Bayer12

New Year, New You

noreply@blogger.com (Bayer12) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 02:47:00 +0000

Don’t you just hate New Year resolutions?

Regardless of how determined you are to stick to them, very few of us do. I’m told however, that if you write them down you have a better chance of making them happen...

Now if I was an auto dealer looking for dynamic new ways to brand my dealership and market my offers, these would be my New Year resolutions:

1. I will support every event with an eCatalogue in 2012:
Ideal for retail campaigns, eCatalogues energise your brand and promote special offers to your database. They are also trackable, allowing you to see how many have been opened and how many email addresses are no longer active. Best off all, they are amazingly cost effective.

2. I will send an eMagazine every quarter in 2012:
A professionally written eMagazine will keep customers fully informed about what’s happening in your dealership. The six pages plus format means that you can include special offers from every department, including service and parts. The page turning software is especially clever and enhances interactivity. The best part is that you can embed the latest radio and Youtube commercials into the design.

3. I will eBlast my subscribers more often in 2012:
eBlasts are e-ffective! They’re mega cheap to produce and send, can be created in flash, are totally trackable and are a great support for any call-to-action retail campaign.

4. I will post even more YouTube videos in 2012:
Posting a professionally produced video on YouTube is a great way to connect with customers and dominate Google video search results. Enjoy positive feedback from viewers and competitors. What’s more your YouTube video is not just bound to the YouTube site. Your video can follow your campaign through all its eMarketing material and be placed on your website as well.

5. I will respond to comments on our Facebook fan page even faster in 2012:
Some dealers and advertisers still think Facebook is not for them. What they don’t realise is that Facebook reaches nearly 90% of the Aussie internet population and the 35+ age group is the fastest growing segment. It also provides valuable information on your PMA’s demographics, reinforces your brand and lets you post giveaways.

6. I will increase our mobi marketing in 2012:
Smartphone ownership is growing faster than ever. Sending retail offers via your website to a customer’s smartphone gets your business into the hands of your database. All they have to do is ‘touch’ their phones to contact you.

7. I will stay in touch with my customers using SMS in 2012:
It’s so easy and cost effective to text a message with a number and a link such as, a service reminder, special offer, or competition prize details to a customer using SMS.

8. I will include QR Codes in all our marketing materials in 2012:
QR codes take your advertising to a whole new level by providing an immediate link between press and digital. Placing QR Codes on all cars, flyers, business cards, invitations and linking to customers’ apps allows them to effortlessly schedule a test drive, buy online or take-up a exclusive trial offers.

9. I will give customers a free mobi app in 2012:
This will allow your service guys to post calendar-generated maintenance, motoring advice alerts, service reminders and specials via a calendar-based program. The system is great because log book readings can be tracked and emailed to the customer and it can even have a ‘carfind’ function.

10. I will track all the data that our system reveals in 2012:
The eBusiness software registers who clicked through to your website and social media sites. It also tells you how many eZines, eCatalogues and eBlasts were forwarded and which ones bounced, enabling the agency to keep your database clean and current.

Yes, it’s quite a list – but this is going to be a brilliant year!

Dumped!

noreply@blogger.com (Bayer12) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:24:00 +0000

A-ha! It's not just me who has a Eureka moment every time they see a Christmas tree dumped on a nature strip or in a public park. After checking out this site, I think the subject could be morphing into a new branch of landscape photography. What do you think?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ubiko/sets/72157628814655187/

Winifred Crescent Reserve, Toorak.

Alexander Avenue, South Yarra.

Grange Road, Toorak.

Celebrating Australia Day

noreply@blogger.com (Bayer12) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 21:20:00 +0000

Congratulations Geoffrey Rush, Australian of the Year 2012.

