Last day in the office 2011 - Top online brands 2011 (US)

Jump_Fish_Jump_by_chameleonkid

For many, today will be the last day in the office for 2011 and as we prepare to jump into 2012 we wanted to take a look back at some of the amazing stats from these previous months.  As so much of this year will have been spent online for both work and pleasure,  we thought we would post a copy of this list of the most visited brands in the US from 2011

Since all of our online hours are sure to rise from those seen in 2010,  where 'The average American spent 32 hours per month on the Internet in 2010. Persons ages 45-54 set the high bar averaging more than 39 hours online each month' (source:- http://www.comscoredatamine.com) it is almost mind-blowing to try to quantify the impact of successful online branding.  

These figures (below) have been sourced from the gurus at Nielson and indicate that Google will likely top the charts for 2011 :  Between January and October of 2011, an average of 153.4 million people visited Google sites per month...(and) over 60 percent of web searches in the U.S. are done through Google.(source:- Neilson.com)  

The interesting fact to note is how these figures demonstrate the boundaries between work and pleasure fading, as the mix of social and business networking coupled with rising informative bodies draws closer.  

Wishing you all a great New Year's weekend,

and a very happy and successful start to 2012.

From us all at 

Pudding Creative x

Rank	Web Brand	Avg # of Unique Visitors (000) per month
1	Google	153,441
2	Facebook	137,644
3	Yahoo!	130,121
4	MSN/WindowsLive/Bing	115,890
5	YouTube	106,692
6	Microsoft	83,691
7	AOL Media Network	74,633
8	Wikipedia	62,097
9	Apple	61,608
10	Ask Search Network	60,552
												Data from January – October 2011, Home and Work Computers. Ranked on average monthly unique audience. Read as: During 2011, 153.4 million U.S. people, on average, visited Google sites from home and work computers Source: Nielsen  http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/nielsens-tops-of-2011-digital/

PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT -BRANDING, RE-BRANDING and MARKETING

What makes a good development in 2011?  With the property market as fierce as its ever been,  how do developers set their product to the top of your search for a new property. 

The very simple answer is: BRANDING 

And how do customers know it's your brand that they want?...MARKETING. 

Pudding Creative - Precedents & Moods - Branded development presentation

Property buyers and investors are incredibly well informed and they do not need to be spoon fed ideas,  they know what they are looking for and the reasons why. Whether that means the cheapest,  or the biggest or the most exclusive; every buyer or investor is looking for something unique. So the key to marketing your particular development, as with any product, is therefore to answer the question:  'Who are you? And what does your brand offer that makes you and your development special?'

Alila Villas - Uluwatu

The most successful application for branding a development is to construct creative BRANDED ARCHITECTURE because this allows each developer to express 'who they are' in every aspect of their product;  from the automation of the entrance gates,  the height of the front door,  the width of the staircase, the sound that feet make on the floor, right through to the choice of flowers on the reception table. Every detail of a development sends a message to your clients about 'who you are' and what your property offers. Many of these signals are received instinctively and therefore are subconscious, but it is these emotional responses in particular, which as a developer you should hope to arouse.

We find that when designing fully branded developments from conception,  the choice of construction  plays the first role in describing who that developer is and here begins the reinforcement of your brand awareness for example, taking into consideration ecological and social factors. Are these important messages for your company,  does your company pride itself on sustainability?

Armani Branded Hotel - Dubai

Branded architecture is therefore the ideal development scenario because the property marketing becomes inherent, almost invisible as your brand becomes a three-dimensional representation of your company. If this ethos is carried through the entire construction process, it may appear to go unnoticed when clients view your completed development however it is these key points which shape an overall emotional reaction to your project and therefore influences any purchasing or investment decision.  In these climates,  buyers do not make split second decisions , over-demand does not force sales and the competition has much to offer so every step you can take towards reinforcing their confidence in 'who you are' is a step closer to an investment. Collaborating with an independent brand to endorse your product has also become a popular approach at the most exclusive end of the development market,  such as including a Versace interior in your villa Versace interior design or creating a commercial partnership with an international brand such the  Armani Hotel in Dubai, located in the Burj Khalifa the results of which have seen some truly breathtaking developments constructed.

