Central Perk

vineri, 18 octombrie 2013

Why Rebrand? Why Now?

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 06:55 AM PDT

You may have noticed that we have recently rebranded from SEOptimise to White.net. If you haven’t, then you may be a little confused as to why the SEOptimise website is now branded White! Well now you know!

Since the rebrand on the 1st October 2013, there have been a lot of people asking why we've rebranded. So I wanted to take the opportunity to explain it all in a post. I’d be happy to answer any further questions that you feel haven’t been answered in the comments below.

So, why the rebrand?

SEOptimise was, and still is, a great name! It has done the business very well up to this point, and has built up an incredible authority within the industry. This has never been in doubt!

The issue with the name, and I am sure the majority of you will agree, is that it lends itself mainly to SEO. Although SEO was, and continues to be, a large part of the business, we offer many other services, including PPC, Analytics and Branded Content, that some potential customers were unaware of due to the previous brand name. As such, it had to change.

Moving away from the name SEOptimise wasn’t a decision that we took lightly and it was debated over for several months. Before it was decided to change, we asked a large number of stakeholders a range of questions to ensure that the new brand would be aligned to our existing customers, potential customers and readers of our blog.

Some of those questions included:
- What services do you think SEOptimise offers?
- What size do you think the company is?
- Would you buy from SEOptimise?

Although I can’t let you know the exact answers to these questions, they confirmed our initial thoughts, and made the decision to rebrand slightly easier.

How we did come up with the new brand?

We worked with a branding company, Accrue Faulton, to develop the new brand. We decided to do this as we thought it was too important to get wrong, so specialists were needed! The exercise started with a review of the market, looking at each competitor brand and how their brand image fitted into a relatively simple table based on our industry. We then did a similar exercise using some more advanced branding tools. After this had been completed, we started reviewing where we fitted into the market and the messaging we should be using moving forward.

We had a couple of names that we had been thinking of using, so the exercise started with these. After the initial exercise outlined above, it was clear that none of the names were suitable. There was a bit of panic as we realised we were going to need to find a new name, and quickly! Accrue helped us through this by developing a strategy for the new name based on some of their previous work. Unfortunately, none of the names that this exercise produced were suitable, but the exercise did show "white" as the colour in multiple names presented White stuck and we went about purchasing a domain.

The branding agency then went about creating the image and, as you can see, have done an amazing job of creating a really strong brand. The brand messaging was then developed, and we're really pleased with where we've ended up.

Why rebrand now?

Firstly, it has nothing to do with the changes in the industry.

As indicated above, this is something that the business had been thinking about for a while. We have been through a lengthy process to get to this stage, and it was something that needed to be done for the good of the company.

In reality, we have been thinking about change for at least the last 12 months, with things really starting to become more of a reality in the past 6 months. We had wanted to launch the new brand earlier than the 1st October, but things just didn’t fall into place. We had to be sure that we had everything ready to launch, and that takes a lot of organising.

Personally, I don’t feel there is ever a perfect time to rebrand, and there will always be some ups and downs. But we felt that it was right to do it now.

So what’s next?

Well, it’s business as usual. There will be constant changes to the website and it WILL evolve over time, as any website should.

The new brand has been well received based on feedback we’ve had at the recent Ecommerce Exhibition, peer reviews and emails from you all.

We are continuing to expand the technical team (we are hiring!), and we hope that within a short period of time we will start to expand our service offering beyond what currently exists. It is an exciting time to be a part of this new brand, and we believe that it will quickly progress within the digital space.

Hopefully that answers, in short, some of the questions you have on why SEOptimise has rebranded to White.net. What do you think of the rebrand? Do you prefer SEOptimise or White.net? We’d be interested to hear all of your thoughts in the comments below.

The post Why Rebrand? Why Now? appeared first on White Noise.

Seth's Blog : Marketing good...

Marketing good...

or good good?

Marketing good is the McMansion that looks good at an open house but isn't particularly well built or designed for actual living.

Marketing good is the catalog of gimcracks and doodads that entices the casual shopper but sells stuff that ends up in a closet.

Marketing good is the cover of a magazine decreed by the number crunchers in the newsstand sales group, not the editors and the readers they care about.