Tucker tops Barrett-Jackson at $2.915 million | Hemmings Blog: Classic and collectible cars and parts

noreply@blogger.com (Bayer12) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:07:00 +0000

Tucker tops Barrett-Jackson at $2.915 million Hemmings Blog: Classic and collectible cars and parts

How to grow your business or blog

noreply@blogger.com (Bayer12) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 22:14:00 +0000

Guest Post: Alerti Social Media and Management Service

Are you using a social media monitoring and management tool to grow your blog or business? You should be. Bloggers need to find their audience, sales-people need to generate leads, customer service people need to stay on top of complaints, and marketers need to monitor the effectiveness of their campaigns.

Alerti Social Media Monitoring and Management

Alerti is a social media monitoring and management service that offers streamlined content interface, integrated work-flow management, and direct social media profile administration. I am excited to be working with them and announce the launch of their English language version of a service already popular in their native France.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/y1wkxRxNOMs

Streamlined Content Interface

Social media monitoring is a complex undertaking, and with so much information coming at you, it can feel like you’re at the end of a fire hose. The key is to have a tool that organises the information in a way that makes it easy for you to understand and use. All results in Alerti are delivered in a single interface where you can analyse, visualize, and act on the information.

Work-flow Management

But once you’ve got those results, how do you make them actionable? Alerti’s work-flow integration lets you send out results in a group, create custom graphs of your data, and manage social media profiles straight from your account. Each result has options for tagging or making notes on the tone, easy sharing or assigning to someone on your team, and the option to comment from your connected social media profile without ever leaving the Alerti interface.

What Can Alerti Do To Help You?

Marketers: Monitor the impact of your campaigns. Find people talking about your product, trends in your niche, or even your competition.

Sales Reps: Find new potential leads, keep tabs on what's hot in the market, or find blogs where you can guest post about your product.

Community Management: Identify your current brand ambassadors and influencers and reward them. Interact with readers and bloggers when they write or talk about your product or business. Track the growth of that interaction over time with Alerti's analysis tools.

Bloggers: Find out who is talking about what you're writing about, go there and start sharing.

Or, research recent relevant posts and find people to interview or bounce ideas off for your new posts.

The founders of Alerti had a need for a single, customizable interface for managing and sharing information from the web. They built one, and I invite you to visit them at http://alerti.com/ and sign up for a free 7 day trial.

Murray Newlands is the founder of Influence People and author of a recent book on http://socialmediamonitoringbook.com/ Social Media Monitoring

Strikes the right cord

noreply@blogger.com (Bayer12) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:29:00 +0000

1929 Cord L-29 Hayes Coupe.

Ultimate in classic era design and rarity headed to RM's Amelia Island sale in March

Rolls rocks China

noreply@blogger.com (Bayer12) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 06:59:00 +0000

Dragon detailing on the interior of the 2012 Rolls Royce collection.

Despite the high Aussie dollar that fuelled luxury car sales in Australia in 2011, sales of the world’s uberluxe brand, Rolls Royce crashed by 20 percent.

Rolls wasn’t the only glam brand that didn’t shine Down Under. Mercedes and BMW were on the nose with prestige buyers with the big winners being Alfa (first time buyers?), Audi, Bentley, Ferrari and Porsche.

Fortunately the Spirit of Ecstasy could hold her head up high as the brand was a mega sales winner in the east, where it and Bentley sold more units than their counter parts in the west signed-up.

And with 2012 being the Year of the Dragon, I think their sales will be on fire once again. What do you think?

A 'Grand' tribute

noreply@blogger.com (Bayer12) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 03:12:00 +0000

1984 Duesenberg SJ "Twenty Grand" Tribute.

Duesenberg Twenty Grand tribute to cross the block at Russo and Steele | Hemmings Blog: Classic and collectible cars and parts

The secret's out

noreply@blogger.com (Bayer12) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 02:04:00 +0000

Ms Kerr on the runway.

Miranda Kerr Is The New Qantas Ambassador - Fashion News - Pedestrian TV

Left for dead

noreply@blogger.com (Bayer12) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 07:49:00 +0000

They appear as if by magic this time of year, in every suburb, every state and in every country. Denuded of their bling, tinsel and baubles. Waiting to be tranported to the council multcher so they can be trashed and recycled. Is your Xmas tree here? If not, and it's still out the front of your house or you've dumped it up the road, send me a photo and I'll include it in this collection. Cheers.