In many instances however, it is not possible to consistently brand or co-brand a development from concept to completion because it can be necessary to reassess what your brand can deliver. This can happen after the site works have been begun either because the market has changed during the construction period, your initial branding was insufficient or misplaced.  Equally, you may have purchased a development which has been constructed by others which you wish to transform or you wish to redirect to your existing brand. In these situations, the potential to brand or re-brand is therefore very important.  It is quite possible to successfully brand an existing development or business from scratch to create a completely new product and costs can vary or can be formulated to suit an available budget, depending on the stage and complexity of the project.  Re-branding, on the other hand as the name suggests, is a process applied to an existing brand by taking all of the strongest elements and discounting the weaker ones,  to create a new generation of that brand, more adept to the current market and era.

We have recently had the pleasure of working with Ros y Falcón,  a Spanish property developer based predominately on the Costa del Sol for residential properties and for office developments and industrial warehousing in Madrid. The company remains a family business which has grown over the past 30 years into one of the largest developers in the region, having sold over 3000 residential properties. Their success stems from their choices of locations, understanding of their marketplace,  clear building strategy and continued attention to their brand.

Since starting in 1974,  Ros y Falcón have set out to produce luxury residences of the highest quality and pride themselves on the quality of their product and their commitment to their clients,  boasting an enviable 95% customer satisfaction, notably high for the development industry.

Lucas Ros, Managing Director explains “My father established this business when the area was a fishing village, and frightened the town hall with his project ideas. I am extremely proud of the developments we construct. I have taken a photograph from every single balcony to show customers exactly what they would be purchasing,  not a professional shot,  a real amateur picture so that we were entirely transparent and prove that the spectacular views were really true and not just stock images. It was time for the next phase of modernizing the image on the company.”

During the World's recent financial crisis,  Spain has been hit very hard. Of the 80,000 real estate agents that were operating in the summer of 2006,  just 25,000 remained by 2009,  (source: La Vanguardia via www.spanishpropertyinsight.com) and at the beginning of 2011 over a third of those property related businesses had closed.  Despite this, Ros y Falcón has remained true to their brand and as a result, continued to sell their developments from Cadíz to Málaga, culminating most recently, in their decision to commence re-branding works.

Re-branded billboard for one of Ros y Falcón's property developments - Marina de la Alcaidesa

“With confidence being lost in the Spanish market, customers are looking for more reassurance from local developers that they are in safe hands and we felt it was important to demonstrate to our clients that we remain strong and our product is of a consistently high standard. The public is well aware that many companies still appearing on billboards have actually closed down. We had to place a strong message that we are here,  alive and kicking”  Simon Boxus, Commercial Sales Director

Ros y Falcón Regional Sales Office, Puerto de la Duquesa

The re-branding works consist of a complete refurbishment of the regional sales office in Puerto de la Duquesa,  new signage,  fresh billboards,  interior upgrades and new promotional materials. The appearance of the RF brand has been evolving throughout the lifetime of the company and the key has always been to focus on 'who they are'.  All of the more typical 'promotional' aspects of their marketing are being cleared away in favour of entirely transparent and personal material, previously popular stock imagery is being replaced by 'real' photographs of their completed developments, text is being shortened to explain clear and concise messages and clients are offered the opportunity to arrange viewings and purchases directly from the developer. The new designs show a professional solidity and by undertaking this re-branding process,  RF send a message to both their new and existing clients  'we are continuing to invest in our product because we believe in what we do'.
( ROS Y FALCÓN WEBSITE) .

The BEST MARKETING you can have is your product itself,  the challenge is often to be able to SEEK OUT what's unique about your product and TELL the market clearly that you're there.  
The Property Investor Show & OPP Live is being held 13th-15th October 2011 at ExCel London.  There will be a vast array of developers and investors there competing so it will be interesting to see which get heard and why. Jenny Seed,  Pudding Partner,  will be appearing on the panel for "The Marketing Masterclass. Do you know how to do it properly? How to research, plan, implement, get buy-in and measure success?" It is scheduled for Friday 14 October, at 15.15hrs  If you would like to to meet with Jenny during the event and discuss your development project in person, please contact us on +34 667 714 346 for an appointment (limited availability).