Marketing good is sensational or edgy or somehow catchy, but is a service that never gets renewed.

As you've guessed, marketing good isn't actually marketing good, not any more. It's just junk.

Second and third order recommendations and word of mouth and the way we talk about the things that are "good good" is the new marketing.

Your initial response rate, newsstand sales or first episode ratings are a measure of old-fashioned marketing prowess. Now, we care an awful lot more about just plain good. Or perhaps, if you really want to make an impact, great.

• Email to a friend •

joi, 17 octombrie 2013

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

Silence is Golden

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 03:48 PM PDT

The message of the day comes from the Fed currency crank Charles Evans who wants to continue QE because "incoming information has been silenced with the federal government shutdown."

Evans' statement is in reference to nearly useless reports from the BLS and BEA that have not come out since the shutdown.

Bloomberg reports Fed's Evans Sees QE Tapering Postponed After Data Shutdown

Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans, an outspoken advocate of pressing on with Fed stimulus, said the central bank should not begin reducing the pace of asset purchases as the data used to gauge the economy's health stopped during the government shutdown.

"Only the data can tell us how much progress we've made and they aren't saying much right now," Evans said today in a speech prepared for delivery in Madison, Wisconsin. "The data available in September were inconclusive, and since then, incoming information has been silenced with the federal government shutdown."

"It is not yet time to remove accommodation," Evans said at the 2013 Wisconsin Real Estate and Economic Outlook Conference. "The data are still not definitive enough to say that now is time to adjust the QE3 flow purchase rate."

In response to audience questions, Evans said the Fed would likely need "a couple of meetings to assess" the economy and await data that present a picture of how the economy weathered the shutdown.

"I also would need to see more steady, solid growth in gross domestic product to be confident that the labor market gains would not be undone by a drop in businesses' demand for labor," Evans said.

The government had planned to release its jobs report updating statistics on the labor market on Oct. 4. The report was postponed by the shutdown and has not been rescheduled for release.

Musical Tribute

Link if video does not play: The Tremeloes - Silence is Golden

Question of the Day

With all these currency cranks on the Fed, and with incoming Fed chairperson Janet Yellen more dovish than Ben Bernanke, how can you dislike gold?

Addendum:

Here is a comment from a friend that I agree with: "I have thought lately how nice it has been without the noise from all the different economic reports while the government has been shut down. If it was up to me, I'd keep it that way..."

I made a similar comment in Is Gathering Real Time "Inflation" Data With Smart Phones a "Game Changer"?

Instead of bringing back laid off BEA and BLS workers let's get rid of them. Gallup can easily track unemployment and this firm can better track consumer prices.

Any technology with a capability of eliminating government workers is fine by me, but unless that actually happens, "game changer" is a bit of a stretch.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com

Unsustainable Social Security Promises: Spain vs. U.S.

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 11:18 AM PDT

I have written numerous times about pension problems in the US. Let's cross the Atlantic and take a peek at the setup in Spain, then let's compare the two setups.

Via translation from Libre Mercado, please consider The Chart That Will Shake Future Pensioners.

Workers vs. Pensioners

Given that eight million people age 65 and 16.7 million workers cannot sustain the current pension, imagine what will happen in the coming decades as the differential goes back even closer.

Pensions today promise Social Security payments of 100% of the average wage in the last 25 years for those with 37 years of Social Security contributions. Such payments are absolutely unsustainable. The relative income of pensioners relative to the average income of the society will sink (without massive tax looting of active workers).

Immigration could partially alleviate the problem, making the demographic transition somewhat smoother, but if new rights accrue to future pensions, immigration only delays the problem. In any case, it might be a good idea to allow free immigration to Spain in exchange for not accrue rights to Social Security.

The most important practical advice to draw from the above chart is simple: save and invest. If you trust your retirement to politicians, you will end up poor and feeling cheated.

