June 2001 Issue 6

Overtake The Competition

Large organisations can, and do, spend millions of pounds in the fight to get to the top of the consumer's shopping list and no punches are pulled in the process. There are many different ways to promote your company and get people to be aware of what you have to offer. Some ways can be very expensive, such as television advertising, whilst others are less of a drain on finances. A simple leaflet pushed through the front door can be very effective for some companies and is a cheap way of letting potential customers know about you and your services, whereas huge expensive mail-shots are more appropriate for very large companies wishing to promote their products. Whichever method you decide on, they all have the same purpose:- to get your name in front of as many people in your target market area as you can, with the money you have available.

Recently we were asked to produce a website for an “up and coming” young racing driver. James Burke was moving up to race in the GT Global Lights series. He came to us for the designing and building of a website to promote himself on the Internet and attract sponsors. This was a good opportunity for us to promote our Internet services. Motor racing is a very technological sport and our IT services relate quite nicely into this high-tech field. The people who watch motor racing, and there are many, will see our logo and company name on the car and as James improves his driving performances, there will be increased opportunities for publicity shots and interviews etc where our name and logo will be seen.

There are plenty of other ways to promote your company's name, but not all of them are appropriate for every company and that is where we can help you. With our expertise and experience in this field we can ensure that your promotion and marketing is of a high quality and is cost effective.

Dan & Dave Explain - Domain Names

Like many areas of work, the internet has its own fair share of jargon. From "http" to ".com", web domains have plenty of explaining to do. This month we take a look at how domain names are made up.

Even the newest of internet novices will have used domain names. Whenever you type a website address into a browser, the chances are you are typing in a domain name. The domain name is the part of the website address that follows http://www. Presbury and Company have the domain name presbury.com, but to visit the site you need to type http://www.presbury.com. This full name is called the URL (Uniform Resource Locator).

That’s all well and good, but what does it all mean? If we take a close look at the URL, you will find that we can break it down into 4 distinct parts (see diagram).

The protocol, in this case “http”, stands for Hyper Text Transfer Protocol. Typing this at the beginning of the URL tells the server which set of rules the browser expects to follow.

Next follows the host name. Originally the host name was always “www”, but now this is not always the case, so you might get http://internet.presbury.com with “internet” being the host name.

We now come to the all important domain name. This is accompanied also by the top level domain. In this case it is “.com”, but there are many more top level domains. For instance, “.net”, “.org” and “.uk”. One reason for having multiple top level domains, is to allow for a greater number. There can only be one “presbury.com”. If another organisation, or even ourselves required another domain name called “presbury” we cannot have “presbury.com” twice, because it is already used. Instead we can use the same name, but with a different top level domain. The UK top level domain is “.uk”. This top level domain has been subdivided into “.co”, “.ltd”, “.org”, “.ac” and “.gov”. This allows UK domain users a greater choice of domain names. In our case we registered “presbury.co.uk”.

Spotlight - Building a New Image - Weston & Bolton Ltd

You don’t have to be a massive multi-national to benefit from brand development. Weston & Bolton, a Builders’ Merchant and Joinery Supplies company, based in Leicester, were looking to upgrade their corporate logo.

Some key factors in designing for Weston & Bolton, were to take into account their existing corporate colours, whilst bringing the company image right up to date. Another factor was the logo’s use in a variety of applications in a number of different sizes.

Keith Bamkin, Finance Director of Weston & Bolton, said “Following the Management buy out of the company, we felt it was important that our corporate image had a serious overhaul to project Weston & Bolton Limited as a modern, reliable company. After weeks of trying to be artists ourselves, we were approached by Presbury & Company who rapidly brought us ideas that assimilated all that we ourselves had tried to express.”

He added, “There is no doubt that the new image will only strengthen our presence as a builders’ merchant in Leicester and the surrounding areas.”

The Power of Branding - Effective corporate identity can promote your business.

We only need to turn on the television, or walk down the high street to recognise how important dynamic visual information is in the world of business today. We are living in a society that needs to see graphical information alongside text, to fully understand what is being communicated at the speed today's mind requires.

Today’s advertising in society targets the younger generation. Fewer young people today are turning to books for information. They are seeking it in ways that no longer merely advise, but also stimulate understanding through the use of high quality graphics. This generation is being convinced to 'buy' through multi-varied, visually stimulating mediums like the Internet and television.

This being the situation, there is an increasing need for businesses to reach their prospective clients through a professional corporate image.

A corporate image comprises of your company name and maybe a graphic in a style and colour that captures the essence of the service or product that your company offers. It is used to promote your company, whilst at the same time inform. The corporate image marries your company marketing methods, giving a uniformed feel and magnifying your presence as a company.

Consider a couple of top companies. NEXT are easily recognised by their silver and black logo and Kelloggs have the cockerel and red lettering. These images are so familiar to us, that we believe that they have been around forever. In fact, they have been changed quite regularly to keep them modern and in tune with the present day, but the strength of the logos and the marketing that goes with them have projected an image of stability and quality of products and service.

A healthy corporate image communicates much more than just your product and service, it also promotes your approachability, professionalism and stature. It is wise to have an image that you feel portrays these vital ingredients. These aims are reached not only by graphics, but also choice of font, colour, style, arrangement and size.

Presbury & Company succeeds in creating the right image by working closely with your company, evaluating not only your company product or service, but also your personality and preferred approach. I would welcome the opportunity to answer any further questions you may have on this vital business issue. Do not hesitate to contact me on 01509 600367 with any queries.

For more information on corporate branding please call:
01509 600367

For more information on any of the topics above call 01509 600367
© 2001 Presbury & Company.