South Yarra.

South Melbourne.

South Yarra.

Albert Park.

South Yarra.

Albert Park.

Richmond.

Upper East Side NYC - gotta admit they do it in style in the Big Apple.

Albert Park.

South Yarra.

Prahran.

NYC photo by Lazarus Douvos http://www.about.me/lazarusdouvos

French classic returns to Paris

noreply@blogger.com (Bayer12) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 21:19:00 +0000

1926 Amilcar C6/CO Voiturette.

Bonhams flagship sale in Paris: Over one-hundred cars to be offered on February 2

A rainbow and unicorn moment for NYC's mayor

noreply@blogger.com (Bayer12) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 02:11:00 +0000

Happy New Year everyone! I hope your NYE's celebrations were as wicked as Mike Bloomberg's lip lock with Lady Ga Ga in the middle of Times Square, NYC. Also, you'll remember that in my Xmas post I left open the location of where I shot Santa minus his dacks - the answer is...

St. Kilda icon weathers another storm.

Now if drop dead amazing photography floats your boat, you'll go ga-ga over the 2011 LENSCRAFT Exhibition of images selected from photographers from all over the world. Check it out here:
ARTmostfierce: L E N S C R A T C H: Your Favorite Photog...:

Feeling lucky?

noreply@blogger.com (Bayer12) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 21:04:00 +0000

If you're into Chinese Astrology you should be, because 2012 is the year of the Year of the Dragon which is a major major symbol of good fortune. Traditionally, the Dragon brings in the Four Blessings of the East: wealth (ker-ching! ker-ching!), virtue, harmony and integrity. The last time the Dragon appeared was in 1952. More at: http://www.psychic-revelation.com/reference/a_d/chinese_astrology/dragon.html

Cord L-29 LaGrande boattail speedster replica to cross the block at Bonhams | Hemmings Blog: Classic and collectible cars and parts

noreply@blogger.com (Bayer12) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 21:44:00 +0000

Cord L-29 LaGrande boattail speedster replica to cross the block at Bonhams | Hemmings Blog: Classic and collectible cars and parts

Who dacked Santa?

noreply@blogger.com (Bayer12) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 01:47:00 +0000

Shame on you Santa.

This, my friends and followers (all six of you?) is my Christmas post for 2011. It's certainly not as funny as last year's which you may remember was a snap of 'Santa' upside down after crashing his Honda into a fence on the Heathcote to Nagambie Road in Northern Victoria.

Now you're probably wondering where this shot was taken. Think Melbourne bayside suburb, lots of restaurants, bars, tats, thongs, backpacker's hotels, famous pier, formerly a bit sleazy - probably still a bit sleazy...still can't guess? Come back next year and I'll tell you, in the meantime have a jolly holly good one. Ute Spotter.

On a roll in Vegas

noreply@blogger.com (Bayer12) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 02:59:00 +0000

Three of Ocean 11's high rollers.

I'll be practicing my gambling skills while I'm on holidays because I'm off to Vegas in February, and unlike some high rollers such as the cards counter extraordinaire Ed Thorp, Benjamin (Bugsy) Siegal or any of the dudes on the MIT Blackjack team, I'm a NAGA (that is, Not A Gambler's Arsehole).

Although in my first 'real' job in advertising my colleagues and I became obsessed with 500. We played it in the morning before picking up our tools (I had a collection of Magic Markers - remember those? Bet you don't!), at lunchtime, and we even managed a few quick hands before heading home at night.

I can't remember exactly how it's played but the first team (or player) to reach a total score of at least 500 points wins. I also just read (yep, I do my research) that it is now Australia's national card game and similar to Euchre.

I have a suspicion that in Vegas, 500 doesn't even get a look in, even though the game was invented in the US. So I won't need my lucky visor and mirrored Ray Bans on this trip.