US vs. Spain

Here are a few charts from my January 8, 2013 post Social Security Trends: Beneficiaries, Total Costs, Number of Workers, Ratio of Workers to Beneficiaries

Social Security Beneficiaries, Costs, Employment

Year	Beneficiaries	Average Monthly Benefit	Total Annual Cost	Employment	E/B Ratio
Dec-67	22,979	$73.92	$20,383,201,682	66,900	2.9114
Dec-68	23,886	$85.24	$24,432,839,002	69,245	2.8989
Dec-69	24,709	$86.47	$25,638,687,737	71,240	2.8832
Dec-70	25,701	$101.35	$31,257,463,769	70,790	2.7544
Dec-71	26,817	$113.22	$36,435,282,006	72,108	2.6888
Dec-72	28,066	$138.70	$46,712,482,840	75,270	2.6819
Dec-73	29,514	$143.99	$50,996,092,215	78,035	2.6440
Dec-74	30,576	$163.02	$59,813,483,661	77,657	2.5398
Dec-75	31,862	$179.29	$68,549,741,469	78,017	2.4486
Dec-76	32,835	$194.95	$76,815,361,682	80,448	2.4500
Dec-77	33,923	$211.16	$85,958,416,484	84,408	2.4882
Dec-78	34,453	$229.86	$95,032,473,435	88,674	2.5738
Dec-79	35,013	$258.37	$108,555,575,502	90,669	2.5896
Dec-80	35,526	$300.75	$128,213,644,374	90,936	2.5597
Dec-81	35,930	$340.84	$146,956,770,724	90,884	2.5295
Dec-82	35,778	$372.10	$159,755,010,234	88,756	2.4808
Dec-83	36,034	$393.15	$170,001,091,973	92,210	2.5590
Dec-84	36,439	$412.21	$180,244,135,062	96,087	2.6370
Dec-85	37,027	$429.35	$190,768,953,436	98,587	2.6626
Dec-86	37,683	$438.76	$198,407,802,022	100,484	2.6665
Dec-87	38,171	$461.35	$211,323,314,397	103,634	2.7150
Dec-88	38,613	$484.01	$224,268,374,172	106,871	2.7678
Dec-89	39,141	$511.89	$240,431,129,294	108,809	2.7799
Dec-90	39,825	$544.52	$260,224,095,454	109,120	2.7400
Dec-91	40,587	$568.55	$276,908,006,552	108,262	2.6674
Dec-92	41,504	$588.90	$293,296,976,201	109,416	2.6363
Dec-93	42,243	$607.48	$307,943,241,597	112,204	2.6561
Dec-94	42,882	$628.14	$323,229,663,108	116,055	2.7064
Dec-95	43,386	$648.77	$337,772,228,816	118,208	2.7246
Dec-96	43,736	$672.81	$353,113,695,411	121,002	2.7666
Dec-97	43,971	$692.82	$365,565,297,977	124,357	2.8282
Dec-98	44,246	$707.39	$375,585,941,872	127,359	2.8785
Dec-99	44,595	$730.53	$390,940,040,819	130,533	2.9270
Dec-00	45,415	$767.35	$418,187,686,581	132,481	2.9171
Dec-01	45,877	$795.69	$438,050,881,510	130,720	2.8493
Dec-02	46,444	$815.05	$454,253,081,458	130,175	2.8028
Dec-03	47,038	$840.62	$474,497,794,254	130,259	2.7692
Dec-04	47,688	$871.80	$498,889,778,321	132,316	2.7746
Dec-05	48,434	$915.71	$532,222,768,675	134,814	2.7834
Dec-06	49,123	$955.53	$563,260,007,133	136,882	2.7865
Dec-07	49,865	$987.03	$590,618,750,824	137,982	2.7671
Dec-08	50,898	$1,054.38	$643,995,009,294	134,379	2.6401
Dec-09	52,523	$1,064.41	$670,869,765,261	129,319	2.4621
Dec-10	54,032	$1,074.33	$696,579,633,240	130,346	2.4124
Dec-11	55,404	$1,122.89	$746,557,638,566	132,186	2.3858
Dec-12	56,758	$1,152.79	$785,163,217,034	134,021	2.3613

Notes for Above Table

Employment and beneficiary numbers are in thousands.
I computed the total annual cost as monthly benefit * 12 * number of beneficiaries. That method will tend to overstate annual costs slightly vs. totaling every month individually. Thus, the total cost may vary slightly from other published figures.