THE PROPERTY INVESTOR SHOW & OPP LIVE: 13-15th OCTOBER LONDON

Our thanks go to Ros y Falcón - for further information about their properties,  please see the ROS Y FALCÓN WEBSITE or you can call the Regional Sales Office on  (+34) 952 892 805.

Pudding Creative offer unique branding services for the property and development industry,  including  investment feasibility packages, architectural design and strategies, creative property development branding and a wide range of exclusive property marketing materials.

A Brand called MARBELLA

In 1954, Prince Alfonso von Hohenlohe converted his family farmhouse into the Marbella Club Hotel. And so, a brand was born. 

Prince Alfonso was a visionary who was enchanted by this particular spot of Southern Spain. The Marbella Club grew from just 19 bedrooms, one suite, a dining room and a bar to today’s total of 84 rooms, 34 suites, a spa, Beach Club Buffet, Grill, the MC Café and a golf course. In addition, the area around it received such great demand that it became known as the “Golden Mile” (a part of this having been named Bulevar Principe Alfonso Von Hohenlohe) and Marbella has evolved into a magnet for the exclusive. www.marbellaclub.com

Prince Alfonso’s vision of “Marbella” has withstood time. But it has also withstood the highs and lows of the tabloid coverage. As with any of the world’s top brands, barely a month goes by when the UK press does not report a controversy of some kind – the incidences of boom receive nearly as much attention as those occurrences of bust. Yet the truth is that through it all, an influx of luxury tourism continues to secure Marbella’s position as one of the world’s most desired locations.

Prince Alfonso’s utter enthusiasm for Marbella also aided many successful property deals for his elite associates. And over the years many other entrepreneurs have emulated his real estate prowess with a market of high profile clients. Nick Stuart founded Spanish Hot Properties 4 years ago and his passion for the area abounds. He says “Over recent years, people have started to come to Marbella looking for a country in crisis. Of course, in these economic times there are deals to be made, but as a comparison, you do not go to Mayfair seeking bargain basement properties. Marbella has a history that stems from the days of the Marbella Club. And there are still plenty of people who have an emotional link with the area, born from their own family backgrounds. Marbella has always attracted the rich and famous and so, this creates a self-fulfilling phenomenon. Of course, the climate (a full 4º warmer in winter than any other area of Spain) and the locals help – you could not wish for friendlier neighbours than the Andalucians”.
(Marbella Property)

The Marbella Arch was constructed 18 years ago, though is now the subject of controversy as it has been dismantled due to new road infrastructure.

Marbella’s popularity increased from the 60’s thanks to improvements in the infrastructure with motorways stretching as far as Alicante. In fact, as head of the Costa del Sol Promoters’ co-operative, Prince Alfonso himself lobbied the installation of improvements for the road systems, airports and water supply (also the conference and exhibition centre which spurred the growth of Torremolinos as a mass market holiday destination). Whilst local life did slow in the mid seventies due to the first large-scale recession, it gained rapid pace once again in the 80’s as property demand from Northern Europe outstripped supply. Requirement was further fuelled by an increase in the native Spanish market as the country began its evolution into one of Europe’s most modern. Málaga airport is still undergoing major renovations today and connects to over 60 destinations worldwide with approx 13 million passengers per annum.

Again Marbella demonstrated a brand strength that many top companies attempt to imitate in today’s business. Get the core appeal right, create a buzz and then make sure that the infrastructure works to maintain the demand. 

