Good morning Nostr

Stay seed oil free today 🌱

#grownostr #seedoilfree

Good morning #coffeechain ☕️

I had an unusual visitor to the front door of my business this morning, this little guy was waiting for me.

I'm thinking he flew into the window and stunned himself. He is fine and flew off right after I took this photo.

His feathers 🪶 were soooo soft!

Have a beautiful Friday!

#gm

#nostr

#nature

#birds

Nostr feels like twitter 10 years ago

Engagement is at all times lows unless you pay for the blue check mark.

They are constantly shadowing banning people still.

As a user of x/twitter for over 10 years.

X/twitter is dead.

Good morning and pura vida, Nostr! It's time to create notes and send zaps! 🫂🤙🏻💜

I have been diving into the topic of branding, marketing, sales and PR for my own benefit and I’ll share some of my notes here for everyone’s benefit. This book - The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding by Laura Ries (2004) - is an old one, written at the onset of global internet hype, examples are ancient, but comes with valuable branding input. As with all books - you don’t have to agree with everything and that’s ok. I don’t either

Overview:

1. Marketing is not selling. Marketing creates a brand in prospects' minds.

2. Everything a company does can contribute to the brand-building process.

3. Today - most products and services are bought, not sold.

4. Branding “pre-sells” the product or service to the user

5. In a store of shelves full of brands, the only selling that happens is through the brands - The power of a brand lies in its ability to influence purchasing behaviour.

6. A brand name on a package is not the same thing as a brand name in mind.

7. The Internet revolutionizes brand-driven buying. Consumers buy cars online without test drives or physical inspections.

8. You are a brand.

The Laws:

1. The law of expansion – Brand should stay narrow focused to increase sales in the long run. Expanding too broadly can reduce market share e.g. Amex, Levis

2. The law of contraction – Start in a niche market to build a stronger brand identity.

3. The law of publicity – Public opinion carries more weight than promotion/ads. Generate buzz through media and articles before resorting to advertising.

4. The law of advertising – Advertising is defensive; it doesn't increase sales but defends brand leadership.

5. The law of the word - Focus on owning a unique word in the prospect's mind, like Mercedes = prestige. You own the brand when people use your brand name for every usage “hand me the Kleenex”, “I need a band aid”.

6. The law of credentials – being the first in the category builds credibility

7. The law of quality – Quality perception matters; narrow focus (i.e., cardiologist gives a stronger vibe as a specialist compared to a general practitioner) and compelling names enhance it.

8. The law of category – promote the category you lead, not just the brand.

9. The law of names – each distinct product line should have its own name.

10. The law of extension – avoid putting the same product name on everything esp. in diff markets (i.e., regular beer and light beer is diff market)

11. The law of fellowship – healthy competition can generate buzz and excitement. Having 2 or more competitors is ideal. ~1000 wine brands in Napa Valley is a tough market to be a brand leader in.

12. The law of generic – Avoid using generic names like General, Standard, etc. Simple, unique words are more powerful.

13. The law of company – company and brands are not the same. Sometimes they are. Generally, customers recognise the brands

14. The law of sub-brands – dangerous grounds. If distinct, treat it separately i.e., iPhone, I pad, MacBook.

15. The law of siblings – General Mills has red lobster and olive garden; black decker used the brand DeWalt for professional tools. Carefully manage sub-brands under a parent company to prevent brand homogenization.

16. The law of shape – Logotype is crucial, clarity and typography matter. logotype > logo. Nike's swoosh logo is memorable because it's tied to the word/logotype.

17. The law of colours – use colours strategically. Red for attention grabbing, blue is calm, purple is royal, black, white grey are basic. If competitors, contra the colours to create distinction.

18. The law of borders – Globalize but maintain brand attachment to the country of origin, if possible. i.e Corona extra hit fame as the highest selling beer because the lime / lemon at the neck of the beer bottle reminded people of Mexican tequila (shots).

19. The law of consistency – Don't change branding when tapping into new markets; it confuses customers. I.e., if BMW were to introduce cheap cars, it would be a diff brand altogether.

20. The law of change – Change branding if your brand is weak, moving down the price ladder, or experiencing slow growth.

21. The law of mortality – Recognize when it's time to let go and enter fresh markets. New categories create opportunities for new brands.

22. The law of singularity – Stay narrowly focused and stick to a common word that defines your brand's identity. Your brand is what the customer remembers it as. It's as simple and challenging as that.

some interesting concepts

- increase the share of the pie / market size - when you narrow focus. Don't increase the size of a slide of a pie (attempting to sell everything)

- start a category to be a market leader. It's easier

This wooden butcher block

At an expo, I found this magnificent wooden butcher block. I think it's stained white oak, but I'm not sure.

This was used to cut apart meat in butcher's shops.

This until government stated it was unsafe and home to too many bacteria, so they imposed the use of Teflon antibacterial blocks.

These blocks were also one of the main use cases for low angle jack planes.

For the coffee lovers that drink the most expensive coffee in the world, Kopi Luwak

You’re welcome 🤢

#coffeechain