#The Thoughts of Andy Ditchburn

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[andyditchburn]

Celebrating 10 Years of Perro. Marketing Literature for Great Fun 2 Run, 2008.

[andyditchburn]

Celebrating 10 Years of Perro. marketing Literature and Material for Calvert Trust Kielder, 2010.

[andyditchburn]

Celebrating 10 Years of Perro. Brand Identity for Lindisfarne Oysters, 2013.

[andyditchburn]

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[andyditchburn]

Celebrating 10 Years of Perro. Brand Identity for Eureka, 2011.

[andyditchburn]

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[andyditchburn]

BBC News recently reported that the US Patent and Trademark office has cancelled the Washington Redskins trademarks after ruling that the NFL teams name offends native Americans.

United States of America federal law doesn’t allow trademarks that are disparaging of individuals or groups. The ruling applies to 6 individual trademarks, all of which contain the word ‘Redskin’.

The teams trademarks were previously cancelled in 1999, but later that decision was overturned at appeal. The court then ruled that the time taken to challenge was too long, as the trademarks were originally issued in 1967. If appeal is unsuccessful this time, the Redskins can continue to use the name, but will be unable to sue anyone who also uses it. However, the decision has no effect on the ownership of the current logo.

Members of US Congress and many USA individuals have called for the teams name to be changed. Recently, half of the US Senate appealed to the team to change their name, labelling it a “racial slur”. President Obama, an American Football fan has also asked the team to consider a name change.

Why are the trademarks important to the Washington Redskins?

The NFL is currently worth billions of dollars, with around 20 out of the 30 teams currently worth more than $1 billion. Last year the Dallas Cowboys were the most valuable team, with an estimated value of $2.3 billion.

Merchandising and licensing are huge parts of their income stream. Ticket sales are estimated to be around $50 million per year, with an average Super Bowl ticket costing $3,100. Merchandising is such a key revenue stream because unlike ticket sales, the reach extends beyond the USA and capacity effectively has no limit.

Should the team fully protect itself with trademarks and therefore find a new name?

[andyditchburn]

Celebrating 10 Years of Perro. Corporate Identity, Livery for Teamforce, 2007.

[andyditchburn]

Celebrating 10 Years of Perro. Marketing Literature for Aston Workshop, 2009.

[andyditchburn]

Getting The Most Out of Exhibitions. www.perro.co.uk

[andyditchburn]

Celebrating 10 Years of Perro. Corporate Identity for Herrington Gate Furniture, 2008.

[andyditchburn]

Recently the 'traffic light' system has been rolled out to communicate the nutritional information contained in food products. The colour coded (red, amber and green) system aims to standardise the way supermarkets and larger brands communicate calories, fat, saturates, sugar and salt levels in produce. Previously consumers struggled to make true comparisons between products and confusion was caused because different brands used their own individual systems. Whist developing the new system, The Food Standards Agency research suggested that consumers prefer the traffic light system because information can be absorbed 'at a glance'. Among the immediate uptakers were Co-op, Tesco, Sainsbury, Marks and Spencer and Waitrose. These companies currently sell around 60% of food purchased in the UK. It is estimated that more than 60% of adults in England are overweight or obese. The cost of treating these people currently costs the NHS more than £5bn a year.  It is hoped that the new system will make it easy for shoppers to understand and make more 'informed' choices about the food that they consume.

[andyditchburn]

Celebrating 10 Years of Perro. Recipe Book for Beamish Park Hotel, 2012.

[andyditchburn]

Recent research suggests that UK advertising spend will reach a record high of £20bn in 2015. UK ad spend in 2013 was just under £18bn, this is predicted to rise by 5.5% in 2014. TV ad spend rose marginally by 3.6%. Radio and magazine ad spend dropped slightly and cinema spend dropped by a hefty 14.5%. The World Cup in 2014 is expected to increase TV ad spend by around 5%. Not surprisingly the largest growth platform has been on digital formats. In 2013 internet advertising rose by 15.6%. Research from eMarketer predicts that mobile ad spend will overtake newspaper revenue and rise to £2bn this year. They also predict that digital media in 2017 will reach £9bn - a staggering 53.8% market share. Video advertising on mobile devices has recently been the fastest growing medium. This is partly down to the roll out of the new 4G wireless networks.

[andyditchburn]

Celebrating 10 Years of Perro. Corporate Identity for Bulwark Group, 2012.

[andyditchburn]

Celebrating 10 Years of Perro. Exhibition Systems for Calvert Trust Kielder, 2011.

[andyditchburn]

With the attraction of not having to secure retail or office premises, low initial start up costs and lower long term overheads, it's not surprising that more and more start ups are selecting an online model to sell their products and services.

Perro have worked with several online businesses in different sectors over recent years. Here are some tips to avoid the most common pitfalls.

Calculate the cost of doing business correctly.

An online business model isn't necessary cheaper to run than a more traditional one. PayPal will take a percentage of your sales, postage and packing will cost, as well as the time associated with selecting, packing and dispatching orders. Consumers always expect to pay less online than in a physical retail environment. How will the online business model effect your pricing strategy?

Decide how your business will sell online.

What system will you use.? An existing set up - eg amazon or eBay allows you to sell your product through websites that attract millions of unique users every day, but the cost of using these sites could be high.

Various systems exist that allow you to create a websites yourself. Content Management platforms such as Wordpress and Joomla allow you to create, update and manage the website yourself.

Commissioning a company will allow you to have a bespoke website that can be build to bespoke specification.

Companies often use a combination of these 3 approaches.

Purchase the correct domain name.

The best domain name(s) for your business might not be your business name? We advise wherever possible to purchase at least the .com and .co.uk. You should purchase and register the ownership of the domain name yourself, not through a third party who could claim ownership at a later date.

Market your website effectively.

When the website is finally published and live, this is when the hard work starts. You need to implement strategies to build your brand and drive traffic to your website. Search engine optimisation, social media, online advertising, pay per click, online pr campaigns should be considered. if no-one knows that a website exists, then no one will buy from it.