StreetVertising

30 06 2010

What? Streetverting?

Yes, another new buzz word, made up by two words: Street + Advertising… Yes, you guessed correctly: a new (guerrilla) marketing tactic to advertise on the street.

One of the marketing companies that helps me with the marketing strategy (offline & online) are Interactive Maven & Cool Media Collective. The CEO of both companies, Benjamin van Gelder, told me about eco-friendly (street) graffiti. He even took me from my office on the Van Baerlestraat 46 in Amsterdam around the corner to the PC Hooftstraat to see Streetvertising graffiti on the pavement:

Streetvertising by PA@Home in Amsterdam
Streetvertising by PA@Home in Amsterdam

Apparently the company PA@Home choose this low-budget, but high-impact guerrilla strategy to get their name out with the target group (high-net worth individuals that shop at the most luxurious street in The Netherlands. The advantage of eco-friendly graffiti streetvertising is that is doesn’t need to cost too much and catches ones eye. The down-side of it is, that it will fade away within couple of weeks and I can imagine many high-end brands will not want people to see a vague logo where people actually step on…

For possibilities to start such a campaign you can contact Cool Media Collective via: +31 20 5759109.



Cool Bags

16 05 2010

On April 6th, 2008 I already wrote a post about cool ads and cool bags, here is part II:

No more foie gras

No more foie gras

Hot panties

Hot panties

X-ray bag

X-ray bags

Lightweight beer crate

Lightweight beer crate

Headhunting bag

Headhunting bag

Crotch

Crotch bag

Nailbiter bag

Nail Crotch bag II

Haute Couture bag

Haute Couture bag



Help Cor find a job…

26 03 2010
Cor walking the Amsterdam streets

Cor walking the Amsterdam streets

You might be thinking who Cor might be… Well, 10 minutes ago I met Cor Ligthert in front of my office! I stepped out of my office and it was the first time in my life I saw a person walking the Amsterdam streets with a paper boards on his body, while reading a book!

I was positively surprised that I stopped to ask Cor what kind of work his was looking for. His answer was anything… So, I asked him what his passion in life is… It took him a while, but after asking a bit deeper he said: politics and social economics… It did not surprise me since he was reading the book: Darwin for Left Wing Politicians ;)

So, all the politicians (especially PVDA) and social economists out there, dowload Cor’s CV here: http://bit.ly/a1L9BZ or send him an e-mail immediately via: corligthert@gmail.com.

I salute Cor for being so brave and innovative to market himself like this! Spread the word :)

How can you not hire Cor?!

How can you not hire Cor?!

Good luck Cor!



Provocative or simply just (good) marketing?

8 03 2010

I was shopping in the city center of Amsterdam and this shop window made me stop immediately (real shopper stopper?!):

Diesel Shop Window 2010

Diesel Shop Window 2010

What do you think, is this provocative or is this simply just (good) marketing by Diesel Jeans Co?



My first blog post on E.Factor

6 07 2009

Last month I have been invited to come and blog on the entrepreneurs network E.Factor about luxury goods. Last year I already entered the team of E.Factor coaches and now I have been invited to blog on the subject I love.

Click here to read the article plus comments or read the first post here below:

“I’ve been a member of E.Factor since the beginning and I was very proud to become a coach on this excellent network website. Last week the E.Factor team asked me to start blogging about luxury… Apparently I have an (interesting) opinion about it ;)
Well, that is up for you to decide…

I will try to blog here at least once a month, my aim is to blog weekly about luxury. I am very excited to get started and am curious what your feedback will be… For now I will start with a classic Q&A.

My Q&A with E.Factor:

Name: Alon Ben Joseph
Year: 1979
Country: The Netherlands
City: Amsterdam

Q: What is entrepreneurship for you?
A: Fun, adventure, top sport and way of living.

Q: What was your dream job when you were a kid?
A: To become a jeweler :)

Q: Why and how did you start your company?
A: I rolled into the family business. But during my college years, I also co-founded an internet company.