Ian Waudby has worked in Marbella since 1989 and has run the highly successful real estate development company, Crest Homes, for many years. In 2010 he joined forces with Spanish Hot Properties to make the most out of the evolving demands of the area. Throughout his experience Ian has witnessed the cyclical nature of the area first-hand. His company also boasts an impressive list of exclusive properties and a clientele including “A” list celebrities. He says, “The target market is always moving, but it is always there. When I started out in business here you had a strong retirement market, nowadays the younger “bling” market is much stronger.” Ian also adds that he believes that “the end of 2011 to end of 2013 will be the best “harvest” years for the opportunistic investor in Marbella”.

Whilst the savviest marketeers do indeed understand that the most successful products appeal to the heart, not the mind (source: businessweek.com) it is always a mistake to overlook the core science of what the product aims to achieve. Luckily this isn’t something that Marbella has ever had to worry about. The sunny weather is generally constant, the hotels, restaurants and beach clubs are glamorous  and the celebrities just keep coming…

Kyra Dawson in her article Brands of Emotion agrees … “If a name can evoke the security sensation of that phrase "satisfaction guaranteed", then you've got a winner.” We think that sums Marbella up quite nicely.

If you would like to learn more about how to create a brand that can withstand the test of time, contact Pudding Creative.

PUDDING DESIGN SUPPLEMENT : LIU BOLIN, The man, the art, the invisible.

Liu Bolin from Shandong, China, has developed into a world recognised artist since his emergence in the early 1990's following the Cultural Revolution. Liu creates an amazing form of art which features himself as a real life invisible man.

His first solo exhibition took place in Beijing in 1998 leading up to his most recent work entitled 'Hiding in New York' which is currently display in the Eli Klein Fine Art Gallery until :
September 28th 2011. 
(New York City)
http://www.elikleinfineart.com

Each photo takes up to 10 hours to compose where Liu transforms himself with full painted camouflage as he becomes invisible and submerges into his surroundings. Astonishing work. Here's a short selection of our favourites showing his diverse and topical subject matter from the supermarket, to the forest to a British red telephone box :-

image source: www.wikipedia.com

Reference information and images sourced from:  telegraph.co.uk, elikleinfineart.com, laughingsquid.com, wikipedia.com. 

What is "good" website content?

… well, the proof is in the Panda...

Pudding Creative could most definitely be accused of repetition when it comes to the words “we have a publishing background, don’t you know?” But we hold a high regard for the old disciplines of print publishing where one mistake could have a detrimental effect on a very large, not to mention expensive, print-run.

There was a time when every page of a magazine was first sent to bromide proof, then produced as 4-colour film and only printed to page once the colour cromalin proof had been fully approved. But then just 3 letters – PDF – replaced this long-winded process. And now, time has moved on so much that the “mag” has been largely replaced by 1 sole letter – “e”.

Of course, the concept of magazines and publications of all types has further progressed with the evolution of the Internet and, most notably, the blog. The blog, which was crowned as a noun in its own right in 1999, provided individuals with a voice. The writer no longer needed to await invitation from the supreme Editor. By 2004 the “blog” was even being used on a worldwide scale by businesses and politicians. And, of course, it was not overlooked that this rather convenient new tool was also helping companies to make their way up the search engine listings.

There are many different options for the business or the individual to use when publishing their updates. Forbes has created a list of their top 11 with Wordpress being number one www.forbes.com

As you will guess, with so many formats, there is obviously a lot of demand. And rapidly the power of the blog rolled into overall website content with more and more website templates being made available for minimal cost to the users. But whereas all traditional print publishing was proofed, proofed and then… well, proofed a little more, there is little to zero proofing involved in what is published within the World Wide Web.

Well, until now…

It seems that Google (the undisputed force of law and online order) has had enough of their cyberspace being littered with substandard content. And so they have introduced “Google Panda”. googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/
Google Panda is a new algorithm that has been designed by the rather clever ‘bots to help people find more high quality sites when searching the web. And one of the first points that they like to make is that it is the client who is the reader, not the search engine.

As Rand Fishkin, CEO of SEOmoz and Will Critchlow, founder of Distilled, discuss in their “Whiteboard Friday”, these new Panda algorithms are based on real human responses to website content.
www.seomoz.org
“…people don't think this is high enough quality. This isn't going to get past the Panda filter. You're in jeopardy", says Rand.
They continue by explaining that the oh-so clever Google can actually evaluate a website content in terms of reliability, trust and authority. And so, perhaps, the days of churnalism are over.