However my brain will be in sponge mode once again because if next year's NADA Convention is half as good as this year's, I won't have time to break the casino's bank.

NADA 2012 is where you'll discover the latest business-building breakthroughs for the auto industry. Register now at www.nadatour.com.au

Ferra smashes auction record

noreply@blogger.com (Bayer12) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 06:36:00 +0000

It rang the bell at $16.4 million.

1957 Ferrari Testa Rosa.

Y-E-S! I just want one.

AUTOMOTIVE - AUTOS: Top 10 Collector-Car Auction Sales

Something's missing this Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Bayer12) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 06:27:00 +0000

Myer Bourke Street windows light-up only during trading hours - Bah, humbug!

You know it's Christmas when kids in their jim-jams press their noses up against the Myer windows.

When almost overnight every ad on TV is spruiking a retailer's Christmas sale.

When garbage truck drivers and ute owners wrap tinsel around their vehicles' bull bars and motorists decorate their cars with red noses and reindeer antlers.

But this year is different. Something is missing. And I'm not sure if it is because of where I live, or it's happening all over the country.

Normally, they're knee-deep in our entry hall and jammed into every apartment's letterbox.

Maybe it's the Internet. In fact, the more I think about it the more I'm convinced that's where almost everyone has migrated to.

Because, for the first time ever, we haven't received any Christmas sale catalogues in our letterbox. Nothing. None this morning. None yesterday. None the day before. And not one last week.

I've even interrogated the caretaker to see if he's been trashing them, but no luck there, he only comes on Mondays and today is Friday and there's only six shopping days 'till we drop.

So what's happened?

My theory is that this year everyone is marketing online. And because hard copy catalogues are considered old school, marketers wrongly think that they have lost their zing.

Yes, they do require co-ordination - especially if you're a national advertiser with different state versions.

Yes, they rely on walkers who sometimes call it quits when the temperature hits a certain point, which it can in December but more likely in January.

And yes, the lead times with Australia Post distribution are annoyingly long.

But there are rewards. Catalogues or 'letterbox' as they are sometimes referred to allow you to be generous with copy, colour and visuals.

You can have a four, six, eight or 12-page book printed on a range of paper stocks from matt to gloss in almost any weight.

And when you connect them to your other marketing activities (think QR codes) they work twice as hard.

Best of all, catalogues are one of the most cost efficient ways of getting your offers into the consumer's hands.

How do I know this? This year the agency will have produced and distributed 20 million catalogues nationally for our clients - and the year isn't over yet.

As they say, Christmas comes but once a year. And what a golden missed opportunity December 2011 will have been for some retailers.

Norman Foster on 'Bucky's' most iconic designs

noreply@blogger.com (Bayer12) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 02:13:00 +0000

Norman Foster on location in the Miami Design District.

Lord Foster's Dymaxion Car from Metropolis magazine on Vimeo.

Video also at: http://vimeo.com/33606621

A need for Speed

noreply@blogger.com (Bayer12) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 21:15:00 +0000

The world’s most expensive Mercedes-Benz.

What has this pic got to do with this post?

Absolutely sweet f#^+ all - except that it's an absolutely wicked shot of a 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special roadster by Michael Furman, one of America's foremost car photographers.

And I'm not the only one who thinks it's a top shot. Melbourne photographer GAZi said: "Looks like a beautifully lit image taken from a low angle to accentuate the fenders/lines of the car. The car looks like it is about to pounce. Shame about the terrible Photoshop clipping and fake floor."

The roadster was the star of the show at the launch of the new Mercedes-Benz Manhattan dealership back in June this year.

Described in the pr release as "...one of the most expensive Mercedes-Benz vehicles in the world; a car that can't be purchased at the dealership, but rather through RM Auctions during this year's Pebble Beach Motoring Week."

At the time it was expected to set a new auction record for a classic Merc, as well as being acknowledged as one of the most expensive cars ever to be sold at auction.

It went for...Ta-dah: $9,680.000! A new record for a Merc sold at auction.