Q: Is this your first business?
A: No, one of several.

Q: If you were to start another business, what might it be?
A: Consultancy.

Q: What were some of the early companies you worked with?
A: Too many to mention.

Q: What is your definition of success and have you achieved it?
A: A quote by Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) comes to mind: “The greater danger of most of us lies not in setting our aim to high and falling short, but in setting too low and achieving our mark.” Success is relative…

Q: Who has influenced you the most and has been your greatest inspiration?
A: Very cliché: my parents.

Q: What advice would you give to people who are thinking of becoming an entrepreneur?
A: The grass is always greener on the other side. Yes, it gives you a lot of freedom, but also a total new set of ‘stress’. At the end the sum should be a plus for you! But, as Nike said it: “Just do it!”

Q: Describe/outline to us what your typical day looks like?
A: A lot of fun, A lot of phone calls, Really a lot of e-mails and creating added value every day!

Q: Do you achieve balance in your life?
A: Never, but it is oooh sooo much fun to find your own limits and push them further.

Q: Where you see yourself and your business in 3 years?
A: Number 1 eCommerce player in the jewelry & watch business.

Q: And as a final question: If we could introduce you to anyone, who would it be and why? (you never know who we know!)
A: Good one! This is a true entrepreneurs question (ask and share)! Love it! I would love to meet Lev Leviev. He is a self-made man that turned the complete diamond industry around. Living legend.

I really liked the last question, to get the discussion going, I want to ask you the same question :)

“If we could introduce you to anyone, who would it be and why?”



Triple C: Cool Car Commercials

16 05 2008

As written here before, I love cool advertisements and commercials, hereby come cool car commercials: Triple C rating ;)
European Elegance: Audi RS6 2008 - “Gymnastics” TV commercial
[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=2zg8Un4zbd0]

American Power: Michael Bay’s Commercial Chevy Cars Carrier
[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=_UTMDcS-on8]

An oldy, but a goody: Every boys dream > Porsche
[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=KRbzJ0L1Zn8]

If you have a favorite, please do share!

 



All you need is… Alon

25 04 2008

This week I saw this billboard at Schiphol Airport:

F1 Signage ING Billboard

Does ING really think that all the information you need is ALON…?

Alon



Cool Ads

6 04 2008

As I have written before, I love cool ads, hereby I want to share some with you:

1. WHO SAYS BUSES AREN’T COOL?

Quit Smoking

CoolAds

Dogs Love Buses

CoolAds 2

Say Cheese!

CoolAds 3

No Smint, No Kiss!

CoolAds 4

Jaws travels by bus

CoolAds 5

EyeBus

CoolAds 6

Buses love DJ

CoolAds 7

AAAAUUUUWWWW!

CoolAds 11

2. CoolBags
Shop-a-Rope

CoolAds 8

Hang-a-Bag

CoolAds 9

I’ve got a headache!

CoolAds

Don’t mess with me!

CoolAds 12

Kiddie Bag

CoolAds 13

3. HotCups
Lips at work

CoolAds 14

Starbucks Teeth

CoolAds 15



The Blog Game: Tag! Your it!

12 03 2008

This week I have been tagged by my (digital) friend, Harry Bishop, from Canada (http://www.harrybishop.ca). It wasn’t clear to me exactly what it meant, but if you read the rules, it is a rather fun concept. I renamed it: “The Blog Game”.

The rules are:

  1. Link to your tagger and post these rules;
  2. List EIGHT random facts about yourself;
  3. Tag EIGHT people at the end of your post and list their names;
  4. Let them know they’ve been tagged; and,
  5. E-mail your tagger, the link to your post.

When I got tagged, I had no idea what to share, so I am going to share 8 random facts that pop-in to my head:

1. You might have guested what my passions are (looking at my blog and career choice), but I have a virus! I am mad about watches/mechanical movements/watchmaking. That is the reason I initiated the blog WatchFreaks couple of months ago. From the start we received positive feedback and the group of visitors grows steadily every day.