1. churnalism
Term coined by author Nick Davies to describe poor practices of modern day journalists who "churn" or recycle news stories off the wire or Internet without appropriate critical investigation.

But that begs the question, what is good website content?
SEO mastermind Paul Lopez of Solar Internet and owner of celebritiesinmarbella.com says that it comes down to just 2 basic rules…

“Rule 1 for good website copy is to write good quality content without thinking keywords or search engines. Research your subject and write as if it were a normal article. You don't want to bombard your visitors with keywords and the chances are that if you are trying to write for the search engines it will be bad quality and not a good user experience.
Rule 2 is never just copy content. There are a few reasons for this but the main point is that the search engines don't like duplicate content and the latest panda update is very much focused on quality content. If you want to figure in the search engines then write your own copy. Show the search engines, and your visitors that YOU are the authority on your subject.”

Lisa Richards, Editor of www.resource-magazine.com also agrees that “content farming” is detrimental to the standards of the World Wide Web. This focus on producing words that satisfy the algorithms set by search engines (rather than the subject matter itself) often produces confusing articles with little factual relevance. She notes, “the appeal of high visitor numbers is proving more alluring than high quality. I’ve seen journalists and PRs garnering editorial support from bloggers by rewarding responses or offering freebies rather than actually looking to the quality of their own work”.

Content Farming can be a thankless task

Of course, the actual words contained within a website are only part of the battle when considering an “authentic” website. Rand reminds us that appearance is equally important.
“A lot of this comes down to design, and authority is really branding familiarity. Have I heard of this site? Does it seem legitimate? So I might get to a great blog like StuntDouble.com, and I might think to myself, I'm not very familiar with the world of web marketing. I haven't heard of StuntDouble, so I don't recognize him as an authority, but yeah, I would probably trust SEO information from this site. It looks good, seems authentic, the provider's decent.”

Companies have been known to work very hard to create a reputable brand name in the real world, only to throw all that hard effort away with a substandard appearance online. It is important to remember that your brand is the sum of your staff, your services and all of your marketing initiatives – and that includes your website. So, make sure that it receives equal time and effort.

Pudding Creative can help you to achieve a high quality website presence with solid content and an irresistible style. 
Contact us for a free consultation on how we can improve your business.
Tel: +34 667714346 
Email: hello@puddingcreative.com 
Web: www.puddingcreative.com
“Like” us at www.facebook.com/puddingcreative

PUDD FILE: INTERNATIONAL BRANDING - The power of the BILLBOARD and other printed marketing ideas

Following a period of super exciting digital presentation work this summer, we at Pudding are delighted to also be working on a series of printed material and signage including billboard designs to support a rebranding campaign and we thought we would share a few of the images that we have collected as part of our design studies. Just goes to show that old school style printed advertising is still very much at the forefront of international marketing and design for many brand giants.  Here's a selection of our favourites which both deliver an incredibly powerful message and a few smiles.

Brilliant use of the limits of a given billboard space by Formula Toothpaste

Billboards can have a life after dark - Eskom

Not to be confined by the extents of  a billboard  - love the shoelace touch! by Woodland

Frame it...from one of the world's leading brands PSP - one of a series of ingenious roadside advertising campaigns

And frame it again... here promoting the regeneration of  an dying art form - the handwritten letter from Eesti Post
- we say long live the post!

and when a roadside billboard is just not enough,  build yourself a bridge...Adidas

...or if you can't have a billboard at all,  why not use your building instead? who said size doesn't matter?  