Average Monthly Social Security Benefit

Total Annual Cost of Social Security 1967-Present

Social Security Beneficiaries vs. Total Non-Farm Employment

Ratio of Workers to Social Security Beneficiaries

Social Security Benefits Analysis

The ratio of workers to beneficiaries peaked in 1999 at 2.927 to 1.
The ratio of workers to beneficiaries was 2.361 to 1 at the end of 2012.
The ratio of workers to beneficiaries is falling fast and will continue to fall fast for a decade as the baby boomer population ages.
The average payout and the number of payouts are both rising fast
Total Social Security payouts (a multiplication of two rising numbers) are on an unsustainable exponential growth path.

The system is currently running a deficit. Trends say that deficit is going to worsen with each passing year unless benefits are cut and/or taxes are hiked.

The next chart is courtesy of Reader Tim Wallace in a January 11, post.

Social Security Burden on Non-Farm Workers

Social Security Cliff Reading

Tip of the Iceberg

Unfortunately, Social Security is just a tip of the unsustainable payout promises problem. Public union pensions are trillions of dollars underfunded and several cities in California have gone bankrupt over those promises.

Detroit went bankrupt for the same reason as did Central Falls, Rhode Island (see Central Falls Set to File Bankruptcy Exit Plan; 50% Pension Reductions, 40% Slash in Police and Fire Budgets Coming Up).

Zombified Cities

Philadelphia: 5th Largest City in US is Effectively Bankrupt; Mayor Holds Closed Meeting With Wall Street to Discuss Asset Sales
Houston: CPAs state Houston is Bankrupt
LA: Mayor of Los Angeles Says "Bankruptcy is Not an Option" (Of Course It Is)
New York Cities: Public Pension Ponzi Scheme - New York Cities Borrow From Pension Plan to Make Contributions
Baltimore: Time for Baltimore to "Pull a Vallejo" and Declare Bankruptcy
Miami: Miami Commissioner Says Bankruptcy is City's Best Hope; Chris Christie Says New Jersey Careens Towards Becoming Greece
Chicago: Chicago's Mayor Daley Discusses Bankruptcy For City Pensions
Scranton: Scranton Mayor Slashes All Public Worker Wages to $7.25 per Hour, Including Police, Fire, His Own; City Effectively Bankrupt
Harrisburg: Pennsylvania State Capital Files for Bankruptcy
Zombified Cities Roundup: Detroit Becomes Dumping Ground for the Dead; Financial Urgency in Miami; Oakland Pension Time Bomb; How Pensions Crashed Stockton and San Bernardino

Vallejo Round Two

Vallejo, California went bankrupt about two years ago and is headed there again because it did not shed pension promises in bankruptcy: Vallejo, Mired in Pension Debt Again; Lesson for Stockton and Detroit - Shed Those Pension Obligations Now!

As I said in the above link, Stockton and Detroit have a choice. They can cut pensions now, or cut them later in a second bankruptcy, just like Vallejo will.

Pension Promises Not Sacrosanct

Yet people keep emailing me that pension are guaranteed by law. Tell that to residents of Central Falls. Their pensions were cut 50% in bankruptcy.

Here's reality: haircuts are coming. Unions need to negotiate benefit cuts now, in a sensible manner (with the highest beneficiaries taking the biggest cuts). The alternative is across the board benefit cuts à la Central Falls.

Meanwhile please consider the solid advice from Libre Mercado:

"The most important practical advice to draw from the above chart is simple: save and invest. If you trust your retirement to politicians [or promises], you will end up poor and feeling cheated."

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com

vineri, 18 octombrie 2013

Why Rebrand? Why Now?

Why Rebrand? Why Now?

So, why the rebrand?

How we did come up with the new brand?

Why rebrand now?

So what’s next?

Top posts this week on Google+

Seth's Blog : Marketing good...

Marketing good...

More Recent Articles

joi, 17 octombrie 2013

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

Pagini

Persoane interesate

Arhivă blog

vineri, 18 octombrie 2013

Why Rebrand? Why Now?

Why Rebrand? Why Now?

So, why the rebrand?

How we did come up with the new brand?

Why rebrand now?

So what’s next?

Top posts this week on Google+

Seth's Blog : Marketing good...

Marketing good...

More Recent Articles

joi, 17 octombrie 2013

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

Pagini

Persoane interesate

Arhivă blog

Subscribe to