IWC Portuguese Chrono Rattrapante

2. If people need to guess where I was born, looking at my name, the largest chance is that people will say Israel. Although my roots go back to the Jerusalem of King David, I am born and raised in Amsterdam (The Netherlands, Europe), where I still reside.

I AMsterdam

3. Talking about names, almost everybody gets confused about my double family name: Ben Joseph. Most people think Ben is my middle name. My family name means Son of Joseph in Hebrew. So, my complete family name is BEN JOSEPH and first name is: Alon, which means “Royal Oak” (yes, like the watch).

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak

4. A lot of people question me about the meaning of the slogan of my blog: “Strong as a Tree”… If you paid attention at fact #3, my name is also used for a tree: an Oak :D
Oak

5. My favorite dish/food is: Almost anything that comes of a BBQ! Especially a good juicy steak.

BBQ

6. My direct circle of friends know that I love quotes, so hereby one of my favorites, an oldy, but a goody by C.G. Jung: “Show me a sane man, and I will cure him for you!”.

7. My favorite (dream) car: Lancia Flaminia Zagato Supersport.

Lancia Flaminia Super Sport Zagato

8. Last, but certainly not least, a question that is asked many times: My favorite watch. That I currently own, the IWC Portuguese Chrono Rattrapante. My dream watch: F.P. Journe Tourbillon Souverain.

F.P. Journe

I hope that you enjoyed my scribbles. Now I am tagging to following people that I think have something interesting to share:

1. Natalie Shell of Think Talk Walk- My friend that was one of the first persons in my direct group of friends with a dynamic blog.

2. Guilda Moussazadeh of Funfair - The first member in my family that started blogging.

3. Robert-Jan Broer of Fratello Watches - My partner-in-crime on WatchFreaksBlog.com.

4. Tom Mulraney of The Watch Lounge - My Australian (digital) WatchFriend.

5. Suzan Fluitman of ONLuxury - The Dutch Online Luxury Guru.

6. Schelly Talalay Dardashti of Tracing the Tribe - The expert on Jewish Genealogy.

7. Doron Krant - My buddy who doesn’t blog yet, but urgently needs to. He always finds the newest info/FunStuff & shares the coolest things with all his online contacts. He already owns the domain: Krantee.com (keep posted)!

8. Steve Fritsche of SteveFritsche.com - My Photography Friend, who doesn’t have a blog yet, but now that I have tagged him, he needs to!

For all the people that don’t have a blog yet, I advise them to logon to www.wordpress.com and get a free account. You can be blogging within 5 minutes!



Tipping Points in Commercials

2 03 2008

I love cool adverts, especially commercials made on film. I will never forget when BMW launched the BMW Movies website in 2001 and had independent (famous) movie directors create short movies where a BMW car is the main character. Unfortunately, the website is off line, but you can find may of them on YouTube, one of my favorites is “Star” directed by Guy Ritchie, and starring a BMW M5, Madonna (Yes, Guy Ritchie’s wife) and Clive Owen:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1dYv_gKTA8]

But also make sure to check out: “The Devil“, featuring James Brown and Clive Owen, made in 2002 and “The Hostage” directed by John Woo (also made Hollywood blockbuster “Face/Off”).

A book that made an impression on me is “The Tipping Point” by Malcom Gladwell and I believe that the directors of the folling amazing commercials also read this book:

New Ford Focus - “Beautifully Arranged”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4y272NI7J8]

New Honda Accord - “The Cog”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGngcQb_0qg]

Guiness Beer - “Tipping Point”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMzoWqnTb5I]

What is your favorite commercial displayed here? Mine “The Cog”, but I find the Ford advertisement very elegant and fun. Last, but not least, the Guiness advertisement is also very breath taking! If you have any favorites, please do share :D