...very subtle advertising from Heineken on this construction site - look closely

...and the not so subtle ....from Abercrombie & Fitch - what can i say?

but if you don't have a billboard,  a building or a construction site, all is not lost (advert by Ché)

There are many unexpected opportunities for printed marketing campaigns even in this digital age - all you need is a little out of the box thinking and you can transform some of the most unexpected places into a dynamic advertising hubs
(Bus shelter promotion for Real Hiphop.com.br)

If you'd like to know more about our current projects and our unusual range of branding, creative design and marketing services,  please drop us an email here CONTACT US or give us a call on +34 667 714 346 and we'd love to say hello. Thank You!
compilation by Pudding Creative

PUDD FILE: Celebrating a creative summertime 2011

Creative design for the everyday: Pudding Creative celebrates summer 

with some ingenius ideas for the Flip Flop inspired by Jutta x

Grass Flip Flops by Krispy Kreme

ArchPort Flip Flops with built in storage

Installation art as seen in Sao Paulo Brazil by Florentijin Hofman

Flip Flop Mops by Marie-Louise Gustafsson

Keyboard Flip Flops by Korry

Fishy Flops - real product or Photoshop creation?

Flip Flop patio lighting available from bonanza.com

...and here's one for those days which are just a bit too chilly... 

Tapistongs matching rug and slipper sets from Lise El Sayed

Guey, the way forward in Marbella

Güey Restaurant & Skybar in Nueva Andalucia, Marbella (comfortably close to the hustle and bustle of Puerto Banús) plays venue to so many personal and professional events in Southern Spain that it has become a permanent fixture in the PuddingCreative calendar. For a start, it is the Mecca of the professional networker having regularly played host to Tweet Marbella, the Costa Business Club and the Women in Business. But it also embraces the international culture of its cosmopolitan location with a range of lively Swedish, Mexican, Spanish and English themed evenings

But what is it that makes Güey so irresistible? According to their website it is a repertoire of fresh, creative cuisine. Favourites include sushi, pumpkin soup with langostinos and honey glazed lamb ribs. But the fine dining experience tells only a small part of the story. One of the reasons that it is so perfect for social events of any type, is the vibrant ambience combined with a large, split-level, open-plan floor space. The more formal restaurant leads easily into the contemporary cocktail skybar that flows onwards to the terrace which provides a tropical atmosphere in which to enjoy a multitude of nightcaps. Of course, the flexible layout means that any evening can also be arranged in reverse, with one (or more) aperitifs enjoyed amongst the chic landscaping at the rear of the venue and onwards for dinner.

And wherever in Güey you find yourself seated, you still get to enjoy cool tunes played live by a choice of artists, selected each month – generally a blend of modern jazz and soul that complements the ultra stylish surrounds.

But none of this mentions one of Güey’s most exclusive features which is located below the floorboards of the restaurant area with only one portal window providing a sneak preview to something very special. Güey offers a unique underground wine-tasting cellar that provides connoisseurs with a choice of tipples from Spain, France, California, Australia, South Africa and Chile. 

Not many venues proffer a setting that can equally accommodate the needs of a couple seeking a romantic evening or a large group celebration. This ability comes from a talented branding team, including event manager, Johnnie B, who has brought his experience from some of the coolest restaurants and bars of New York and adapted it to suit the desires of the local market on the Costa del Sol.

Johnnie B runs a series of new and interesting events throughout the seasons that maintain Güey’s fresh buzz (including many opportunities to savour some of the 50 different varieties of tequila). And so, it should be of no surprise that Friday 5th August will see the Mr. and Miss Málaga Pageant, 2011. The glamourous affair, which will attract nearly 250 people, will consist of the perfect combination of fine bodies and fine food (a . All provided for just 59€.

This is a venue that has been perfected by those who love good food, good drink and good company. And so do we! – Güey Restaurant & Skybar receives our highest recommendation...


For more information on the
Mr. and Miss Málaga Pageant, 2011

Gala Dinner

Friday 5th August, 2011

9pm til late

contact Nicky at nicky@gueybanus.com

Restaurante Güey,  Plaza de las Orquiedeas,
4, 29660 Nueva Andalucía, Marbella

Reservations:  + 34 952 929 250


All Güey events can be viewed on the Güey website www.gueybanus.com




If your business is in need of a little brand innovation, then contact Pudding Creative for a unique marketing and design campaign that suits your budget.