyper speed. It’s about no waiting, it’s about reorganizing your business and building your processes around speed.
5. Longtail has proven that if you give people a choice they will take it. Over half of books that Amazon carries aren’t available in book stores. Offer your customer a chance to have a choice. Look for the small profitable niche.
6. Outsourcing products and services that were inconceivable five years ago .
Google has diced the world into bytes. Social media and the internet are now the marketing platform. Your website needs to be friendly to the visitor. But you also need to realize that they are treat searches have become sophisticated; they are landing deep into you site more often than on your home page.
Check back tomorrow for the the rest of trend list
1 comment 28 April 2009
Anticipating the Home Sector 2009
This is a blog post from Home Accents Today with the transcript of a panel discussion at Las Vegas Market revolving around what will 2009 bring for this industry. Good reading!
Add comment 25 February 2009