Now if that hasn't mashed your gearbox, check-out the SPEED article about the upcoming Barrett-Jackson live auction coverage from Scottsdale.

http://automotive.speedtv.com/article/autos-barrett-jackson-live-auction-coverage-from-scottsdale-on-speed/#.TuGqAU8d_18.blogger

Rennie Ellis

noreply@blogger.com (Bayer12) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 21:57:00 +0000

"Photography is a way of freeing myself. It allows me to leave my own time and space and to occupy, if only superficially and for a short time, another, often alien, environment."

www.rennieellis.com.au

What were they thinking?

noreply@blogger.com (Bayer12) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 06:52:00 +0000

'The Body' and her red Fiat 500.

The one thing you learn uber-fast when working on a car account in an ad agency is that you only get one chance to successfully launch a new model, so you better get it right.

But the bizarre thing is that if the product is a dud and nobody wants to buy it, the better the creative, the quicker it will die in the marketplace.

Conversely, if the product is hot and the advertising is shit, then the same thing happens.

Now I'm not saying that's what happened with the Fiat 500 launch campaign in the US, but whoever pitched Jennifer Lopez as the babe behind the wheel in the commercial didn't think this one through.

Firstly, in my wildest dreams I couldn't image Ms Lopez driving through her old neighbourhood trying to reconnect with her past in a Fiat 500. A stretch limo? You bet! a Hummer? That's a bit passe but I could go with that. A Merc? Well, most celebs love to been seen in this Hun brand.

But wait, there's more! Ms Lopez wasn't even driving the car on the shoot, a body double was. And the 500 broke down during the filming. Then when the shite hit the fan and sales targets were just a dream, they gave the head of the Fiat brand the chop.

Now if you were to ask me who I would have used, I'd have said Lindsay Lohan - only joking - my vote would go to Elle 'The Body' McPherson, apparently she created a monster buzz for the brand in the UK when she announced that she was getting one, or was given one.

And the ripple effect hasn't subsided. The sales guys at the dealership in Melbourne keep going on and on about her - and her Fiat 500. Unfortunately, I don't think Ms Lopez has had the same effect in her own backyard.

Fiat 500′s big bet on Jennifer Lopez backfires and North America boss Laura Soave pays the price MAAhttp://www.moreaboutadvertising.com/2011/11/fiat-500s-big-bet-on-jennifer-lopez-backfires-and-north-america-boss-laura-soave-pays-the-price/#.TuF0gC_G_Dc.blogger

Jag-wahr's back (on TV at least)

noreply@blogger.com (Bayer12) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 02:51:00 +0000

http://www.brandchannel.com/home/post.aspx?id=f4b1152f-1976-4760-8572-48200ca2e904#.Tt_C2OalJFQ.blogger

Killer car goes down for $1.3 Million

noreply@blogger.com (Bayer12) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 21:31:00 +0000

The Austin-Healey racing car of the Le Mans disaster in Weybridge, Britain. EPA/BONHAMS.

World’s most notorious race car sells for $1.3 Million | Hemmings Blog: Classic and collectible cars and parts

Bayer12

New Year, New You

Dumped!

Celebrating Australia Day

Tucker tops Barrett-Jackson at $2.915 million | Hemmings Blog: Classic and collectible cars and parts

How to grow your business or blog

Strikes the right cord

Rolls rocks China

A 'Grand' tribute

The secret's out

Left for dead

French classic returns to Paris

A rainbow and unicorn moment for NYC's mayor

Feeling lucky?

Top 10 Automotive social video campaigns of 2011 - SkiddMark

Cord L-29 LaGrande boattail speedster replica to cross the block at Bonhams | Hemmings Blog: Classic and collectible cars and parts

Who dacked Santa?

On a roll in Vegas

Ferra smashes auction record

Something's missing this Christmas

Norman Foster on 'Bucky's' most iconic designs

A need for Speed

Rennie Ellis

What were they thinking?

Jag-wahr's back (on TV at least)

Killer car goes down for $1.3 Million